Anna Laetitia Barbauld’s “Washing Day” demonstrates the simplicity and unconditionally cheerful spirit of childhood that fades with time, responsibility, and maturity into adulthood. The poem presents two opposite points of view of the weekly washing day.
Adult’s Point-of-View
From the first phrase of the poem, Barbauld hurls the reader into a story of the exhaustion and fray of the weekly chore of washing, “The Muses are turned gossips.” History teaches us that muses are talented and inspirational artists, but gossip has a negative connotation suggesting these nearly perfect motivations become nothing more than cruel rumors on washing days. As the poem continues, we witness nothing but a dreaded task, with very little hope or happiness.
Child’s Point-of-View
Finally, there is a turning point in the poem when the reader sees the day through the child’s point-of-view. The child only seeks love and attention despite the hard work and agony everybody around him is experiencing. Even though he is not receiving the treats he wants, the child’s mood and spirit remains strengthened.
The boy wanders over to his grandmother where she affectionately watches over the other children, and he ponders over the idea of washings and why they cause so much distress. The poem ends innocently with the child’s thoughts and dreams, “The floating bubbles; little dreaming then / To see…”
How the Poem Relates to Today’s Generation
In a generation with washing machines and detergent, people still complain about doing laundry. Though Barbauld may not have foreseen future technology, through “Washing-Day,” she demonstrates how time-consuming and frustrating tasks devour daily lives. Children without much responsibility delight in every experience and event with open eyes, ears, and hearts, taking in every detail.
But as children grow into teenagers and adults, and learn to carry the load alone, they mock the attitudes of their parents and begin complaining and dreading the ordinary, monotonous thing that has become their life. Barbauld wants the reader to step back and examine his attitude toward life, which is testimony to younger minds who are watching.
Conclusion
The child in the poem listens to his mom fusing over the wash, wondering why it was so important. “At intervals my mother’s voice was heard, / Urging dispatch: briskly the work went on…Then would I sit me down, and ponder much / Why washings were.”
Barbauld’s poem creates questions we can still learn from today, just like the boy’s simple question of why washing exists: Is the quality of our clothes more important than our quality of lives? Is anything we obsess and stress over more important than life itself?
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