Whether people call it the flight of Icarus or the fall of Icarus, the greek myth contains the same plot and storyline. Icarus father, Daedalus, a great inventor, built him wings 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 costing him his life, a very common ending for greek myths (“Icarus”). Despite the changes made, a male perspective has always narrated the story. 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. While storytellers passed down Icarus’ story, males only saw females as accessories as opposed to people. They held this view within their society and their stories, essentially making woman a detail that added more depth to the story. I have heard the staying that “behind every strong man is a strong woman”, nevertheless women’s impact on men continues going unnoticed in literature and history. Duffy also uses her poem “Mrs Darwin” to show how long these issues have lasted. Charles Darwin, otherwise known as the father of evolution, greatly contributed to science’s foundations. Her poem implies that Mrs. Darwin may have came up with the theory of evolution or inspired Charles. With a female perspective, the reader can see a less common interpretation of an old story and form a modern opinion on it. “Mrs Icarus” changes the lense on the story while viewing men from a comical standpoint. 

Even after woman’s acceptance into colleges, men still doubted their intelligence and saw women as a threat to their superiority. 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 another failed plan, opposed to a tragedy. His passing frustrates her, because he showed the world his idiocracy which reflects her. Growing up my parents taught me that my actions reflected my family just as much as myself; an ideal that applies to Mrs. Icarus’ marriage. Anything that her husband did represented her as well, and if people perceived him as prideful and foolish they may interpret her the same way. 

A husband’s lifestyle and decisions tend to overcasts his wife’s individuality and opinion because society places him as the dominant figure. Typical gender roles suggest females have more sensitive, passive, and supportive attitudes, especially towards guy despite them being incorrect at times (“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 as an unimportant character, or minor detail, but becomes the center; an independent individual with her own thought on what happened. From her view, his death no longer serves as a tragedy, but an end to all his foolishness. It tells the story that the average female can relate to: people using gender as an excuse to ignore her voice.

Although we live in a “progressive” era, males dominate our society and women have to make sure men do not disregard their voices. Mrs Icarus says that she is not “the first or last woman” (Duffy, “Mrs Icarus 1) to watch her husband completely embarrass himself. This reminded 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 pride and ego to override good advice. The fact that this still affects women in their day to day lives, especially within the workforce, just proves the importance of Duffy’s writings.

Overall,  “Mrs Icarus” is more than a funny take on the story of Icarus. It adds an alternative view, challenges gender roles, and opens a door to a broader discussion about women’s 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. 
