Sexism
Finch did not shy away from quite openly using her verse to voice complaints about inequality for women on all fronts in a man’s world. Throughout her poetry can be found imagery, symbols and very liberal pouring of irony that either directly confronts or more obliquely comments upon the limitations placed upon women and the difficulties placed before them when they try to become educated, more independent in their marriages and, on a much more personal level, condescension toward female writers. Finch’s comfort in dealing openly with this theme was doubtlessly helped along by one absolutely essential element: the overwhelming bulk of her work would not be published until the 20th century although she freely shared it with a small coterie of notable acquaintances that included Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.
Feminine Friendship
Happily married, Finch has nevertheless become something an icon of lesbian-feminist movement due to a rich thematic exploration of the profound depth and powerful bond that ties women together through platonic friendship. This theme is most clearly and expansively expressed in “Friendship Between Ephelia and Ardelia” in which friendship becomes the subject of a dramatic dialogue between the two titular characters. This poem and several others serve to intensity Finch’s thematic contention that because of sexist attitudes toward female writers, the most nurturing and nourishing environment for such a pursuit is within a community of supportive women.
Depression
Although not referred to by the word, of course. References to the dark emptiness of the soul associated with clinically diagnosed depression make abundance appearance throughout the canon of Finch and in terms commonly used to describe symptoms before the condition was given is modern name: melancholy, ennui, discontent, vapor, bile and, of course, hysteria. Descriptions of manifestations of depression like fatigue, anxiety and boredom also plentiful. The most direct analysis of this malady can be found in a poem that takes its title from the anatomical organ most often associated with exhibitions of this affliction: “The Spleen.” Of course, since the disorder was most often seen in women, it also gave rise to a term considered bad form to use today which speaks directly to the theme of sexism: hysteria. The effects of depression combined with sexism impact Finch’s poetry in an even more direct way: her unwillingness to pursue publication of her verse while she lived to see it.
