An analysis of “A Work of Artifice” by Marge Piercy

This poem describes a bonsai tree, but uses the tree as a metaphor. It is describing
something else. I think the poem depicts a woman who is treated in an unfair way, especially by
not giving them freedom or rights. The bonsai tree represents a woman and the gardener is a
man. The gardener is a man because it is described in line 9-10, “Every day as he whittles back
the branches”. In the line 9-10 “Every day as he whittles back the branches”, line 3 “could have
grown eighty feet tall”, and line 17-19 "With living creatures / one must begin very early / to
dwarf their growth" consist of preventing the growth of a woman. The bonsai tree is dwarfed by
cutting roots and branches, and by training branches to grow in certain directions by tying them
with wire, so it explains that the gardener does not let the tree (woman) reaches its full potential
in life. He keeps cutting her down and not letting her grow.

This poem is also probably about symbolism of Chinese women because I think bonsai is
well known as Chinese tree and the poem mentions “the bound feet”. It is like mentioning a story
of foot binding in China. It tells that Chinese women were forced into submission by men and
how bad they were treated in their relationship. In the line 22 "the hair in curlers", it is probably
about a reference to the stereotyped life of women. This illustrates social subordination of
women and the restrictions placed upon them to be "homebodies", they cannot have any job
outside. In the lines 23-24, "the hands you / love to touch", it is like presenting a view of women
as sex objects. Thus, the poem consists of themes included in the stereotypical woman:
physical, occupational, and sexual.