In Which Yeats Is Shockingly Appropriate
There will be a longer post up later explaining my absence from this space, but for now, I just want to share some shockingly relevant lines from Yeats’s “Adam’s Curse.” I guess the reason its so appropriate is because the bizarre, insane ordeal that is Northwestern Sorority Rush has finally come to a close. Throughout the week there has been a whole lot of consternation as girls have come to realize that this incredibly important decision which majorly affects their college experience is A. being made entirely by other people and B. is being based on inscrutable, unknowable and nearly entirely subjective criteria. Or, to put it simply, if you look at the “coolest” sorority, the pledge class is incredibly good looking.
This is from “Adam’s Curse” which was written in 1904.
Replied, “To be born woman is to know –
Although they do not talk of it at school –
That we must labour to be beautiful.”
And yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that Yeats isn’t talking about sorority rush and that my reading is rather facile, but it’s 2am and it just spoke to me.
