Under Milk Wood

In the tight-knit community of Llareggub, everybody is aware of everybody else’s past. Polly Garter is markedly ostracized by the community, to the point where people pass the hours of the day by gossiping about her seemingly innocuous behavior and inventing rumors about her plans based on their presumptions about her character. Polly is a single mother, which the people (and, in particular, the women) of Llareggub deem to be a sin. Furthermore, Polly is rumored to have had sex with a number of the married men in the town. While these married men are criticized, they are not ostracized as Polly is.

Polly’s status speaks to the unspoken misogyny and double standards that are rife in the community. Polly’s affairs were consensual relationships, but, as a woman, she was judged much more harshly than the men she slept with. The women of the town resent Polly for her sexual freedom, having internalized the misogynistic attitudes that dictate that women should be demure and reserved in such matters. Even though women’s rights had made progress by the time at which the play is set (the women’s suffrage movement won the right for women to vote by the 1920s, for example), Polly continues to suffer from beliefs and traditions that date back much further. The misogynistic treatment of Polly illustrates the patriarchal nature of the past that endures in the small Welsh community.

Polly also represents the viciousness of judgment in a small town. People like Mrs. Pugh are quick to judge and condemn Polly, to the point where Mrs. Pugh fantasizes about Polly being arrested for being a single mother. Few people are willing to acknowledge the tragedy of Polly’s life and why she might be motivated to seek out comfort through intimacy. Polly still loves Little Willy Weazel, who died at a young age. Each successive relationship in Polly’s life (and the children who are the products of these relationships) can be read as Polly’s attempt to address her deep, painful grief, something that few people in the town are willing to acknowledge. She seeks to heal her emotional pain with physical contact. No amount of sex, however, can bring Willy back or replace what he once meant to her.

At the end of the play, Polly meets with Mr. Waldo in Milk Wood. Waldo and Polly have something in common. Waldo is now a widower. His wife has recently passed away, and like Polly, he is still dealing with his grief. He seeks out comfort and connection, just like Polly. While they might not know each other, their desire for physical contact is motivated by a similar desire to briefly distract themselves from an unresolved trauma. In Waldo, Polly has finally found someone who may be able to sympathize with her pain, even if he cannot truly heal it. Furthermore, his widowed status means that she cannot be criticized by the women of Llareggub for becoming involved with a married man. For all the tragedy of her story, the play ends on an optimistic note for Polly.

Reverend Eli Jenkins plays many roles in Under Milk Wood. As the local priest, he is the vessel through which the town understands and practices Christianity. In a more practical sense, he illustrates the town’s reliance on order and routine. He wakes up and delivers a sermon out of his window, praising the town. The people do not listen to his words, but his sermon serves as an indicator to them that the day has begun. Like sunrise and sunset, Jenkins’s sermons are a part of the townspeople’s daily routine. He provides them with a reliable, comforting presence, though he operates in a detached and separate manner. Whether in terms of religion and routine, Jenkins is an essential part of people’s lives.

Jenkins is also notable for his outspoken love for Llareggub. While other characters love people, few describe their love for the place of their birth. They have no real conception of the wider world beyond Llareggub, as the small community is all that they know. Jenkins—through his loud, performative declarations of love for the small Welsh community—helps to explore the theme of Hiraeth and Nostalgia, which is otherwise not discussed in the day-to-day lives of the inhabitants. Llareggub’s preservation of the past appeals to Jenkins, who prefers this to modernity. To Jenkins, Llareggub and the nearby Milk Wood are symbols of the human spirit. The community is not perfect, he acknowledges, but through its imperfection it serves as an illustration of the brilliance of God’s creation.

Jenkins’s love for the town is also seen in his personal project. The White Book of Llareggub is the priest’s attempt to document life in the town on every level. His entries are not limited to the powerful and notable people of the town; everyone is included, even poor and marginalized members of the community such as Bessie Bighead. With his book, Jenkins expresses a form of egalitarianism that is less prevalent in the rest of the town. While others can be judgmental, class-conscious, and snobbish, Jenkins is certain that everyone plays an important role in the community.