Woman with Kite

Woman with Kite

By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Meadow of crabgrass, faded dandelions,
querulous child-like voice. She takes
from her son’s disgruntled hands the spool
of the kite that will not fly.

Pulls on the heavy string, ground glass rough
between her thumb and finger. Feels the kite,
translucent purple square, rise in a resistant arc,
flapping against the wind. Kicks off her chappals,
tucks up her kurta so she can run with it,
light flecking off her hair as when she was
sexless-young, Up, up

past the puff-cheeked cloud, she
follows it, her eyes slit-smiling at the sun.
She has forgotten her tugging children, their
give me, give me wails. She sprints
backwards, sure-footed, she cannot
fall, connected to the air, she
is flying, the wind blows through her, takes
her red dupatta, mark of marriage.
And she laughs like a woman should never laugh

so the two widows on the park bench
stare and huddle their white-veiled heads
to gossip-whisper. The children have fallen,
breathless, in the grass behind.
She laughs like wild water, shaking
her braids loose, she laughs
like a fire, the spool a blur
between her hands,
the string unraveling all the way
to release it into space, her life,
into its bright weightless orbit.

Summary of Woman with Kite

• Popularity of “Woman with Kite”: The poem ‘Woman with Kite’ was written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, a famous Indian American author and poet. This poetic piece engages in a symbolic discourse on the post-marriage constraints faced by women in Asian culture. It highlights the independent approach of a woman who tries to find pleasure in moments, despite the restrictive cultural norms she is expected to follow. The melancholic tone of the poem and its pertinence to the world have elevated it to the pinnacle of literary excellence.

• “Woman with Kite” As a Representative of Freedom: The poem accounts for the feelings and emotions of a lady who wants to liberate herself from the clutches of unjust social norms. The lady appears burdened by the enormous obligations that have deteriorated her existence. To change the dull pattern of her life, she tries to fly a kite to rejuvenate herself. Unfortunately, the first attempt goes in vain because the string is tangled, but she never gives up. She approaches the task of untangling the string with immense enthusiasm, taking her time to ensure that she remains fully committed to achieving her goal. To her surprise, the kite starts to fly high; this little joy brings her immense pleasure. When she kicks off her shoes and pulls up her skirt to let the kite blow up high above the sky, she presents herself as a small child. During these priceless moments, she even ignores her tugging children and their cries. Additionally, she pays no attention to the widows who observe her behaving like a child, despite the fact that they do so with sarcastic and disapproving looks.

• Major Themes in “Woman with Kite”: Cultural practices, free life versus the world, and innocent childhood are the major themes of the poem. Keeping a married Asian women in the center, the poem explains how society chains married women to their customary duties in which they find no space for themselves. However, the lady in the poem goes against her society’s customs and tries to enjoy some moments following her own will. Although the poem features a single incident of flying a kite, yet the meaningful change it brings to the lady, and the people around makes the readers question the credibility of the rules set by people. Through this engaging yet straightforward poem, the speaker urges us to enjoy life to the fullest.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Woman with Kite

literary devices serve as mechanisms that allow writers to effectively express and convey their ideas and emotions in a more impactful and captivating manner. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni also used some literary devices in this poem, whose analysis is as below.

1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “to release it into space, her life” and the sound of /o/ in “so the two widows on the park bench”.
2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /w/ in “wild water” and the sound of /p/ in “past the puff-cheeked”.
3. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /z/ in “follows it, her eyes slit-smiling at the sun” and the sound of /r/ in “She has forgotten her tugging children, their”.
4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“so the two widows on the park bench
stare and huddle their white-veiled heads
to gossip-whisper. The children have fallen,
breathless, in the grass behind.”

5. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni used imagery in this poem such as “And she laughs like a woman should never laugh”, “Pulls on the heavy string, ground glass rough” and “flapping against the wind. Kicks off her chappals”.
6. Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poet has used situational irony in the third stanza of the poem such as,

“connected to the air, she
is flying, the wind blows through her, takes
her red dupatta, mark of marriage.”

7. Simile: It is a device used to compare something with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. The writer has used this device at many places in the poem such as “she laughs/like a fire”, “And she laughs like a woman should never laugh” and “She laughs like wild water, shaking”.
8. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. “Dupatta” stands for marriage and “bright weightless orbit” symbolizes a free life.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Woman with Kite”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
2. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, only the first stanza is quatrain, yet it has no rhyming pattern.
3. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem. The first four stanzas in this poem with each comprising different lines.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “Woman with Kite” are useful to use when talking about the freedom woman wants to enjoy in societies where their life is governed by the others.

“She laughs like wild water, shaking
her braids loose, she laughs
like a fire, the spool a blur
between her hands,
the string unraveling all the way
to release it into space, her life,
into its bright weightless orbit.”