The Victims

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1984

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Victimization

In “The Victims,” the larger theme posed by the title is victimization. At the start of the poem, the speaker defines the victims as “Mother” (Line 1) and “her / kids” (Lines 3-4). The lines “[s]he took it and / took it, in silence, all those years” (Lines 1-2) characterize the mother and children as victims; further, the mother’s choice to divorce the father, which made her kids so happy they “grinned inside” (Line 5), solidifies this victim persona. While Olds does not define what the “it” (Line 1) is that the mother and kids took, it can be inferred that it was violence, abuse, or neglect, which led to the mother to divorce the father.

However, throughout the course of the poem, the theme of victimization and who the victim is shifts. The father, having everything taken away from him, is akin to a homeless man living in tatters in the streets; his “annihilation” (Line 17) is complete. Yet, as an adult, the speaker suddenly notices that their mother “taught [them] to take it, to hate [the father] and take it” (Line 15). This “hate” (Line 15) the mother instilled in the children serves as the catalyst for the father’s fall from power, in the family, in the workplace, and in the larger world. He can no longer be successful in any of his roles if his offspring loathe his very existence.

The poem concludes with the adult speaker recognizing the complexity and the subsequent consequences of their family’s situation. The concept of the victims applies both to the speaker and their family and to the father and the homeless others surrounding him. All these characters “took it” (Line 24) in different ways: The speaker took it as a child and their father took it as a man being divorced and removed from work and power. They are all victims, and they are all left at the end of the poem with nothing but the consequences of their past actions.

Taking

Throughout the poem, the speaker chronicles various people, objects, and concepts that are taken from their father until he is left homeless, penniless, and with “nothing” (Line 25). This theme of taking signifies the larger concept of removing someone’s identity and stripping them of who they are. In Line 1, the father loses his family when the speaker says, “Mother divorced you” (Line 1). The father, stripped of his fatherhood and household, is left merely a working man. But the speaker does not stop there. Following this first loss, the father is fired from his job (Line 4) and a string of things are taken away: his “office” (Line 8), his “secretaries” (Line 9), his “lunches with three double bourbons” (Line 10), even his “pencils” (Line 11) and “reams of paper” (Line 11).

Slowly, this theme of taking results in the shell of a man until the speaker asks, “[w]ould they take your / suits back, too” (Lines 11-12), questioning at what point would the taking stop? This theme illustrates the larger concept of removing power from someone by taking away the things in life that define them: their family, their job, and even their personal possessions. Finally, the father, having “given it all away” (Line 25) has nothing left and the taking is complete. Yet, what is achieved by this concept of taking is ambiguous. The poem ends on a somber note as the speaker questions “who took it and / took it” (Lines 23-24), insinuating that the speaker and their mother and family are at least partially responsible for the father’s “annihilation” (Line 17), just as the father is at least partially (though more than a partial responsibility is implied) responsible for the divorce that started the poem.

Power

In “The Victims,” the theme of power is apparent from the onset: “[w]hen Mother divorced you” (Line 1). The action is all on the side of the mother and her choice to divorce the father. It is not a mutual decision. This is the mother’s power over the father; the children, represented as the “we” (Line 1) in the poem, “were glad” (Line 1). However, quickly following this statement, the poem backtracks explaining why the mother chose to divorce the father: “She took it and / took it, in silence, all those years” (Lines 1-2). These lines highlight the father’s power over the mother over a long period of time. Olds does not clearly define what “it” (Line 1) is, but it is clear it is some sort of violence or abuse silently endured for many years. The father, having exerted his power over the mother (and the children), held a place of power.

The power shifts throughout the poem. In Line 3, the mother kicks out the father (Line 3). Following this, the father’s power is continually minimized. He’s fired from his job; he loses his secretaries and office (Line 4, Lines 8-9). In Line 15, the speaker tells of how the mother exerted power over the children, teaching them “to take it, to hate [the father] and take it” (Line 15). Finally, the father, completely powerless, is symbolized by homeless, powerless men living in the streets, having lost everything, including clean, untattered clothing (“slits in their / suits,” Lines 19-20) and the ability to use his hands (“flippers of their hands,” Line 21). The switch of the power dynamic is complete, and yet contemplating this power shift leaves the speaker somber in the final lines of the poem. The question is apparent: Is it ethical to abuse those who have abused others? The themes of power and how power can be altered lead readers to consider questions of revenge and regret and whether it is right to fight power with power.