INDIVIDUAL ORAL

Global Issue: The exploitation and unfair treatment of women by society

Texts chosen: Devils Wife- Carol Ann Duffy and
He bit my breast. His language was foul. He entered me.
We’re the same, he said, that’s it. I swooned in my soul
We drove to the woods and he made me bury a doll.
I went mad for the sex. I won’t repeat what we did.
We gave up going to work. It was either the woods
or looking at playgrounds, fairgrounds. Coloured lights
in the rain. I’d walk around on my own. He tailed.
I felt like this: Tongue of stone. Two black slates
for eyes. Thumped wound of a mouth. Nobody’s Mam.
I flew in my chains over the wood where we’d buried
the doll. I know it was me who was there.
I know I carried the spade. I know I was covered in mud.
But I cannot remember how or when or precisely where.
Nobody liked my hair. Nobody liked how I spoke.
He held my heart in his fist and he squeezed it dry.
I gave the cameras my Medusa stare.
I heard the judge summing up. I didn’t care.
I was left to rot. I was locked up, double-locked.
I know they chucked the key. It was nowt to me.
I wrote to him every day in our private code.
I thought in twelve, fifteen, we’d be out on the open road.
But life, they said, means life. Dying inside.
The Devil was evil, mad, but I was the Devil’s wife
which made me worse. I howled in my cell.
If the Devil was gone then how could this be hell?
I said No not me didn’t I couldn’t I wouldn't
Can’ remember no idea not in the room.
Get me a Bible honestly promise you swear.
I never not in a million years it was him.
I said Send me a lawyer a vicar a priest.
Send me a TV crew send me a journalist.
Can’t remember not in the room, send me
a shrink where’s my MP send him to me.
I said Not fair not right not on not true
not like that. Didn’t see didn’t know didn't hear.
Maybe this maybe that not sure not certain maybe.
Cant remember no idea it was him it was him
Can’t remember no idea not in the room.
No idea can't remember not in the room.
In the long fifty-year night,

For my individual oral I will be looking at the issue of exploitation and unfair treatment of
women by society which is explored in Duffy’s 1999 poem Devil’s Wife featured in her
World’s Wife collection as well as the 2014 advert by the antiseptic company Listerine. As a
girl, I think it’s extremely unfortunate that we live in a society where we have normalized
women being exploited by the media and the dominant male race. With this being said, I
chose to investigate this particular global issue in 2 different works which are decades apart
to emphasize on the fact that despite the world evolving, the mistreatment of women still
ceases to exist today. First, I will dive into the devil’s wife then proceed to analyse the
advertisement.
“The Devil’s Wife” by Carol Ann Duffy is a powerful poem written in the form of a dramatic
monologue. Duffy adopts the persona of Myra Hindley, the notorious Moors Murderer and
further describes Hindley’s experiences from meeting Brady to suffering in prison. Duffy
highlights a women’s vulnerability and submissive attitude towards a man asserting not only
dominance pertaining to the male race but also lack of female power on the social hierarchy
and in their own homes. Through the use of extended allusion to the Moors Murders,
characterisation of the persona, metaphor and structure, Duffy subverts society’s perception
on what it is to be a woman in an attempt to eradicate the issue of exploitation and unfair
treatment towards them.
Duffy mocks society’s norms of women by alluding to the 1960 criminal case of Myra
Hindley. A couple, Ian Brady, and Myra Hindley abducted and murdered 5 children and were
sentenced to life in prison. Myra shocked the world with her infamous mugshot as she was a
woman and committed such a gruesome act which rejected society norms that manifested the
idea of women being delicate and gentle. Moreover, Duffy emphasized on the fact that Myra
cared about her appearance while being in the public eye in the line ‘Nobody liked my hair’
This implies that women are only judged by how they look and not what they do as even
during her sentence, Myra didn’t focus on justifying her actions or standing up for herself
rather her physical appearance as this is what the public thinks women are for. Here Duffy
mocks the public’s attitude towards women as they see them as precious dolls rather than
human beings who are as capable of committing a crime as they are to making their own
decisions.
This is further brought out within the broader work of ‘Medusa’ published in the same
collection in 1960 where she takes on the persona of the ancient Greek goddess Medusa and
makes physical appearance her biggest concern. This is seen in the rhetorical question
‘Wasn’t I fragrant and young?’ where Medusa misses how she used to look as that used to be
her greatest asset. The poem continues to talk about how low Medusa’s self-esteem was due
to the fact that she was a girl and it was her ‘job’ to look pleasant for others just like how
Myra did by fixing her hair.
In ‘Devils wife’ Duffy questions the attitude of society towards women by comparing the
publics treatment of women to children. She personifies dolls as children in ‘“Made me bury
a doll” where she mercilessly killed them thinking they were inanimate objects with no
emotion or voice. She faced heavy criticism and judgement from this and this is ironic as
women are treated the same way, like precious, ragged dolls who only speak when spoken to
and have no value in life. If the public valued the children’s life so much, why couldn’t they
value women the same way?
