Summary
In this stanza, Mrs Midas notes that the worst part of Midas’s wish was not his idiocy or greed, but his selfishness. She sells the golden objects in the house and uses the money to move. She continues to think about her husband at certain times, particularly at dawn and during the late afternoon. Once, looking at a bowl of apples makes her think about her husband. She misses his touch.
Analysis
The final stanza concludes the poem on a bittersweet note, demonstrating Mrs Midas's new independence but focusing on the loss of her relationship due to her husband’s selfish choice. The stanza begins with an explicit statement of the theme and moral of the poem: the worst aspect of Midas’s wish was the “[p]ure selfishness” that it displayed (Line 60). The description of “[p]ure selfishness” invokes the idea of “pure gold,” which is more valuable, providing yet another layer of irony to the myth. The Midas myth is typically described as imparting the lesson of the dangers of greed and short-sightedness, as Mrs Midas at first acknowledges in Line 60 - “[w]hat gets me now is not the idiocy or greed”—but this overlooks the consequences of Midas’s choice for other people. Mrs Midas points out that Midas’s decision was also fundamentally selfish: he did not consider how he could have helped others with his wish or how the wish that he did choose would impact other people.
The poem ends with Mrs Midas reflecting on the past; although she is independent, she misses the intimacy with her husband. By selling “the contents of the house,” which are presumably turned to gold, Mrs Midas is able to gain financial independence. This contrasts with the position of women more generally, certainly in Greek times but also in the modern-day setting of the poem. However, although Mrs Midas has gained new independence, she concludes the poem by reflecting on the relationship and intimacy that were destroyed by Midas’s decision. Her memories of her husband come back to her in “certain lights, dawn, late afternoon” (Line 63). These memories are associated with times of day filled with golden light—dawn and late afternoon. This is ironic, since gold is what separated Mrs Midas from her husband, but it also presents a twist on the subject matter of the poem. The final stanza ultimately suggests that human connection, through physical touch and emotional intimacy, is more important than any tangible object. Midas received gold, but at the cost of losing his relationship with his wife and her respect.
