Video Blues

Mary Jo SalterFiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1999

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Emotional Isolation Within a Marriage

Despite the witty tone the speaker portrays in “Video Blues,” emotional isolation permeates the poem’s underlying foundation. From the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes the numerous connections her husband has with attractive actresses and the way his outward interest creates distance in their marriage. As the husband “treats” himself to a movie starring his “crush” (Line 2), Myrna Loy, this makes it “harder to enjoy” (Line 3) evenings spent together. The line “It makes some evenings harder to enjoy” (Line 3) haunts the poem through repetition. The passive quality of the sentence conveys that the speaker herself is passively observing her husband’s interests and activities without an active response. Grammatically, the subject of the sentence is the “crush” (Line 1) and not the speaker, and the speaker as a subject remains unstated. The structure of this sentence underscores from the very first stanza that the speaker is emotionally isolated in her marriage.

As the poem progresses, the speaker illuminates additional aspects of her isolation. After listing her husband’s numerous crushes, she poses the question “can’t a woman have her own dreamboats?” (Line 13). The speaker’s answer to this question is the potential evening she “could certainly enjoy” with handsome movie star Cary Grant. This response emphasizes the isolation the speaker feels from her own enjoyment. In her own fantasy, she isn’t fully sure if she would enjoy the night with Cary Grant. The potential is there, briefly, but in a way that is far more distant than the enjoyment her husband experiences. Whatever potential enjoyment this fantasy provides the speaker is short-lived, however, as the speaker concludes that she is “destined not to meet” Cary Grant (Line 17). She is ultimately unable to connect with her own imaginative fantasy and remains isolated, both from her husband and from her own sense of agency. Salter is demonstrating the way increased media consumption, rising rapidly in the late 1990s, provides only an illusion of connection.

Jealousy of Intimacy

The speaker of “Video Blues” is a wife who is jealous not only of her husband’s crushes but also his ability to connect romantically with movie stars. The first half of the poem demonstrates the jealousy the speaker feels toward the famous actresses by describing them, Jean Arthur in particular, as “coy” (Line 7) and having a “voice as dry as wheat” (Line 8). This image of wheat stands out brightly in a poem that is otherwise quite sparce and literal. This is the only instance of natural imagery in the poem and thus conjures a sense of otherworldliness for Jean Arthur’s natural beauty. The comparison drawn in this line illustrates the kind of beauty the speaker does not possess, as she admits, “I know I can’t compete” (Line 11). This admission separates the speaker from the kind of women her husband is attracted to and reveals that the speaker sees herself being in competition with these other women.

Another way this poem explores the theme of jealousy is through the speaker’s inability to form her own outside connections. As the speaker poses the possibility of having her own “dreamboats” (Line 13), she is ultimately unable to make this a reality. The speaker describes an evening with Cary Grant as something she “could enjoy” (Line 17) if they had not been separated by destiny. This contrasts with the husband’s ability to develop crushes on at least four listed actresses. Though the speaker tries to be more open with her affection and mirror her husband’s interests, she finds herself bound by the reality of her circumstances and her jealousy of her husband’s affections, a jealousy that leads to a reduction in her enjoyment of the time spent with her spouse.

Uncertainty of the Future

Through the use of questions and repetition, Salter explores the uncertainty of the future in contrast to the solidity and beauty of the past. As the poem moves past the list of the husband’s crushes and into the third stanza, the speaker poses a question to the husband’s intent: “Does he confess all this to annoy / a loyal spouse? (Lines 10-11). This question reflects the speaker’s lack of understanding, despite the knowledge and information she has. She is able to see and understand what is happening as her husband rents movies to see specific beloved actresses, but she is uncertain about the intended implication and result. This frames the marriage in terms of uncertainty. The speaker wonders what else her husband might do if he is ready to intentionally “annoy a loyal spouse” (Line 11).

Another way Salter raises the issue of uncertainty is through the reference to destiny in the last stanza. After posing the hypothetical evening with Cary Grant, the speaker concludes that she is “destined not to meet” him (Line 17). By referencing what is destined not to happen, Salter is drawing an implicit connection to what is destined to happen. If destiny will not allow the speaker a reprieve, the longevity of the marriage is called into question. The following line repeats the familiar refrain “My husband has a crush on Myrna Loy” (Line 18), reminding the reader that the only certainty the speaker knows is the initial problem at hand. This ending emphasizes the uncertainty of the future by leaving the problem unresolved and placing the speaker back at the starting point.