And Yet Chapter 8: There Are Days - Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The poem opens with a reflection on how girls as young as fourth grade allow boys to dictate their emotions. Those same boys grow into high school athletes and theater leads, becoming romantic partners who claim authority over girls' bodies by asking "can I call you baby now that we are thin." They follow the women to college, haunting their rooms with "little deaths." Later, they become workplace superiors ("sign our paychecks") and marry. As fathers of daughters, they say "Now that I have a daughter," suggesting a belated recognition of harm. Yet the poem ends with them continuing to "climb," implying persistent male ascent.
Key Events
- The initial granting of emotional power to boys in fourth grade.
- Transformation into Fall Athletes and Spring Play Leads.
- Romantic relationships with control over language and body.
- Following women to college and haunting their rooms.
- Transition to workplace authority as bosses.
- Marriage and fatherhood, with a reflective statement about having a daughter.
- The repeated imagery of climbing without pause.
Character Development
The poem does not focus on individual named characters but presents a collective male archetype. The "boys" start as children with superficial charm (new blue jeans, slick haircuts) and evolve into figures with increasing societal power. The female perspective, implied by "our" and "we," experiences a loss of autonomy over time. The speaker's voice matures from a fourth-grade girl to a woman reflecting on a lifetime of male influence.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Patriarchy as a lifecycle: The poem charts how male dominance begins in childhood and extends across education, romance, career, and family.
- The male gaze and body policing: The line about being "thin" ties female worth to appearance approved by men.
- "Little deaths": Symbolizes the small, cumulative erasures of female identity and agency.
- Climbing: A motif for male ambition that proceeds unexamined, regardless of the cost to women.
- Belated empathy: The husband's acknowledgment upon having a daughter suggests a selfish awakening only when the problem affects him personally.
Why This Chapter Matters
"There Are Days" is a concentrated indictment of patriarchal entitlement. In a single poem, Baer captures a decades-long pattern of men taking power—from the classroom to the boardroom to the home—while women internalize and resist. It matters because it exposes the continuum of sexism that many readers recognize, and it challenges the notion that fatherhood inherently transforms men. The poem's repetition (the evidence shows it printed twice) may itself symbolize the relentless, cyclical nature of this dynamic.
Study Questions and Answers
-
How does the poem use the progression of life stages to critique patriarchy?
The poem moves from elementary school to high school, college, the workplace, and family. At each stage, the male characters gain a new form of control: emotional, physical, professional, and domestic. This progression shows that patriarchy is not a single act but a system that reasserts itself across a woman's entire life. -
What is the significance of the line "Now that I have a daughter"?
This line reveals that the man's concern for female safety arises only when he has a personal stake. It critiques the idea that men need a daughter to understand sexism. Instead of examining his own past complicity, he makes the daughter's experience about himself, continuing the pattern of centering male perspective. -
Why does the poem end with the repeated verb "climb"?
"Climb" is repeated four times, emphasizing relentless, upward movement. It suggests that men continue to advance socially and professionally without pause or reflection. The repetition also mimics the exhausting, unending nature of male dominance, from which women cannot escape.