The Apollinian vs. the Dionysian in “Parturition”

Nietzsche describes the difference between the Apollonian and the Dionysian in The Birth of Tragedy with the words:

It is by those two art sponsoring deities, Apollo and Dionysus, that we are made to recognize the tremendous split, as regards both origins and objectives, between the plastic, Apollinian arts and the nonvisual art of music inspired by Dionysus. The two creative tendencies developed alongside one another, usually in fierce opposition, each by its taunts forcing the other to more energetic production, both perpetuating in a discordant concord that agon which the term art but feebly denominates: until at last, by the thaumaturgy of an Hellenic act of will, the pair accepted the yoke of marriage and, in this condition, begot Attic tragedy, which exhibits the salient features of both parents.

Apollo, as a deity, represents the societal ideal in Greek mythology. He represents order and morality, leading to what ancient Greek culture considers to be the perfect ideal of humanity. Meanwhile, Dionysus represents a direct contrast against this ideal. He represents chaos and madness, calling upon the most primal parts of humanity. He summons base instincts such as sex and nature to reconnect the ancient Greeks with their natural selves. “Parturition” by Mina Loy calls upon this contrast of the Apollonian and Dionysian to argue that childbirth has been separated from its most natural part in humanity and has been disfigured into a so- cietal ideal that exists solely to enforce a patriarchal ideal and strip women of selfhood. 

Loy starts by arguing against the societal ideal surrounding child- birth. Women in the Victorian era and later the 1920s were expected to become housewives and mothers, with very few duties outside of those roles. Childbirth was wielded as a weapon by the patriarchy, using the concept of motherhood to strip a woman of her entire unique identity and solidify her new identity as a caretaker. She is then sequestered to the house, being forced to raise the children and never interact with society as a full member as a man would. Loy argues against the Apollonian nature of modern childbirth in “Parturition,” saying “The business of the bland sun/Has no affair with me/In my congested cosmos of agony/From which there is no escape” (4-9). The usage of “bland sun” evokes the image of Apollo, the sun god, and his role in this creation of ideals surrounding childbirth. If he is the one that influences a proper society, then he is the one upholding the patriarchal force that suppresses women. Apollo encourages roles in society, therefore is the one who encourages the role of the subordinate housewife, meant only to be used in reproduction and childrearing, alternatively to suggest he is tasteless in this act of suppression. She also states he “has no affair” with her, as in he has no right to be involved with her reproductivity. Loy actively rejects this idea of a patriarchal hand in her act of reproduction, suggesting that the act of childbirth belongs to the woman involved and no one else. She then goes on to refer to childbirth itself as “agony from which there is no escape”, which can be interpreted in multiple ways. First, the literal pain of childbirth. A woman endures her body being possessed and torn apart in order to bring life into the world, a process that is both mentally and physically painful and exhaustive. On average, 700+ women die every year from childbirth in the United States alone (CDC 2022). However, this is not the only pain that Loy could be referring to. This line could also be used to represent the emotional pain of women caused by men using this act of creating life as a weapon against them. By using one’s body to create and deliver a child, a woman loses her sense of self and resigns herself to her fate of just being a mother. Man is now allowed to designate her new identity for her. Childbirth is no longer a miracle; instead, it’s a prison. 

