Female Obedience

Much of the poem’s eponymous “admonitions” focus on the concept of obedience and maintaining the status quo. Although it is not overtly stated, the cultural reference points suggest the target of this social construct is women. This fits into a larger cultural and literary tradition of discouraging curiosity and subservience in women; for example, the stories of Pandora, the Garden of Eden, Bluebeard, Red Riding Hood, and others. Here, the poem closes its first stanza with its thematic call to action: “never try to know more than you should” (Line 3) (which was, not coincidentally, the poem’s original working title). The second stanza uses “golden apples” as a motif (Line 4) which references both Snow White and the story of Adam and Eve. In both cases, the female protagonist breaks some sort of societal restriction and is punished for it.

In the fourth stanza, the...