I see the speaker of the poem as a young girl. In my eyes, she is a young girl who has possibly just gotten married. She has been rushed into being a mother and a wife, and she has had no time for herself. She feels like she is responsible for everything, and she gets no help from others. Everything she does is a chore. She has a list of things to do every day, and they never change. Each day is the same for her. She does the household chores, cooks, and cleans. There is never anything new and exciting in her life.
Because she is a woman, she feels forced into these chores. The idea that women should do all the cooking and cleaning is clearly portrayed in this story. The girl does wishes that this was not the case, but she does not know how to change things for herself. She is stuck in a rut, and she cannot get out.
The story is addressing young girls everywhere. It is telling young girls that they should not get stuck in this type of routine. They can do more for themselves. The story is making everyone aware of the situation so that not everyone will be caught up in this situation. The girl that would be portrayed in this painting is unhappy. She wants more out of life but does not know how to get it. She lives in a small world, perhaps out in the country somewhere. This place in the country is probably near a river. The reader can tell this because the story discusses catching fish. She is somewhere that is underdeveloped and somewhere that she does not see women who hold jobs in places other than the home.
By the end of the essay, I can tell that the girl is confused. She wants more but is confused about how to find it. The comments about the baker reveal that she is truly confused about what she wants and needs. She says, “what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?” I see this as a metaphor for, “what would I do if I didn’t have chores?” She wants more but is terribly confused about how to find it. She is also scared that if she does find more in life, will she know how to handle it?

http://faithandgender.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/homemaker2.jpg