Editor's Choice
Summarize the poem "Madam and Her Madam" by Langston Hughes.
Quick answer:
The poem "Madam and Her Madam" by Langston Hughes explores the strained relationship between Alberta, a black domestic worker, and her wealthy white employer through first-person narration. Alberta is burdened with excessive household tasks, from cleaning a twelve-room house to cooking and childcare, without adequate appreciation or help. Despite her employer's superficial declarations of love, Alberta's response highlights the hypocrisy and her emotional detachment, driven by the overwhelming workload and lack of genuine support.
"Madam and her Madam" utilizes irony to convey the delicate conflict between a wealthy white woman and the black woman, Alberta, she uses to complete the many tasks of the household. Hughes employs the voice of a black woman in this poem, using first person narration to allow the reader inside the inner struggle of the plight of many black women of this era.
The poem begins by noting that Alberta, doesn't work for a mean woman; likely the wealthy woman is oblivious to the amount of work it takes to complete the tasks she assigns. She has never had to do the work herself. Cleaning a twelve-room house at the time the poem was set, before the civil rights era, also indicates a great deal of wealth; this would have been an extremely large house for this time period. The speaker is tasked with cooking all meals for the...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
family and for taking care of all the children. She takes care of all the laundry of each family member (without a washer) and is even responsible for making sure the dog is walked to get enough exercise.
It is too much.
The speaker breaks. She finally confronts her white employer about the workload but is careful to do it with a sense of humor, asking if she is trying to make a "workhorse" out of her. Written far before the civil rights era, the speaker is aware that she could face danger if she utilizes an improper tone.
The tone of the white woman is a dramatic dismissal. She "cries" that she loves Alberta but offers no further assistance for her work. And of course she is thankful for Alberta; after all, it is through Alberta's work that she is able to enjoy a life of great leisure.
In the end, we hear the speaker's voice as she tells her employer,
But I’ll be dogged
If I love you!
One has to imagine that these lines were delivered with the same tone of humor because an outright confrontation would not have been a wise delivery. She thus conveys her frustration and makes her employer aware of her need for additional employees or a reduction in the workload by using the same dramatic, yet ironically honest, tone, mimicking her employer.