Historical Context
“Ethics” was released in the early 1980s, a period when the U.S. economy saw a significant upswing following two decades of social turmoil and an uncertain global market position. It is perhaps no coincidence that the poem's ethical dilemma, “which would you save, a Rembrandt painting / or an old woman who hadn’t many years left anyhow?” is driven by questions of economic value. With Republican Ronald Reagan assuming the presidency in 1980, the nation was ready for economic change. His strategy, later known as “Reaganomics,” involved substantial reductions in taxes and social spending. This led to temporary declines in interest and inflation rates and the creation of millions of new jobs.
Looking back, however, this economic boom primarily favored a select few. The wealthiest five percent of Americans enjoyed a twenty percent increase in wealth, while the bottom sixty percent saw their income decrease by nearly eight percent. Child poverty and homelessness surged dramatically. It wasn't until October 19, 1987, when the largest stock market crash in history occurred, that Wall Street's eight-year “party” came to an end. The country's perceived prosperity had barely concealed its massive trade and federal budget deficits, with signs of rising inflation and interest rates reemerging. These issues were blamed for “Black Monday,” as it came to be known, which saw share values plummet by half a trillion dollars. Consequently, about 37,000 Wall Street workers were laid off, and the U.S. economy didn't recover until the decade's end.
Meanwhile, those who thrived during these years crafted lifestyles that led to the 1980s being dubbed the “decade of greed,” inhabited by the “me generation.” While “hippies” were the dominant stereotype of the radical sixties and early seventies, the eighties saw the rise of “yuppies,” or “young urban professionals.” These individuals were known for their liberal spending on clothing, entertainment, travel, transportation, fitness, and housing. As child poverty rose to alarming levels, affecting one in every five children, and increasing numbers of homeless men, women, and children sought refuge under bridges in makeshift shelters, many of the upper-middle class, according to stereotypes, were seen in trendy cafes debating where to spend their “discretionary income.”
The entertainment and sports industries were significant beneficiaries of the era's prosperity. In 1982, Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial made cinematic history by earning over a billion dollars. By 1987, the sports sector had reached an unprecedented milestone, accounting for 1.1 percent of the nation's gross national product (GNP). The fine arts also experienced the impact of these new spending habits. Not to be outdone by the record-breaking achievements in other cultural fields, art brokers and collectors raised the stakes: a Picasso that sold for $5.8 million in 1981 was resold nine years later for nine times that price. Van Gogh’s Irises gained instant fame in 1987 when it sold for a record-breaking $53.9 million, the highest price ever paid for a piece of art.
This backdrop of "prosperity phenomenon" provides context for how "Ethics" extends its impact beyond Pastan’s narrative and personal insights. The poem addresses not only the process of growing older and wiser but also the importance of becoming dis-illusioned. The 1980s in the United States left behind a more divided economy, revealing the illusion that any single strategy, economic or otherwise, could unlock the American dream for everyone. In the intellectual discourse of the decade, the American dream itself is being "deconstructed" along with its illusions of privilege and power. In the terms of "Ethics," it is an illusion to believe that the value of a life can be legitimately measured against the worth of a famous painting....
(This entire section contains 636 words.)
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Pastan’s poem implies that "real" ethics must be grounded in "real" life, suggesting that a fundamental part of being human is to become disillusioned without succumbing to cynicism, and to recognize what is truly worth preserving and what is "beyond saving."
Style and Technique
Linda Pastan’s poem “Ethics” masterfully employs the form of free verse, captivating readers with its exploration of philosophical themes interwoven with vivid imagery and the nuances of everyday language. Free verse, a favored form among modern and contemporary American poets, relies on the inherent rhythms and images derived from natural speech rather than strict meter or rhyme schemes. Poets like Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and William Carlos Williams exemplify the varied capabilities of free verse, from musicality and dramatic tension to the profound conveyance of images.
“Ethics” unfolds as a narrative journey from a classroom to the contemplative ambiance of a museum. Pastan’s approach eschews academic jargon, favoring simplicity and accessibility, which invites readers into an intimate conversation reminiscent of personal reflection. Her diction, characterized by everyday language, is both inviting and direct, drawing the reader in with first-person pronouns like "I," "we," "my," and "our." These pronouns foster a sense of shared experience and connection. The poem’s structure, lacking stanza breaks and utilizing sparse punctuation, mirrors the natural flow of speech, akin to a story told sotto voce, or softly, to an attentive listener. If this poem were to be interpreted musically, it might be marked with rubato, allowing for a free, expressive delivery.
