Edgar Lee Masters’ “Margaret Fuller Slack” from Spoon River Anthology depicts a tormented woman who believes motherhood doomed her ambition to become a great writer. Ironically named after the first American feminist, “Margaret Fuller,” Mrs. Slack does possess the egotistical personality of her namesake, while suffering the ills that they both decry.
First Movement: “I would have been as great as George Eliot”
Mrs. Slack begins her tirade by proclaiming the greatness she “would have” accomplished: she “would have been as great as George Eliot.” Nevertheless, she did not ascend to such a great height, because “untoward fate” stepped on her dreams.
Second Movement: “For look at the photograph of me made by Penniwit”
Mrs. Slack possesses a “photograph of [herself] made by Penniwit,” an artist who later also speaks in the Spoon River Anthology.
Margaret uses the photograph to support her contention that she was marked for greatness: in the photo, she sits with her “chin resting on hand,” and she has “deep-set eyes” that are “gray” and “far-searching.” These qualities in her estimation reveal a profundity that should have allowed her to accomplish the greatness, the absence of which she now laments.
Third Movement: “But there was the old, old problem”
Margaret then philosophizes about the human condition, claiming the “old, old problem” is whether one should remain celibate, marry, or simply commit fornication. She does not reveal how deeply she thought about those alternatives, or even if she had thought about them at all.
As she reminisces, she, no doubt, adds to her own self worth, by implying that she had thought and pondered those issues.
Fourth Movement: “Then John Slack, the rich druggist, wooed me”
Before she had the opportunity to determine which path was the right one for her to travel to fame, she found herself “wooed” by “John Slack, the rich druggist.” He “lur[ed]” her by “promis[ing] [her] leisure”—time she would use to write “[her] novel.”
With this promise of leisure, she married the druggist, but instead of writing, she proceeded to give birth to “eight children.” Of course, with eight children, she can fall back on the excuse that she “had no time to write.” Apparently, she remained unaware that famous poet, Anne Bradstreet, created a significant body of writing while birthing and raising eight children.
Fifth Movement: “It was all over with me, anyway”
Margaret then reveals how she died, “It was all over with me, anyway, / When I ran the needle in my hand.” She met with this sad fate, while “washing the baby’s things.” She contracted “lock-jaw” and died.
She finds dying of lock-jaw to be “ironical,” no doubt, because she considered herself filled with words—words unfortunately that would remain unexpressed because of the time-consuming servitude of raising a family. And, of course, in keeping with her own selfishness, she does not consider how her absence will impact the lives of the children she leaves behind.
Sixth Movement: “Hear me, ambitious souls”
Margaret’s final statement oversimplifies her lot but reveals her philosophical conclusion about “life” as she remarks, “Sex is the curse of life!” Readers, unfortunately, will never be able to experience the profundity of that statement because Margaret’s ambition to write was obliterated by her urge to procreate.
Sources:
- Edgar Lee Masters, "Margaret Fuller Slack," Spoon River Anthology, bartleby.com.
- Mark Canada, Colonial America, 1607-1783, “Anne Bradstreet.”
- Biography.com, “Margaret Fuller.”
Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
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