The Gullible Female in Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress

In the lyric addressed "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell, the speaker persuasively urges his woman to drop all modest pretenses and accept his proposal by presenting grandiose imageries of idyllic love and then shifting to the ominous threat of impending old age. These strategic transitions aim at appealing to the female psychology, based on the underlying assumption that women generally gullible and easily frightened.

Evidently, the predominant tone of the poem is exasperation, as introduced in the opening line, "had we enough...time/This coyness were no crime" (Marvell 1). Taken literally, this line suggests that the man is fed up with his mistress's unwillingness to yield to his courtship. However, instead of launching into an angry tirade and risks losing his woman for good, the speaker cleverly woos his mistress so that she would realize the authenticity of his "vegetable" love (11). Through this particular choice of diction, Marvell sets up a thoughtful image: though love has the potential to growth strong, it requires proper nurture to do so. Without proper nurture, or lack of effort from either individual in the relationship (in this case, the woman), love would wither like a malnourished plant. Having awed the woman with this magnificent metaphor and equally spectacular Biblical allusions, he proceeds to attack the most vulnerable spot of the female psychology: the fear of aging and death. Employing mocking sarcasm, he says to her "worms shall try [your] long-preserved virginity", hinting that chastity is useless when she becomes an old maid, or worse, dead (27-28). He further jabs at and attempts to frighten her with a morbid mockery, "the grave's a fine and private place/But none, I think do thee embrace" (31-32). From these two lines, the speaker clearly expresses his annoyance at the woman's refusal to sleep with him, though he does retain enough composure to manipulate the woman into yielding to him. Having unnerved the woman with the prospect of old age and death, the man smoothly transitions to the beautiful, glorious imageries of consummation such as "amorous birds...sweetness...pleasure...[making the sun] run" (38-46) to soothe and enchant the woman's now upset mind.

On the surface, "To His Coy Mistress" may be viewed superficially as a man's suave attempt to woo his lover. Yet, by delving into the details and examining the effect of the poem as a whole, the poem features a strategic courting approach which assumes that the female psychology is gullible and easily upset. Through the male speaker's underlying assumptions and his subsequent approach, "To His Coy Mistress" may well be viewed as a snapshot of the male chauvinistic attitude toward women based on the false assumption of women being gullible, nervous creatures.

Work Cited

Marvell, Andrew. "To His Coy Mistress." The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250-1900. Ed. Arthur Quiller-Couch. 1919. Bartleby.com. 4 Nov 2007