Different views of love in "What's That Smell In The Kitchen" and "True Love"
... complaining and starting an argument. The man also shows acts of respect and true love towards the relationship by instead of snapping at her when proving a point, he keeps quiet about the fact that he was in the right and she was in the wrong. “If he said quit drinking martinis but I kept drinking them and the next morning I couldn’t get out of bed, he wouldn’t tell me he told me…” In other words he keeps hi mouth shut even though he probably would like to say, “I told ya so!” They both agree to the “give and take” aspects of a relationship that evens out the good and the bad. Their mutual relationship proves an understanding of each other. This balance also indicated that are extremely willing to make sacrifices for one another. They love/hate each other equally and one deeply understands the position that the other is in. “He understood why I hated him” and “I understood why he hated me”. As any relationship grows old it is anticipated to decline in all optimistic aspects, such as passion for one another. Here however, it is true love that stands through because even with the signs of old age, they still have a strong faith of “giving and taking” and a deep understanding of each other. “Despite cigarette cough, tooth decay, acid indigestion, dandruff and other features of married life that tent to dampen the fires of passion, we still feel something we can call true love.” They accept and love each other through everything. With regards to “What’s That Smell In The Kitchen”, Marge Piercy expels an all around negative atmosphere having to do with relationships. In this poem there is absolutely no evidence or thoughts of the “give and take” theory. This poem suggests the spite that can occur in relationships. The overall sense of anger is withdrawn and the woman is trying to hold it in, however sometimes it is released in spurts and it is barely controlled. The first line of the poem is not only referring to the speaker, but for all women in general. “All over America, women are burning dinners.” The gender role of women cooking/burning dinner is unmistakable and shows that women are getting tired of the idea of cooking for their husbands and having to tend on them. Here in this relationship there is no understanding of each other. The woman is expected and “supposed to” be tending on her husband and making the proper/perfect meals for him. “All over America women are burning food they’re supposed to bring with calico smile on platters glittering like wax.” Instead of the “give and take” topic in “True Love”, we have a different outlook of it in this poem. In this case the wife gives and the husband takes instead of both the husband and wife giving and taking simultaneously and equally. In order to have a long term and successful relationship, love must play its part through thick...