Women

Walker acknowledges that all of the women’s hard work and labor can lead to the discovery of “books / Desks / A place for us” (Lines 21-23). The desk has multiple meanings, as it can be both a place for study and an office where a woman could apply what she studied in her books. To aspire to a secure job with its own office, including a desk and other equipment, was next on the list of jobs for Black women whose ancestors toiled on plantation fields and then as domestic servants. It was now time for Walker’s generation and the generation of Black women after her to take their places behind a desk, using their minds and making decisions rather than waiting on others to make decisions for them.

Walker mentions the “fists” (Line 5) of the women, recalling the popular image of Rosie the Riveter with her rolled-up sleeves and fist in the air, ready to take over men’s factory jobs and contribute to the World War II efforts. In “Women,” the women take over the traditional male roles of “generals” (Line 14) and fight for the Women’s Movement. A fist is both a fighting stance and a stance of physical prowess when accompanied by the owner’s bulging bicep. While feminine features and domestic activities are often synonymous with delicacy and lightness, women’s work can be physically tasking as well. Over time in order to effect change, the delicacy of a woman’s hands can become hardened into fists. For centuries, women have had to be both caretakers to spouses, children, siblings, or slaveholders while doing other chores, whether inside or outside the home or both. Walker juggled both the role of mother with her roles as activist, writer, and sometimes educator just as she watched her mother Minnie Lou juggle her working and child-rearing roles.