This poem was first published in 1960, a time when women were beginning to push back against the traditional domestic norms they had been saddled with for centuries. It’s written from the point of view of a woman connecting with her predecessors, women who existed on the fringes of society. In each stanza, a historic figure or symbolic figure disengages from this society in some way in order to be their most authentic selves. The speaker appears to feel that they share this sense of stagnation and constraint. The poem then acts as a critique of a flawed contemporary society and champions the independence of these women.