An Obstacle

Gilman’s poem has eight stanzas, and each stanza contains six lines (a sestet or sestine) that follow a consistent rhyme scheme, where the first, third, and sixth lines rhyme (ABCBDB). “An Obstacle” is a parable, or short story that teaches a lesson. The lesson of Gilman’s poem is how to overcome prejudice.

The first stanza introduces the speaker and the road she travels. The first line begins with “I” and ends with “mountain-path” (Line 1), setting up the relationship between these elements. The woman must “climb” (Line 1) the mountain, which can be literally read as an earthly structure and/or figuratively taken as any sort of struggle—including an emotional or psychological mountain.

The character of the speaker is also introduced in the first stanza. She is busy—has “many things to do” (Line 2), which include working on tasks for herself and her community. In other words, her tasks are not simply self-serving, but include assisting with “other people’s” (Line 4) business. This work is interrupted by “Prejudice” (Line 5), which Gilman intentionally capitalizes; this capitalization makes prejudice a proper noun and is the beginning of her