The Woman, The Pet and The Bad Boy

[waitingforgodet]

What I thought you meant, Billy, was that without moralizing about the characters, yes, the reader was able to judge them, especially Arthur and the woman. The biggest villain here is the woman, of course--although, I think it is difficult for a writer to explicate his own poem. Obviously, the woman has no love for Arthur, but will keep him (as a pet) simply for what he can do for her. One woman who read the poem brought up some of the things you said, and hated the woman, hated Arthur, but liked the bad boy, only because he was honest about who he was. None of the women save one who have read this poem liked it--the married women who read it did not like it and thought I was making a statement about all women selling out as they get older.

Thanks for the added comment on the poem. I do see much clearer what you meant, Billy--jim