Diving into the Wreck

The mer-creatures of the eighth stanza represent the speaker’s transformation, and her attempt to heal and unify the wrongdoings of the patriarchy. She writes, “And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair / streams black, the merman in his armored body…I am she: I am he” (Lines 72-73, 77). The speaker’s exploration and discovery include the embodiment of a mythical being of both genders, suggesting that she has transcended typical gender norms and moved outside of their historically wrought limitations. The “we” person she has become has a more complete understanding of the “thing itself and not the myth” (Line 63), having experienced it first-hand. The mer-figure also provides a sense of grit and hope in the final lines of the poem, suggesting that although “our names do not appear” (Line 94) in the book of myths, they are “the one who find our way / back to this scene” (Lines 89-90).

The Book of Myths the speaker first reads and then refers to throughout the poem represents preexisting patriarchal and gender norms in her contemporary society. The book has thus far been incomplete. It has provided her with “purposes” and “maps” (Lines 53, 54), but “the story of the wreck” (Line 62) cannot match the experience of “the thing itself” (Line 63).