Pastan’s use of imagery is a powerful force in "Ethics," creating a tapestry of metaphorical and literal scenes that guide the reader through the speaker’s intellectual and emotional evolution. Images of fire and autumn serve as thematic bookends, capturing the speaker’s maturation from theoretical questions posed in a classroom to the visceral reality of art’s elemental power in a museum. The transition from a hypothetical scenario to the vividness of a Rembrandt painting aflame with artistic brilliance underscores the poem’s exploration of ethical dilemmas.
The language of “Ethics” is carefully curated to balance philosophical depth with concrete reality. Pastan uses simple, often monosyllabic words such as "fire," "chairs," and "life," which ground the poem, while selectively introducing more complex terms like "eschews" and "responsibility," primarily in the context of the philosophy teacher, to highlight the abstract nature of ethical questioning. This linguistic strategy bridges the gap between lofty ideas and tangible human experiences.
Alliteration and assonance enrich the poem’s readability, creating a rhythm that enhances its fluidity. Phrases like "real Rembrandt" and "autumn, brown, burn" provide a subtle musicality that eases the reader’s journey through the poem’s intricate ideas. These techniques anchor abstract concepts in a familiar auditory landscape, making the poem both intellectually stimulating and accessible.
Central to the poem is a metaphor that encapsulates its core themes. Initially, the old woman and the Rembrandt painting are seen as ethical opposites, posing a moral dilemma. As the poem progresses, these elements become intertwined, united by the transformative power of time and the cyclical nature of life, much like the seasons. Through this interconnectedness, Pastan illustrates the shared essence between old age, the cycles of the seasons, and the rich, evocative tones of Rembrandt’s art. Together, these elements reveal themes of value, beauty, and the convergence of seemingly disparate entities into a unified, profound truth.
Compare and Contrast
1979: On February 9, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City experiences its first theft in its 110-year history when a valuable ancient Greek marble head, appraised at $250,000, is stolen.
1988: Precisely nine years later, on February 9, two significant Fra Angelico paintings are among the items stolen from a gallery in New York's affluent Upper East Side. This event marks the city’s largest single art heist to date. A total of eighteen paintings and ten drawings, valued at $6 million, are taken from the Colnaghi Ltd. gallery.
1990: On the night of March 18, thieves infiltrate Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, absconding with $300 million worth of art. The stolen works include three paintings by Rembrandt, five by Edgar Degas, one by Edouard Manet, and the most prized piece, The Concert by Jan Vermeer. None of these artworks have been recovered.
1997: In December, the Department of Justice and the FBI release a statement addressing claims that some individuals could negotiate the return of art stolen from the Gardner Museum in March 1990. The Department dismisses these claims as false, noting that photographs and paint chips, alleged to be from the stolen artworks, are scrutinized by museum experts and found to be fake.
1999: On July 13, the night before Bastille Day, thieves steal Rembrandt’s Child with Soap Bubble, valued at unspecified millions, from a municipal museum in the Toulon area of France.
Today: A $5 million reward remains available for the safe return of the art taken from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990.
1791: The first internal revenue law in the nation mandates a tax on distilled spirits, ranging from 20 to 30 cents per gallon. The legislatures of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland pass official resolutions expressing their disapproval.
1861: Four months into the Civil War, Congress enacts an income tax law to help fund the war efforts. Incomes between $600 and $10,000 are taxed at 3 percent, while those over $10,000 are taxed at 5 percent.
1916: The U.S. Supreme Court declares the federal income tax constitutional.
1960: U.S. taxpayers contribute 25 percent of their earnings to federal, state, and local taxes.
1969: On December 22, Congress approves a comprehensive tax reform bill that removes 9 million of the nation's poor from the income tax rolls. The bill is criticized for ultimately benefiting the wealthy rather than the poor.
1981: Shortly after taking office, President Ronald Reagan proposes a 10 percent income tax reduction over the next three years. Congress modifies the plan to start with a 5 percent cut in the first year.
1995: The average weekly income for a lawyer is $1,116, while a child care worker earns an average of $158 per week.
