Marie Curie (symbol)
Noble Prize–winning scientist Marie Curie here stands for something greater than herself. The poem's themes of power, sacrifice, and denial all center around her body of work. Therefore, we can see Marie Curie's life and career as a symbol of the complexities of female power. Rich notes that Curie's power and her wounds come from the same source, thus making a larger statement about the way women experience and inhabit power.
eath (motif)
Throughout the poem, Rich makes reference to the earth. Earth appears in the first line as the place where history dwells. The second stanza shows that same earth being violently dug up to reveal ancient artifacts. Moreover, these artifacts themselves reveal the need for “tonics” and medicines to make life on earth bearable. Earth, then, appears as a site of ambivalence throughout the poem: the place where mankind both makes its home and struggles. In presenting this motif, the poem invites the reader to consider whether power is “natural” or man-made.
History
This poem begins by talking about “history” as a physical, striated substance—something we can “dig up” if only we are looking for it. It goes on to discuss at length the life of a 19th century scientist, Marie Curie. It thus focuses in particular on women’s history, and twice stresses that it can teach us something today. History, the speaker tells us, reveals the truth of power—what it affords, and what one must give up to have it.
The Body (motif)
The poem stresses Marie Curie’s bodily degradation, from her cataracts to her “suppurating” (festering) fingertips. On their own, these references show Curie’s strength in the face of bodily weakness. However, they are also coupled with a reference to the earth’s “crumbling flank.” This parallel between the earth and Marie Curie suggest that the histories of both nature and (wo)mankind can easily be lost if we fail to reflect on them, thus connecting to the motif of history.
