JOURNAL ARTICLE

In Defense of Visible Grief.

  • Published In: Ploughshares, 2026, v. 52, n. 1. P. 139 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: LE, JENNA 3 of 3

Abstract

POETRY"When he is very ferocious with me I cry;that sets all things straight," Charlotte Brontë wrote.This passage strikes me as a little sly,yes? In it, Brontë almost seems to gloatabout the way that she has weaponizedher tears, her God-given power to emote.A male biographer once characterizedBrontë as "meek" on the basis of this quote—a reading that completely missed the point,I think. This morning, let us contemplatewhy tears put tyrants' noses out of jointsuch that they feel a need to denigratethem so intensely … Crying is anotherform of protest, much like any other. [Extracted from the article]

Additional Information

  • Source:Ploughshares. 2026/03, Vol. 52, Issue 1, p139
  • Document Type:Poem
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:0048-4474
  • Accession Number:192780165
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