Adaptations
The Cortland Review, an online literary magazine, features a new poem by Pastan titled “The New Dog” in its May 1999 issue. The Cortland Review publishes poetry, fiction, and essays, and is available monthly in both text and audio formats at www.cortlandreview.com.
Pastan's poetry can also be found online at various sites, including Poetry Daily at www.poems.com, and Atlantic Unbound, the online platform of Atlantic Monthly. This site features Pastan and many other poets reading their works in RealAudio. Visit www.theatlantic.com/poetry for more information.
Reader reviews of Carnival Evening are available through the major online bookseller, Amazon.com. Unlike reviews in literary journals and magazines, Amazon's brief "reviews" are unsolicited and offer a range of perspectives.
In 1986, Watershed Tapes recorded Pastan reading poems about family life from several of her volumes. The audiocassette, Mosaic, can be obtained from The Writer’s Center. For listings and ordering details online, please visit www.writer.org/poettapes/pac15.htm.
Bibliography
Sources
Gilbert, Sandra, “The Melody of the Quotidian,” Parnassus: Poetry in Review, Vol 11, No. 1, spring/summer 1983, pp. 147-56.
“Linda Pastan,” Contemporary Authors: New Revision Series, Vol. 61, Detroit: Gale, 1998, pp. 364-67.
“Linda Pastan,” Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 5, Part 2: American Poets Since WWII, Detroit: Gale, 1980, pp. 158-63.
Our American Century: Pride and Prosperity, the 80s, Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1999.
Pastan, Linda, Carnival Evening, New and Selected Poems, 1968-1998, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1998.
Pastan, Linda, letter to the contributor, September 22, 1999.
Pastan, Linda, Waiting for My Life, New York: W. W. Norton, 1981.
Salter, Mary Jo, review of Waiting for My Life, in Washington Post Book World, July 5, 1981.
Smith, Dave, article, in American Poetry Review, January 1982.
Stitt, Peter, “Stages of Reality: The Mind/Body Problem in Contemporary Poetry,” The Georgia Review, Vol. 37, No. 1, spring 1983, pp. 201-10.
Student Handbook: What Happened When, Nashville: The Southwestern Co., 1996.
Further Reading
Pastan, Linda, “Response,” The Georgia Review, Vol. 35, No. 4, winter 1981, p. 734. Pastan was selected along with other poets to participate, in a colloquium format, addressing a statement regarding the evolving audience for poetry. Although her remarks are succinct, they provide insight into her disengagement from literary criticism and her views on poetry's political influence.
“Writing about Writing,” Writers on Writing, A Bread Loaf Anthology, edited by Robert Pack and Jay Parini, Hanover, NH: Middlebury College Press, 1991, pp. 207-20. Pastan’s passion for painting and interest in self-portraits serve as the gateway into this essay, which presents a straightforward thesis: Pastan enjoys writing about writing, as do many other poets. She identifies useful categories for poetry about poetry, such as “How to Do It” poems, “writer’s block” poems, “invocations to the muse,” and works that define either poetry or the poet’s role. The anthology itself contains dynamic essays by various fiction writers and poets on the topic of writing, from numerous perspectives.
“Ask Me,” On William Stafford: The Worth of Local Things, edited by Tom Andrews, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1993, pp. 253-54. This piece is Pastan’s homage to the late poet William Stafford. It is concise, personal, and sincere in expressing her fondness for Stafford, along with her unease in “writing about poems.” Pastan centers on Stafford’s poem “Ask Me,” “because it seems to give me permission to be almost silent, to stand with him a moment quietly at the edge of the frozen river and to just wait.”
The special issue of The Georgia Review, titled “Women & the Arts,” Vol. 44, Nos. 1 & 2 from spring/summer 1990, highlights a collection of paintings called “Homescapes” by Georgia artist Mary Porter. Much like Pastan, Porter draws inspiration from domestic themes, places, and objects, considering them worthy subjects for art. Her vibrant watercolors and acrylics transform ordinary elements like porches, kitchens, stovetops, sinks, laundry baskets, and coffeepots into “enigmatic metaphors.” This issue showcases work from several renowned fiction writers, essayists, poets, and graphic artists, including Eudora Welty, Naomi Shihab Nye, Joyce Carol Oates, Maxine Kumin, Rita Dove, Eavan Boland, and Pastan, among others. The editors aim for the contributors' captivating and “varied energies” to encourage a “fresh reassessment” of women artists in contemporary society.