The poet addresses the problem of male dominance when she metaphorizes Brady as the
‘devil’ and Myra as ‘The Devils Wife.’ ‘The line ‘He entered me.’ not only portrays their
sexual relationship but also suggests that some sort of demonic being took over her. It
enhances the idea that she was not in control of her actions and Brady should take all the
responsibility for her crimes as she was “The Devil’s Wife”. This means that Brady had
authority over her and she just accepted and went along with whatever he asked her to do. By
illustrating the idea of male dominance, she should be able to avoid responsibility for her
crimes as she was the traditional wife who had to fall in line with her husband. This however
did not happen as she was sentenced to life in prison alongst Brady when she hyperbolizes
her stay in prison as ‘the long fifty-year night’. The question that arises after this judgement
was that if Myra was capable of receiving an equal punishment as a woman why can’t
women receive equal treatment in society otherwise? Duffy manifested the idea that if a
woman is thought to have her own mind and conscience to not commit a crime despite being
manipulated to do so, the same logic should apply to women today where they should be
treated as if they are their own selves who do not have to follow what men do or decide thus
rejecting unfair treatment to women altogether.
Duffy chose to mix structural techniques in The Devil’s Wife, using both end-stopped lines
and enjambment. These forces the reader to stop or to carry on as Duffy pleases. It shows that
she holds control and can make the reader do what she wants them to, which could be
indicative of the power that Brady had over Hindley. It also symbolises the loss of control
that Hindley had once Brady became a part of her life. Furthermore, it could also demonstrate
the idea that women do not have the power and control to stop the prolonged issue of
mistreatment and exploitation in society today making the reader more aware of how severe
the issue actually is.
The advertisement ‘Often a bridesmaid, never a bride’ was publicized in 2014 by the
antiseptic company Listerine. The advertisement consists of a story behind why a girl was
never a bride and the reason was simply her bad breath. In order to effectively promote the
product, the creator broadcasted a common female stereotype which is that women’s primary
concern is marriage and beauty. This advertisement contributes greatly to the exploitation and
mistreatment of women as it encourages the idea that women are simply dolls that are meant
to be showcased and add no other value to life. The creator uses idioms, a compelling
heading and a third person anecdote to project the unrealistic representation of women in the
society which has led to the exploitation of them.
The creator exposes a woman's primal insecurity of living a lonely life and develops a story
around how their product fixes it to persuade the reader to buy it. This is captured in the line
‘‘poor girl, she had no idea why they dropped her so quickly’ which explicitly demonstrates
that a woman needs to be pretty and perfect in terms of a physical appearance to get married
and accepted by the male race. By giving Edna’s anecdote on her sad, unmarried life in ‘true
men were attracted to her but soon their interest turned into indifference’ readers become
curious as to why she is having such a hard time finding love and the reason behind this was
her bad breath. This implies that women are only treasured for their physical traits rather than
their personality and attitude and this degrading assumption is the main cause of the unfair
treatment they are subjected to. Moreover, one can sense bad breath the moment they have a
conversation with someone. This implies that men will go to a woman for her physical
appearance rather than her attitude and this judgement the cause of the mistreatment women
face today as it portrays women as weak making them suitable victims.
The creator undertakes a different approach to the heading ‘‘‘Often a bridesmaid, never a
bride’’ which actually acts as an empowering message for women despite the contradictory
body message supporting the female stereotypes. The heading is an idiomatic expression
which describes someone who never quite fulfils his or her potential. This indicates that a
woman can never fulfil her true purpose because she’s too busy being undermined by society.
Her personality is not known rather her appearance is which is what Listerine strives to
improve. The compelling heading is open to interpretation and can be viewed as either
demeaning or empowering either way it has a significant connection to the global issue of
women mistreatment.
This issue is mirrored in one of the broader works entitled “Are You Unpopular With Your
Own Children?” which again exposes a primary insecurity women have pertaining to
maternal love. The advertisement claimed that children show resentment towards their
mother because of bad breath and in order for them to love their mom, she needs to improve
her condition. This manifests the idea that not only society but also a woman’s children value
her appearance and physical traits more than her personality and she cannot fulfil her true
purpose as a mother if her appearance is not per standards. The dehumanization of women
here is a vital judgement that has incredibly contributed to the unfair treatment of women
today.
In conclusion both texts express the issue of unfair treatment towards the female race in
different manners. The first text subverts the female stereotypes and the advertisement
embraces them. Regardless of the creators’ different attitudes towards the unfair treatment
and exploitation of women by society, the issue has still been highlighted and this has offered
multiple perspectives on the issue making the audience more knowledgeable.

Michelle Carter 2017 – she persuades her boyfriend to kill himself to end his prolonged
suffering = extremely complex situation, vilified by media.
OUTLINE (10 POINTS)
Global Issue: The exploitation and unfair treatment of women by society
Texts chosen: Devils Wife- Carol Ann Duffy and Listerine Ad
“The DW” by Duffy- powerful- dramatic monologue- adopts the persona of Myra Hindley-Moors Murderer-describes
Hindley’s experiences from-- highlights a women’s vulnerability and submissive attitude towards a man asserting not
only dominance pertaining to the male race- lack of female power on the hierarchy and in homes. Through the use of
extended allusion to the MM characterisation of the persona, metaphor and structure, Duffy subverts society’s
perception on what it is to be a woman in an attempt to eradicate the issue of exploitation and unfair treatment towards
them.
