In the first stanza she talked about a witch, or some type of powerful woman; someone who was rebellious and had beliefs that went against what society wants us to believe. She was an unnatural woman and did not fit the criteria of what society expected of women. In the second stanza, she talks about the typical type of woman who keeps up with her home and is the caretaker of the family and how she is misunderstood for reasons such as the loss of her independence. She was demonstrating the fact that women were not seen as individuals. They were seen as having no purpose other than being a wife and mother. She was stating the fact that not all women were fond of caring and cooking and cleaning and sacrificing for a family. Of course, that made her an outcast in society. As a woman, she should love her family and love to give up herself and her desires for them. Sexton argued that women like that shouldn’t be labeled as unnatural, but misunderstood. In the third stanza she is talking about a woman, possibly Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake for trying to be more than what society deemed a woman should be. She said she was “not ashamed to die” because she had lived her life on her own terms. Society may not have agreed with it, but she didn’t care. She celebrated her “unnatural” ability. She showed that if we lived our lives as we see fit, in spite of the backlash we may receive from others, then we may live and die with pride. Sexton’s poem is empowering to women everywhere