To the Ladies - Lady Mary Chudleigh

Lady Mary Chudleigh was a strong women's writer who fought for women's rights in her writing. She expressed her opinions and thoughts about the role of women in the partiarchal, male dominant society.

She starts the poem by comparing wives to servants. Women have no say or power in their marriage. They must do as their husbands say, when they say it just like servants. Wives are the servants of the husbands - they have no say and cannot say no. She says "For when that fatal knot is tied" referring to marriage in a negative light and tone. Marriage is supposed to be positive and happy, but for women during this time, it was not always positive. Once a woman is married, she has no way out if she is treated poorly or unhappy. She loses all of her freedom, now having to serve her husband, doing whatever he asks her to do.

Women have no voice, they have to say or opinions that matter. They must listen to their husbands, following their orders, having no respect or freedom to do as she pleases. They must obey.