Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Drapery Factory, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956" by Natasha Trethewey speaks eloquently to the complex interplay of race, labor, and dignity in the American South during the mid-20th century. Trethewey's choice of setting, a drapery factory in Mississippi, immediately situates the poem within a specific historical and geographical context, one fraught with racial tension and systemic inequality. The poem is a window into the life of a black woman whose existence is defined not just by her work, but also by the way her work is policed due to her race.

The poem begins with the woman's daily journey to the factory, a detail she would later choose to keep from her grandchildren. The decision to not disclose "those miles" is not an oversight but an act of protection, a choice to keep "her black face and black hands, and the pink bottoms of her black feet" as "minor inconvenience," at least in the stories she passes down. It hints at the multilayered shame and exhaustion associated with her work life, and perhaps also at her wish to spare the next generation from the harsh realities she faced.

The poem delves into the dynamics within the factory, where black and white women work "side by side" but are far from equal. They share the physical stress of labor, "all of them bent over, pushing into the hum of machines, their right calves tensed against the pedals," but not the indignities that come after the work is done. While the physical labor is the same for all, the emotional labor varies. For the black women, it includes the humiliating ritual of having their "purses checked, the insides laid open and exposed by the boss's hand."

The poem's conclusion is a nuanced twist that lends a sense of agency to the protagonist. She relishes her small, subversive act of placing a "soiled Kotex" in her purse, chuckling at the memory of the "one white man's face, his hand deep in knowledge." This final act serves as an inversion of the violation she had to endure, a minor yet deeply satisfying reclaiming of her dignity. The "knowledge" here is not just of the woman's bodily functions, but also of her humanity, her ability to assert a sense of autonomy, even when forced into a degrading situation.

"Drapery Factory, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1956" manages to capture a moment that is both deeply specific and universally relatable. It speaks to the constant, grinding dehumanization that came with being a black worker in the South, but also to the subtle, personal ways in which people fought to maintain their dignity. It is a quiet but indelible portrait of resistance, and in so doing, the poem becomes an ode to the resilience of the human spirit.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...