Lillian Stewart introduces herself as "the daughter of Lambert Hutchins." We know then, right away, that her life has been defined by him and his legacy.
Lillian was "born in a cottage near the grist-mill," which indicates that she was born to modest means. She ends up in a mansion that her father built. She describes its splendor. The fifth and sixth lines employ anaphora, emphasizing "how proud" her parents were of the mansion --...
Lillian Stewart introduces herself as "the daughter of Lambert Hutchins." We know then, right away, that her life has been defined by him and his legacy.
Lillian was "born in a cottage near the grist-mill," which indicates that she was born to modest means. She ends up in a mansion that her father built. She describes its splendor. The fifth and sixth lines employ anaphora, emphasizing "how proud" her parents were of the mansion -- an indication of "[her] father's rise in the world."
There is a shift in the ninth line: "But I believe the house was a curse / For Father's fortune was little beside it..." We learn that the mansion is unlucky, primarily for Lillian, because her father only had the house he had built, not the wealth people assumed went with it. Thus, when she marries, her husband is disappointed that he married "a girl who was really poor." Focus on those lines. What does this say about her husband and his true intentions for marrying Lillian?
He calls the house "a fraud on the world / A treacherous lure to young men..." Both of those lines are interesting and slightly different in meaning. The first is more of a social betrayal, while the latter is a personal one.
She goes on, speaking, it seems in her husband's voice: "And a man while selling his vote / Should get enough from the people's betrayal / To wall the whole of his family in." "Vote" here is used as a metaphor. One could say that the reference is to her husband's "loyalty" or the taking of vows. "The people's betrayal" is a reference to her own family. Clearly, he expected them to offer him enough "of a dowry" to care for his own kin.
The poem ends with Lillian tormented by her husband until she chooses to go back home to be "an old maid," to "[keep] house for father." Notice how "old maid" has a double meaning here. Also, the mansion takes on new connotations. It has transformed from a source of pride to one of torment.
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