17 pages • 34 minutes read
Ada LimónHow to Triumph Like a Girl
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Horses
Horses have a long history of usage in literature and mythology. In America they connote multiple ideas, including their significance as “beasts of burden” or “work horses,” but in Limón’s poem they represent freedom, grace, beauty, and power. They are both powerful enough to win races, to attract attention and admiration, and yet they are also aware of their place in a social hierarchy. The fact that the “lady horses” (Line 1) use such overtly, almost comically “proper” diction, suggests that though they are animals at our service—and powerful animals at that—they are still “civilized” and occupy a place at the top of some hierarchy. They demonstrate their place at the top of the metaphorical food chain.
Racing
There is a formality to the setting of this poem. A “race” is a symbol of prestige. Its purpose is for horses to show off strength, accomplishment, and to determine who is at the top of a hierarchy. The Kentucky Derby is emblematic of this desire to impress society by winning or having a winning horse. The Oaks, which is the race in which the fillies race amongst themselves is less scrutinized. Using the race as the setting and main event of the poem, the speaker explores what it means to be a “lady” not in the wild, but in the context of a highly organized society that seeks to place some at the top and some at the bottom. Yet, the speaker of the poem does not put emphasis on the winning horse, nor does she seem to be concerned with the outcome of the race. In fact she starts with the line “I like the lady horses best,” including all of the horses who are competing. Within a competitive system the speaker adopts a more egalitarian attitude, honoring all of those who participate. This subverts the patriarchal, hierarchal motives of the race and focuses on the sense of unity rather than division among the competitors. Even in the context of the race the horses seem to uphold the value of community, which is a traditional hallmark of feminism.
“Genius Machine”
Limón calls her horse heart a “huge beating genius machine” (Line 16). That term “genius machine” might refer to the fact that whoever made the “machine” of the heart is a genius, that the heart belongs to a genius, or that the heart is itself a genius creation that bestows genius on its owner. The word “genius” literally means to generate. The heart, which pumps blood to all parts of the body and is the organ most responsible for keeping the body alive, is extremely important however you measure it. It is indicative of a high order of intelligence and power which each person and animal is given at birth. It is another way of praising the body, the natural world, and the natural abilities each person or animal or creature with a “heart” has inside of them. The term aligns mental acuity (genius), stamina and courage (“having heart”), and also the feeling capacity which society typically ascribes to women over men. Focusing on the heart as a “genius machine” aligns the feeling capabilities with intelligence, suggesting that the intensity of emotion contributes to these horses’ power as much as the intellect or physical prowess alone. There is a reason she does not focus on the power of the legs or back, but on the heart itself; it allows for multiple interpretations, many of which are distinctly associated with the feminine.
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By Ada Limón
