Lovers of the Poor

In “The Lovers of the Poor,” the author uses the phrase “loathe largesse,” and “loath-love largesse” to refer to both the gifts/ money the ladies are about to give and to the attitude the women carry to this act. These women are attempting to do good in the world, to donate some of what they have to the worthy and deserving poor. However, the loathe-love qualifier in front of largesse seems to suggest that the women have a mixed attitude about what they are doing. A potential interpretation of this is that the women are feeling both emotions towards the poor they are helping. They love them, with good old-fashioned Christian charity, but part of them is uncomfortable with the squalor and filth in which they live. The rest of the poem seems to support this theory, because there is a sharp contrast between the vision of the poor the ladies hold in their minds, and the version they are forced to confront. They enter the slum with love, prepared to give of themselves for that love, but when confronted with reality their minds begin to shift. They see how truly miserable the lives of the urban poor are, and rather than being compelled to do more for the cause, the women are disgusted, and flee the slum, promising themselves that they will go to another slum. Throughout, the women are battling with how they know they should feel about the poor, and how they really feel. In the end, though, reality is too much, and they do not follow through on their Christian promise.