Excerpt from Newspaper Opinion Page Clark Benson, Alice Duer Miller, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman She Walketh Veiled and Sleepin
g by Charlotte Perkins Gilman She walketh veiled and sleeping, For she knoweth not her power; She obeyeth but the pleading Of her heart and the high leading Of her soul, unto this hour. Slow advancing, limping, creeping. Comes the Woman to the Hour! — She walketh veiled and sleeping For she knoweth not her power. Which of these BEST describes the viewpoint of the author of "She Walketh Veiled and Sleeping"? A) Men could never take on the household work that many women do. B) Women do not know their own strengths because men keep them down. C) Women are too tired from all their household work to think about voting. D) Men should take better care of their wives because their wives work hard.
B) Women do not know their own strengths because men keep them down.
Explanation:
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's poem "She Walked Veiled And Sleeping" is a short poem of 9 lines but which have themes of women suppression by the 'superior' gender. she deals with the theme of how women are made to <em>"work"</em> without knowing her own power.
According to Gilman, women <em>"knoweth not her power"</em>, <em>"Slow advancing, limping, creeping"</em>. She continues working even though <em>"veiled and sleeping"</em> which is suggestive of her being blinded by the power of the men over her own views or opinions. Through this short yet insightful poem, the poet shares the viewpoint that women have no idea of their own strengths as they are kept down and powerless by the men in their lives.
