
Whether the world knows it as the flight of Icarus or the fall of Icarus, the greek myth has been around for years and the story has always been the same. Icarus’ father, Daedalus, a great inventor, built him wings in order to escape and warned him of the dangers of flying too close to the sun and sea. Yet Icarus made the foolish decision to fly near the sun which cost him his life, a very common ending for greek myths (“Icarus”). No matter how many minor details are changed, like how or why they ended up in the tower, the story has always been told from one perspective; a male perspective. However, Carol Ann Duffy’s poem “Mrs Icarus” tells the story from Icarus’ wife’s angle placing a comical view on men and challenging traditional gender roles. 

Often times literature focuses on powerful males, while the female voice goes unheard. During the time the story of Icarus was being passed down, males only saw females as accessories to them instead of the people they were. They held this view within their society and their stories making women essentially a detail that added more depth or background to the story. I have always heard the saying that “behind every strong man is a strong woman”, nevertheless the impact the woman has had on the man goes unnoticed  in literature and history. Duffy also uses her poem “Mrs Darwin” to show just how long this has been going on. Charles Darwin, otherwise known as the father of evolution, was a huge contributor to the foundation of science. Her poem implies that Mrs. Darwin may have been the one who came up with the theory of evolution or inspired Charles. With a female perspective, the reader is able to see a less common interpretation of an old story and form an abnormal and modern opinion on it. “Mrs Icarus”, not only changes the lense on the story, but also adds a comical view of men too. 

Even after women had been allowed in colleges, men still doubted their intelligence and saw women as a threat to their superiority. As we all know today, gender does not affect intelligence and Duffy makes a point to prove that in her poem. Mrs Icarus calls her husband a “Grade A Pillock”(Duffy, “Mrs Icarus” 5), or in common day terms an idiot, proving that she held more wisdom than her husband. She describes his death as if it was another one of his plans gone wrong instead of a tragedy. His passing does not seem surprising, but more so frustrating to her, because he showed the whole world his idiocracy which reflects her. Growing up my parents always taught me that whatever I did was a reflection of my family just as much as myself, which can be applied to Mrs. Icarus’ marriage. Anything that her husband did represented her as well, and if people saw him as prideful and foolish they may interpret her the same way. 

The reflection of a husband overcasts his wife’s views and opinions because he is seen as the dominant figure. Typical gender roles suggest females should be more sensitive, passive and supportive, even when males are incorrect about something (“Gender Roles”). Mrs Icarus’ insult to her husband clearly shows her unsupportive attitude towards his antics and logic.  Also, Duffy flips the gender role when she places Mrs.Icarus as the storyteller, allowing her to take on a more assertive place with the story. She no longer takes the backseat, becomes an unimportant character, or minor detail, but becomes the center as an independent individual with her own thoughts on what happened. From her view, it is  no longer a tragedy, but an end to all his foolishness. It tells the story the average female can relate to: gender causing her voice to be ignored. 

Although we live in a progressive era, our society is still male dominated and women have to make sure their voices are not disregarded. Mrs Icarus says that she is not “the first or last woman” (Duffy, “Mrs Icarus” 1) to watch her husband completely embarrass himself reminding me of my mom shaking her head disapprovingly at my dad after him doing something dumb, despite her advice. Literature, movies and television depict that same image because the average woman can relate to it. Often times men feel taking advice from women will threaten their masculinity and their dominance, so they allow that pride to override good advice. The fact that this is still such a big issue that affects women in every area of their life, especially within the workforce, just proves the importance of Duffy’s writings. 

Overall, “Mrs Icarus” is more than just a funny take on the story of Icarus. It adds an alternative view, challenges gender roles and opens a door to a broader discussion of women and their importance in literature. It makes the reader look at female characters in other works with fresh eyes and draws awareness to how gender roles affect the plot. A reader may go as far as looking into the history of powerful and influential  men and seeing how much of an influence a mother, aunt, wife, daughter or girlfriend may have had on them. This poem gives the reader a new pair of glasses to see the world and literature through while questioning old literature. 
