House of a Thousand Doors by Meena Alexander
"House of a Thousand Doors" is a collection by Meena Alexander that comprises fifty-nine poems and prose pieces, reflecting her multicultural heritage and the complexities that arise from it. The work is divided into three sections, with the first and third serving as overarching themes for the diverse subjects explored within. Alexander's poetry often embodies her personal experiences while also creating new narratives, emphasizing the role of imagination in shaping one's inner life. The titular poem employs a metaphor of "a thousand doors" to signify the multiple forces—such as gender, heritage, and ideology—that influence the persona's journey in search of meaning.
Central to the collection is the figure of the grandmother, who represents tradition and the familial ties that anchor the persona as she navigates her identity. Through imagery rooted in family, culture, and nature, Alexander addresses universal themes of belonging and the impact of patriarchal structures on women's lives. The poet's reflections on her past intertwine with her longing for understanding, revealing a quest for unity with her cultural history and the quest for personal significance. This collection invites readers to engage with the rich tapestry of experiences that shape identity, making it a poignant exploration of the intersection between personal and collective narratives.
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House of a Thousand Doors by Meena Alexander
First published: 1988
The Work
House of a Thousand Doors: Poems and Prose Pieces is a collection of fifty-nine poems and prose pieces. Meena Alexander’s poetry reflects her multicultural heritage and the tension it creates. The book is organized into three sections, the first and third sections serving as a synthesis for the wide variety of subject and theme treated in the body of the work. Many of the poems reflect the writer’s subjective response to her experience; many also project or create new experiences that underscore the importance of imagination as a lens through which to focus the inner life into poetry.
The title poem of House of a Thousand Doors uses the title metaphor to describe the variety of forces that operate on the persona: gender, heritage, language, experience, ideology, and the search for meaning. A complex array of images embody these forces in the book, reflecting the author’s sensitivity to their influence. Alexander uses her writing to integrate the diversity of her experience.
Dominating the persona’s early life is the figure of her grandmother, a powerful member of the family who learned to exercise some control over the many lines of force that affected her life. The mature awareness of the persona is imposed on the re-created memory of herself as a girl watching the figure of the grandmother kneel in turn before each of the thousand doors on a never-ending pilgrimage, “a poor forked thing” praying for the favor of her ancestors. The grandmother becomes a figure of myth and a symbol of tradition serving as the focus of many of the poems in the collection. Conciliation and unity with the culture and solidity of the past are central to House of a Thousand Doors.
The three major sources of imagery in the book are family, culture, and nature. Family images, though literal, have a universal quality—she describes finding her grandmother’s letters “in an old biscuit box” and wonders if her grandmother was, like herself, “inventing a great deal.” Other images reflect the diminution of women at the behest of a patriarchal society; a cell door closing on a woman raped by the police clangs “like an old bell left over by the British,” while a portrait of the pacifist leader Mohandas Gandhi looks down from the wall. A third class of imagery, the imagery of nature, reflects the persona’s romantic theory of art; she laments, “My body/ part water/ part rock/ is searching for heaven.” This searching brings her back to her past, real and mythical, and ultimately back to herself and her need for meaning.
Bibliography
Perry, John Oliver. Review of House of a Thousand Doors, by Meena Alexander. World Literature Today 63 (Winter, 1989): 163.
Rao, Susheela N. Review of Fault Lines, by Meena Alexander. World Literature Today 68 (Autumn, 1994): 883.