The poem “Home-Baked Brad” is about femininity and it deals with the writer’s feelings towards cooking. There is symbolism as well because the role of women is depicted by bread. This product baked by women represents the warmth that only women have. The author of this poem, Sally Croft is trying to make the readers visualize the feminine desire and the sense of power as well as tenderness.
The woman in this poem embraces her role of the caretaker in a household. She is a traditional woman and is good at cooking which is a way for her to express herself and her dominance. Sally writes in the first-person which gives the poem a feeling of intimacy. Reading “Home-Baked Bread” feels like reading a personal diary of a smart housewife. She is a woman who is artistic, but she also has sexual desires which she expresses through the idea of bread. Croft talks about a triumph: “Cunning triumphs. It rings / of insinuation. Step into my kitchen, / I have prepared a cunning triumph / for you. / Spices and herbs / sealed in this porcelain jar“ (2-6). Insinuation means that baking bread is sex and the kitchen is home where the woman and her husband can feel comfortable. The introduction to the poem is taken from a book and Croft engages in explaining why baking bread can be used for seduction. The protagonist of the poem prepared the triumph for a special person and it will have the culmination in the bedroom, which the woman mentions later. She is luring her lover using special spices. The woman is openly talking about sexuality because she feels desire in her body and soul. The jar which she mentions is made of porcelain and that is the most precious asset that she possesses and it is her femininity.
The role of women in this poem is to welcome her husband in their home in the kitchen, from where they can go into the bedroom. The husband will be refreshed and he will appreciate bread baked with so much love. Baking is much like sculpting in this poem and it is a way for the woman to express herself creatively. Bread stands for the love that she feels for her lover. The woman continues by talking directly to the lover: “Come, / rest your feet. I’ll make / you tea with honey and slices / of warm bread spread with peach butter. / I picked the fruit this morning / still fresh with dew. The fragrance / is seductive? I hoped you would say that” (10-16).The writer is trying to make the man feel comfortable and she is creating the atmosphere for the two of them to rest together. The bread is warm as well as the woman’s body and her sexual desire. She expects that the man is in the mood for sex and she is preparing him for making love. Peach is the metaphor for sensuality and it has a seductive fragrance. It is fresh and so is the desire between the two lovers who are home alone with nothing to disturb them. Moreover, it feels as if they were in the garden of Eden and that there are no other people on Earth.
Sally also writes about heat that she feels: “See how the heat rises / when the bread opens. Come, / we’ll eat together, the small flakes / have scarcely any flavor” (17-20). She invites him to eat together with her because that leads to the greatest pleasure and satisfaction since eating alone leads to depression and the feeling of loneliness. The woman was alone during the preparation for this glorious event and now that her lover has arrived, she feels the triumph, and all he has to do is succumb to her. She has the answer to everything and the man just has to relax and feel the woman’s heat. The heat is rising which suggests that this is the result of the man’s presence. There is a great attraction between them.
Sally Croft craftily uses bread and baking as the metaphor for making love: “What cunning / triumphs we can discover in my upstairs room / where peach trees /breathe their sweetness / beside the open window and / sun lies like honey on the floor” (20-26). The triumphs that are cunning are related to sexual triumph which cannot be replaced by anything else. This is the joy of life and the feminine touch is necessary for the best enjoyment.
The room is upstairs and it is the woman’s secret room of joy for all of the senses and she makes connection between the kitchen where the delicious things are baked and the bedroom which is upstairs. These rooms both promise great pleasure for the lovers and there is nobody to bother their time which is spent together. The bed is by the window which suggests that it overlooks the garden which is good for feeling the warmth of sun and the fragrance of fresh peaches.
Sally Croft presented the female character in a favorable manner because the fact that the woman is seductive and knows how to bake, does not mean that she has no other profession. The poet is saying that women are sweet and tender homemakers whether they have other jobs or not. They are good at creating a pleasurable atmosphere and the gender is used to make a point about tenderness and femininity. Feminism is incorporated in this poem through the use of baking and seduction and Sally Croft creates the warm atmosphere which is related to home making and to tradition. The roles of men and women are different and Sally is aware of the fact that women should make men feel desirable and vice versa.
Works Cited
Croft, Sally. "Home-Baked Bread." Tumblr.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. <http://poem-locker.tumblr.com/post/35709461416/sally-croft-home-baked-bread>.
