theanimal...isanecessary step in the process
of looking closely, of admitting the ‘reality’ of
the fish, of describing it objectively, demystify-
ing its tall-tale attributes and of eventually
admiring it.’’
Following a thorough examination of the
fish’s less appealing aspects, the speaker explores
the fish’s eyes, larger and shallower than her own.
His eyes appear as if they are backed by foil; they
are shiny and yellow and appear to harbor no
conscious intelligence. The eyes merely reflect
the light, shifting toward it as if by instinct rather
than will. The speaker observes that the fish’s eyes
are seen as if through a screen; looking at them is
like looking at something through a cracked sub-
stance made of gelatin that is derived, ironically,
from fish bladders. This statement is notable
because the gelatin through which the speaker
feels she is gazing is an obscuring and obfuscating
substance. The indication is that no matter how
hard and long the speaker stares, she will never be
able to see clearly. This idea is also supported by
the speaker’s next observation, that pertaining
to the multiple hooks and lines embedded in
the fish’s mouth. It certainly seems odd that the
speaker would fail to notice so prominent and
obvious a detail. Most observers would note this
aspect first, but this is not the case with the
poem’s speaker.
It is fair to say, however, that the speaker has
merely saved this observation for last in pursuit of
establishing a narrative structure. This is largely
because the poem presents a progression from
fascination and disgust to respect and awe. The
former is achieved through discussion of the fish’s
ragged skin and dull gaze, while the latter is
achieved via the speaker’s inspection of the
hooks attached to the fish’s lower lip. Here, the
speaker employs metaphor, likening the hooks to
badges of honor and symbols of a hard-earned
wisdom. The lines trailing from the hooks are like
a beard, further lending the fish a measure of
wisdom and distinction. The speaker also won-
ders whether the fish’s jaw might be in pain. While
the pain could ostensibly stem from the burden
the fish must undergo in carrying the piercing
hooks in his mouth, it can also be ascribed as a
metaphor for the pain of knowledge and experi-
ence. If ignorance is bliss, as the saying goes, then
knowledge must certainly be pain.
Nevertheless, the knowledge that the speaker
gains through her intense observation of the fish in
fact brings on a sense of bliss and euphoria. The
beauty the speaker finds in the fish’s most dis-
gusting features, the respect he has gained for
his battle scars, all extend to the speaker’s immedi-
ate surroundings. The oil-slicked puddle, the boat’s
crackedseatsandrustedparts, are all encompassed
in the speaker’s near-euphoric experience of never-
ending beauty. Everything the speaker’s gaze takes
in becomes rainbows like the one found in the oil-
slicked puddle. Costello, this time writing inEliz-
abeth Bishop: Questions of Mastery, comments that
‘‘such an epiphany, set as [it] is in the highly ephem-
eral space of the rented boat with its rusted engine,
must be of mortality. The grotesque is the style
of mortality not because it makes us turn away in
horror but because it challenges the rigid frames of
thought and perception through which we attempt
to master life.’’ Discussing the rainbows that over-
take the poem’s end, Costello writes in herWallace
Stevens Journalarticle that ‘‘Bishop’s rainbow at
the end of ‘The Fish’ explicitly reminds us of
the ancient rainbow that marked [the] covenant
between God and Noah.’’ In that biblical story,
God sends a rainbow as a symbol of his promise to
never again destroy the race of humanity.
Perhapsitisthisreferencedpromisethat
inspires the speaker’s decision to release the fish. It
seems inevitable that given the speaker’s journey
she could not do anything but allow the fish its
freedom. Still, though critics are able to agree that
the poem’s conclusion is inevitable, few find that the
motivation behind the decision can be as easily
ascertained. James McCorkle, writing inThe Still
Performance: Writing, Self, and Interconnection in
Five Postmodern American Poets, finds that the fish
is released because it has served its purpose as a
receptacle for observation, language, and ideas.
‘‘The fish fills with language until it can hold no
more.Itisatthismomentthatthegenerationof
language can go no farther. The fish must be dis-
carded and replaced. The self has also reached its
own limits of creation and definition.’’ For Ramais,
the fish’s release is due to its transformation from
that of ‘‘a mere trophy.’’ The fish soon becomes
‘‘imbued with human qualities which the fisher-
woman can identify with. As a result, the [speaker]
feels she cannot do anything but let it go.’’ Ramais
concludes that ‘‘the poem obviously celebrates a
moment in [a] person’s life when his/her humanness
goes as far as to recognize the humanity of nature
itself, to consider nature not as ‘object’ but as
equally ‘subject.’’’ To this critic’s mind, the speaker
releases the fish because he has given her more than
the food she imagines in his flesh. Her epiphanyThe Fish