I gave myself to him, And took himself for pay. The solemn contract of a life

1. surrender, gave in full (whole self), gift, transfer ownership/ possession ‘master’ = male persona = female emphasises imbalance of power in relationship Commerce jargon = extended metaphor – marriage/love is a business (legal) contract – marriage is a gamble/risk As was - protection, status, wealth, necessity Exchange/dowry? Arranged? persona receives him as ‘master’ in exchange for her-worship/love/identity Lifetime of devotion 83 law enforced, binding commitment (business, legal, marriage), drawn together Solemn = serious, dignified, formal oath, cheerless, important, sober, grave. Formal consent, socially accepted form of marriage Not meet expectations, not wise/worthwhile investment value, worth, possession – the persona is uncertain of her value, ability to love I gave myself to him, And took himself for pay. The solemn contract of a life Was ratified this way. The wealth might disappoint, Myself a poorer prove Than this great purchaser suspect, The daily own of love deficient in quality/suitability, inferior, wanting, – not as valuable as expected Singular pronoun – isolated? Superiority of husband – ‘master’. Alludes to the fact that marriage is a gamble – commitment must be made ‘purchased’ before you know what you’re getting. Stanza 2 - Love requires a daily return on its investment, persona is apprehensive about her ability to rise to these expectations. intense feelings of affection, sexual relations, duty in marriage – chore? possession/ responsibility

2. Daily toll - diminishes in value, belittle, run down – the decline in value over time of an investment. Cost of ‘belonging’ to a relationship – ‘love’ is costly – it is tolling on the persona, who loses more of herself (value/identity) everyday. dream, foresight, beauty, object in sight • Depreciate the vision; • But till the merchant buy, • Still fable in the Isles of Spice • The subtle cargoes lie. • At least ’tis mutual risk, • Some found it mutual gain, • Sweet debt of life each night to owe, • Insolvent every noon. Trade person, loan dealer alludes to fear & reluctance of bride to join marriage contract. analogy Until the contract is sealed it is impossible to know the quality of investment > profitable/worthwhile. treasure, wealth, exotic Unseen/unknown Commerce jargon = emotional detachment Cargoes = investment = qualities of the bride delicate, slight, not easily seen marriage as risk, neither party knows if they have ‘treasure’. Resigned to fate - gamble for both parties, both stand to ‘lose’ or ‘gain’ . couples may benefit but not persona’s experience Love is relentless in its daily demands – one’s dues must be paid every night, only to find they are in debt again by midday – here Dickinson queries the wisdom of belonging. Here women’s existence is framed by patriarchal society’s expectations, reducing their individual worth (identities) to ‘cargo’ whose value might eventually disappoint its ‘purchaser’. oxymoron – we do & give things (ourselves) up for love - relationships are both pleasant & costly at once. Alludes to sexual relations as persona’s way to fulfil/satisfy contract Repayable / lifetime of debt

3. 83 ‘I gave myself to him,’ – Belonging statements: • ‘I gave myself to him,’ explores both positive and negative elements of ‘belonging’ to another individual > ‘belonging’ to a relationship. • Marriage and the marriage contract – may or may not be successful for both parties – each gives their lives to the other – mutual commitment. Until the promise is made it is impossible to assess the ‘value’ of the transaction. • Cost of belonging - Belonging to another subsumes individual identity – in this case the wife belongs to the husband and sacrifices her individual identity adopting the identity of a wife.