Mocks society’s norms of women- alluding to the 1960 criminal case- A couple, Ian Brady, and Myra- abducted-
murdered 5 children- sentenced to life in prison. Myra shocked the world- mugshot a woman- a gruesome act-
rejected society norms- manifested the idea of women being delicate. Moreover- emphasized- Myra cared about her
appearance- public eye in the line ‘Nobody liked my hair’ This implies- judged by how they look and not what they
do as even during sentence, Myra didn’t focus on justifying actions or standing up for herself rather physical
appearance - Duffy mocks the public’s attitude towards women as they see them as precious dolls- as capable of
committing a crime as they are to making their own decisions.
work of ‘Medusa’- same collection-1960- persona of the- Medusa and makes physical appearance biggest concern.
rhetorical question ‘Wasn’t I fragrant and young?’ where Medusa misses how she used to look -greatest asset. - how
low Medusa’s self-esteem was due to the fact that she was a girl and it was her ‘job’ to look pleasant for others just
like how Myra did by fixing her hair.
addresses- male dominance (MD)- metaphorizes Brady as the ‘devil’ and Myra as ‘The DW.’ ‘He entered me.’ not
only portrays their SR but also suggests that some sort of demonic being took over her. enhances the idea- not in
control of her actions and Brady should take all the responsibility for her crimes as she was “The DW”. This means
that Brady had authority- accepted and went along- By illustrating the idea of (MD)- avoid responsibility for her
crimes as she was the traditional wife who had to fall in line with her husband- did not happen as she was sentenced-
alongst Brady when she hyperbolizes her stay in prison as ‘the long fifty-year night’- if Myra was capable of receiving
an equal punishment as a woman why can’t women receive equal treatment in society otherwise? Manifested idea that
if a woman is thought to have her own mind and conscience to not commit a crime despite being manipulated to do
so, the same logic should apply to women today-
questions the attitude of society towards women-comparing the publics treatment of women to children. personifies
dolls ‘“Made me bury a doll” where she mercilessly killed them- inanimate objects with no emotion or voice-faced
heavy criticism from this- ironic as women are treated the same way-who only speak when spoken to and have no
value in life. If the public valued the children’s life so much, why couldn’t they value women the same way?
structural techniques in The DW- end-stopped lines and enjambment - forces the reader to stop or to carry on as Duffy
pleases - she holds control and can make the reader do- indicative of the power that Brady had over Hindley-
symbolises the loss of control that Hindley had once Brady became a part of her life. Furthermore, demonstrate the
idea that women do not have the power and control to stop the prolonged GI today.
Often a bridesmaid, never a bride’ publicized in 2014 by Listerine- consists of a story behind why a girl was never a
bride- her bad breath. effectively promote the product, the creator broadcasted a common female stereotype which is
that women’s primary concern is marriage and beauty.- contributes greatly to GI as it encourages the idea that women
are simply dolls that are meant to be showcased and add no other value to life. uses idioms, a compelling heading and
a third person anecdote to project the unrealistic representation of women in the society- led to the GI
exposes a woman's primal insecurity of living a lonely life and develops a story- captured ‘poor girl, she had no idea
why they dropped her so quickly’ explicitly demonstrates that a woman needs to be pretty and perfect to get married
and accepted. Edna’s anecdote on her unmarried life in ‘true men were attracted to her but soon their interest turned
into indifference’ readers become curious as to why she is having such a hard time finding love and the reason behind
this was her bad breath. This degrading assumption is the main cause of the unfair treatment they are subjected to.
Moreover, one can sense bad breath the moment they have a conversation- implies that men will go to a woman for
her physical appearance rather than her attitude and this judgement the cause of GI as it portrays women as weak
making them suitable victims.
undertakes a different approach to the heading- empowering message for women despite the contradictory body
message supporting the female stereotypes-idiomatic expression which describes someone who never quite fulfils his
or her potential- indicates that a woman can never fulfil her true purpose because she’s too busy being undermined by
society. Her personality is not known rather her appearance is which is what Listerine strives to improve. The
compelling heading is open to interpretation and can be viewed as either demeaning or empowering either way it has a
significant connection to the global issue of women mistreatment.
This issue is mirrored “Are You Unpopular With Your Own Children?” exposes a primary insecurity women have
pertaining to maternal love- claimed that children show resentment towards their mother. This manifests the idea that
not only society but also a woman’s children value her appearance and physical traits more than her personality- The
dehumanization of women here is a vital judgement that has incredibly contributed to GI.
In conclusion both texts express GI. DW subverts the female stereotypes- ad embraces them. Regardless of the
creators’ different attitudes towards GI, the issue has still been highlighted and this has offered multiple
perspectives on the issue making the audience more knowledgeable.