Loy takes this argument a step further, blaming man for the act of reproduction itself as well as its consequences. She writes “At the back of the thoughts to which I permit crystallization/The concept Brute/Why?/ The irresponsibility of the male/leaves woman her superior Inferiority” (35-39). She starts to argue against the patriarchal ideal as a whole, suggesting that men should be the ones bearing the consequence of their sexual activities. The usage of the word “Brute” is an obvious jab at mankind, referring to their dominating sexual acts as brutish and primal. She could be seen as resorting men to a base state of animalistic, sexual creatures with no thoughts other than reproductive and dominance. By referring to their “irresponsibility”, she takes away their standing in an Apollonian society: if a man is supposed to be upholding the societal ideal, should he not be responsible for his actions? By calling out men as those who simply spread their seed and refuse to take any accountability for it, Loy is rejecting the social standpoint of patriarchy. Men are no longer holding the power if they refuse to bear the consequence of that power: in this case, childbirth. Loy is creating a more subtle claim that women are the ones holding the power, as they are the ones saddled with the responsibility of giving birth. This idea is only further pushed by the words “leaves woman her superior Inferiority”. The woman giving in labor is given the role of superior, in contrast to the man’s irresponsibility. This disrupts the Apollonian patriarchy by acknowledging that the woman is holding the innate power in this act of giving life, not the man. However, she is still “Inferior”, which is capitalized to show its significance in the poem; even with this act of ultimate power over society, a woman is still being pushed down into her new role as a mother. She is still being treated as a role to be filled instead of a human being. 

Loy then turns to the argument of the Dionysian. Dionysus, who represents the primal madness and chaos of humanity, relies on the natural, pre-societal state of being. Many civilizations before what historians consider the creation of society were fully matriarchal, as they relied on women to create life and keep humanity alive. This enacts the Dionysian argument of base instinct, which is to prioritize the creation of life and those who create it. Loy backs this ideal with the lines “I am climbing a distorted mountain of agony/Incidentally with the exhaustion of control/I reach the summit/And gradually subside into anticipation of/Repose/ Which never comes” (41-46). By using mountain imagery, Loy is invoking the image of the natural world, comparing childbirth to mountains themselves. By doing so, she is equating womanhood as a whole to nature itself, setting up women as those holding power in the base state of the world. She is arguing that childbirth should not be influenced by society but instead allowed to exist in its natural form of simply creating life. She concludes this imagery with the idea of “reaching the summit”, using nature to define childbirth as a great, powerful feat such as climbing a large mountain. 

Loy calls upon the Dionysian argument of the primal and natural to place a claim that womanhood and the act of birth are meant to be held in high regard over mankind, not in a place of subordination. However, there’s still an element of distress and finality to these lines. Loy talks about searching for a “repose”, a state of rest, but then writes that it “never comes”. Despite her ideas and arguments for the Dionysian view of birth and womanhood, Loy knows that the patriarchal society will still hold that power over her. Her rest from this reality will not come. Instead of having a natural state where the act of creating life is revered, she will still be stuck in the role of a mother if she partakes in this act, allowing her selfhood to be stripped from her by the man who dominated her. 

This idea of losing selfhood is reflected in the lines “Negation of myself as a unit/Vacuum interlude/I should have been emptied of life/ Giving life” (66-69). Loy is writing about the idea of losing herself to motherhood; by giving birth, she signs away her identity. She negates herself by allowing the Apollonian ideal to turn her into nothing more than a mother, a caricature of her former self. The image of a vacuum implies her identity is being sucked out of her by force as though the act of birth itself is tearing her sense of self from her body. She concludes this idea with the line “I should have been emptied of life/Giving life”, which shows just how deeply the idea of trading one’s life for that of a mother affects womanhood. The patriarchal society requires a woman to lose everything that she is in order to be the perfect subordinate mother in the Apollonian ideal, leaving the primal Dionysian desires of birth and motherhood behind. 

Loy spends the poem “Parturition” craving the ideals of Dionysus, a god who would allow a world where womanhood could prosper by elevating the act of birth to something natural and therefore something to be prioritized. However, despite the fight to be heard as a person outside of motherhood, Loy is also clear in painting the societal and Apollonian picture of how women will always just be reduced to their ability to re- produce and raise children for a man. This juxtaposition shows how the patriarchal overtones in both the Victorian and modernist eras start an argument about how feminism needs to proceed in the modern world, allowing women to be both mothers and people with their own lives and identities. This claiming of selfhood amongst women would let the Apollonian structure of the patriarchy crumble, and hopefully would allow the primal Dionysian ideals of celebrating the idea of women being able to create life from their bodies to come to light.