Vain Gratuities by Edwin Arlington Robinson
“Vain Gratuities” portrays a woman whom other women pity for having spent twenty years with a man they consider ugly and grim. They assume that her life with him explains her slenderness, restrained manner, and lavender-like air, and they hope she has become philosophical enough to endure it. Yet the woman remains demure and nearly as fair as before she found him; she would laugh at their judgments, which are as insignificant to her as foam washing on a deserted shore.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1897 · Genre: Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Psychological Poetry · 145 words
First lines
NEVER was there a man much uglier
In eyes of other women, or more grim:
"The Lord has filled her chalice to the brim, / So let us pray she's a philosopher,"
They said; and there was more they said of her -
What this Textopian page supports
Vain Gratuities is listed on Textopian as a poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1897 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Date: 1897 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Psychological Poetry, Social Satire, Character Study
- Length: 145 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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- Work identity for Vain Gratuities by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Genres
- Poetry — The work is a compact, formally structured lyric poem using rhyme, meter, figurative language, and a concluding image.
- Narrative Poetry — It presents a small implied story: observers judge a woman's marriage to an unattractive, grim man, while the poem reveals her private indifference to their gossip.
- Psychological Poetry — The poem contrasts public assumptions about the wife's suffering with her inward composure, emphasizing perception, emotional privacy, and unspoken character.
- Social Satire — The speakers' patronizing gossip and superficial judgments are undercut by the wife's imagined response, satirizing social cruelty and presumptuousness.
Tags
poetry · American literature · late 19th century · symbolism · realism · melancholy · isolation · disillusionment · mortality · love · loss · failure