Identity Construction through Images of Clothing in Fleur Adcock’s Poetry

Abstract

This study examines how Fleur Adcock, a New Zealand-born British poet, establishes identities through images of clothing in three of her poems. Adcock’s acute observations of clothing reflect the close link between dress and the construction of the self and our place in society. In “The Soho Hospital for Women,” Adcock portrays clothing as a crucial aspect of personal identity, while in “Londoner” clothing reflects the conflict of the divided self. “Witnesses” reconstructs female identity under patriarchy by emphasising the different functions of clothing for men and women in the courtroom.