The terra cotta girl
Terra Cotta is an Italian phrase, originating from the Latin Tera Cocta, which means ‘baked earth’ or ‘burnt clay’. Terra Cotta usually refers to a particular form or style of architecture and sculpture that make use of baked earth. Use of terra cotta was predominant in ancient Greece, China, and India, and therefore to the Occidental world the word conveys a sense of rusticity and exoticness. Here in this poem, terra cotta becomes an apt metaphor for a southern rural farm-girl, probably Georgian like the poetess herself. Her skin has turned darker from the long exposures in the sun, and that tint of clay color in her skin carries an air of rustic simplicity and exoticism.
Big flat farm feet
Bigger and flatter feet are usually not considered beautiful, when judged by the standards of the modern urban societies. Here, the big flat feet of the girl indicate that she is a simple, rustic girl, who just does not take care enough of her feet. Her feet have probably grown bigger and flatter from standing and toiling long hours in the farm, as suggested by the placement of the word ‘farm’ between the two adjectives ‘big flat’ and the noun ‘feet’. Interestingly, the phrase ‘farm feet’ may also hint at ‘firm feet’, thereby indicating the strength and robustness of her bodily structure. The alliterative effect of ‘flat farm feet’ must also be noted.
Furrows in the rug
The imagery of the farm girl continues in the phrase ‘furrows in the rug’. A furrow is “a long, narrow trench made in the ground by a plough, especially for planting seeds or irrigation”. The feet of the farm girl are probably soiled, and she has taken her shoes off, which has resulted in a line of dirt on the rag. Similar to the previous symbols and images, this image connects her to peasant life and conveys the rustic simplicity of the protagonist. Nevertheless, there may not be any dirt at all on the rug, and the furrowing may be on a metaphorical level, as she is dragging her unwilling feet on the rag, like a farmer uses the plough.
Existentialist paperback
Existentialism is a philosophy associated with certain late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and so on. Following Nietzsche’s dictum that god has been dead (“gott ist tot”), the existentialists dismiss the god-centric panopticon that religions subscribe to. Following the death of the god, humanity faces an immense void, often resulting in the absurdity Camus theorized, and has to act as the new centre of a newly formed panopticon with man in its centre (Nietzsche’s famous aphorism about the mad man may be noted). Thus, existentialism upholds that there is no essential purpose or meaning of life, and whatever we do is absurd like Sisyphus rolling up the rock uphill endlessly. Here, the girl has been taken to a counselor for her sin of lesbian relationship, but contrarily she is reading an existentialist book that professes just the absence of any moral or socio-religious code of conduct.
Waste of sturdy hips ripe for grandchildren
Sturdy hips are symbols of maternity, reproduction, and feminine fertility. The Venus figurines, or the earth-mother or mother goddess found in the Indus Valley civilization have inflated breasts and hips. Thus, the sturdy (i.e. strongly or solidly built) hips of women here symbolize that they are mature and indulge in heterosexuality for reproductive purposes. However, since the protagonist girl here indulges in lesbian sex, she is wasting her sturdy hips according to the Baptist Mothers, because she cannot become a mother and reproduce by same-sex activities. The word ‘ripe’ continues the imagery of farm and peasantry that the poem began with.
