Hazel Tells Laverne

Examining society's impact on lower class women through literary analysis

At first glance Katharyn Machan’s “Hazel tells LaVerne” seems to be a modern day version of the fairy tale “The Frog Prince”, however the poem goes much deeper than that. The theme explores the impact that society has had on women, especially women of the lower class. The poem suggests that society has forced lower class women to believe that they have no chance of achieving a better future for themselves. Although the poem seems light hearted and humorous, Machan allows for the poem to take on a greater meaning by using the elements of diction, symbol, and irony.

Machan uses informal diction throughout this poem to demonstrate Hazel’s personality as well as to reveal her social standing. When Hazel speaks there is no sense of proper grammar; no punctuation, capital letters, or complete sentences. This is evident when the frog first speaks to Hazel in lines 10-13.

“but sohelpmegod he starts talkin

bout a golden ball

an how i can be a princess

me a princess”

By using informal diction Machan allows the reader to believe that Hazel is of a lower class because she speaks in an elementary manner which those of higher classes would consider to be an improper form of English. This contributes to Hazel’s reaction to the frog wanting to kiss her in which she responds with “ya little green pervert”. She automatically assumes that he has negative intentions. She doesn’t allow herself, for a moment, to think that she has met a genuine character. Based on the idea that Hazel is a member of the lower class, her assumption that the frog has negative intentions is valid. She doesn’t expect a lot of life, but she must protect herself because no one else is there to do it for her.

Hazel serves to symbolize society’s representation of women of the lower class. She is a cleaning lady which is a low skill, low paying job. Society doesn’t offer more to the lower class women because they aren’t seen as capable of anything else. Because of this, Hazel’s ambition begins to fade. She doesn’t see herself as ever being anything besides a cleaning lady. This idea is proven when Hazel can’t fathom the idea of being a princess, “me a princess” (13) is her first reaction. Then she reiterates this exact sentence at the end of the monologue. Only at the end of the poem it is broken up. So the “me” (25) stands alone. This is because Hazel realizes that the only person that she can rely on is herself. There is no one there who is going to stand up for her, she has to be her own advocate.

The original “The Frog Prince” story involves the frog helping a young maiden retrieve a ball she has dropped in a well, then her owing him a favor. Long story short, they fall in love and he turns into a prince. Knowing this story would allow for dramatic irony in reading “Hazel tells LaVerne”. The reader believes that they have an idea of what is going to happen because they parallel “Hazel tells LaVerne” to “The Frog Prince” however the two stories couldn’t be less alike. Knowing Hazel’s personality there is no way that she would let the frog help her, in fact she reacts rather aggressively toward the frog, “…I hitsm with my mop” (21). Also, the frog in the fairy tale meets a princess, Hazel can’t imagine herself as being a princess and Hazel’s life is certainly less than a fairy tale.

By using diction, symbol, and irony Katharyn Machan develops a poem that on the surface seems light hearted, but really questions the toll that society takes on women of the lower class. Machan uses diction to reveal Hazel’s social standing as well as her no-nonsense personality. Hazel also stands to symbolize the lower class in the sense that she doesn’t believe that she could ever be a princess just as the lower class women are forced to believe that their lives hold nothing more than what they already consist of. They are stuck exactly where they are. It is ironic that this poem would allude to a “The Frog Prince” because it is an inaccurate representation of the lives of lower class women. Overall this poem suggests that society has forced lower class women to believe that they have no chance of achieving a better future for themselves.