The poem "Mrs Sisyphus" is an intriguing poem that creates a persona of what doesn't exist through Carol Ann Duffy's re-envision of the characters and production of them as if they are alive in the real world. She makes a reference to a character, Sisyphus, from the Greek mythology and establishes a new character, Mrs. Sisyphus, who is actually never mentioned in the mythology. Ironically, in the Greek mythology, Sisyphus is a man with strong desire to live while, in the poem, he is a man with extreme passion for his work.
Through the voice of Mrs. Sisyphus, Sisyphus is portrayed as a man who is unaware of his wife's presence and always engrossed in his work. Mrs. Sisyphus reveals her loneliness and irritation due to Sisyphus' extreme passion for his work.
What I realized is Sisyphus' representation of working men in real life. I believe that by depicting Sisyphus and Mrs. Sisyphus in these ways, Duffy raises awareness of a social issue that working men in recent days are egocentric and neglect women's wants and needs due to their engrossment in their work. Therefore, any criticisms to him through the voice of Mrs. Sisyphus may be towards working men in a society.
In fact, Duffy uses words that directly offend men, such as "jerk"(1) and "berk"(4). Furthermore, one reason to making a reference to Sisyphus in particular may be to criticize men to the further extent because having passion for rolling the boulder is pretty empty-headed. Duffy might've wanted to make fun of men for being unaware of women's significance in their lives.
What also helps to convey Duffy's intention of the poem is Mrs. Sisyphus describing a gradual change in her emotions throughout the time. At first, she was simply annoyed though as time passed, she was exasperated. If she was extremely annoyed from the beginning, she could've been portrayed as an impatient woman who lacks understanding. It could've also failed to obtain readers' agreement throughout the poem, which would then fail to increase their awareness of the issue.
Throughout the time I was reading the poem, I was able to focus on her every word choice and technique because of her use of colloquial language. I was drawn to her conversational tone, which made it easier for me to follow the poem as well as Mrs. Sisyphus' emotions expressed in the poem. Moreover, since she gives her husband's perspectives that contrast with her thoughts, I felt even more pity for Mrs. Sisyphus.
Since the poem is written from Mrs. Sisyphus' point of view only, I wonder how the poem could've been different if written from Sisyphus' point of view.