Question

Compare and contrast the mental illness of the narrator and her uncle in “A Servant to Servants.” How does mental illness relate to the themes of the poem? Cite evidence from the poem to support your analysis of at least two hundred words.

Answer 1

Answer:

In A Servant to Servants mental illness relate to the themes of the poem by contrasting the different experiences of two members of a family who have experienced a mental health problem. The narrator compares her life and treatment to the ones his uncle experienced.

Explanation:

The poem starts with the author, explaining her situation, "I can’t express my feelings anymore" and the frustration she suffers as a consequence of it. Then she explains how she got into that mental state, "It’s rest I want—there, I have said it out— From cooking meals for hungry hired men 50 And washing dishes after them—from doing Things over and over that just won’t stay done." Then she recalls that she has been away in the state's asylum to attend her condition. After saying that, she points out it's not a surprise because mental illness runs through her veins. Then, she tells the story of her uncle "his Father's brother" who was "mad since young" all for the love of a woman. After that, she describes that he was locked down into his own house, in a room adapted to him. She describes the difference between her experience in the state's asylum and what she had heard from her parents about his uncle's encasement. Also, mentioning that her mom knew when she married her father that she would have to help him cover the needs of his mad brother in law. Then in some points states that she wouldn't have done that to any of her family, and that they found a way to put him down.