# To Her explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A short, cryptic poem addressing an unknown 'Sinner A,' suggesting a cycle of confession and misdirection where sins are confessed not for absolution but as a means of shifting blame onto another.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Self-Deception

The poem implies a deceptive confession where one sinner confesses another's sins, avoiding true accountability.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The act of confessing another's sins to ease one's own conscience highlights hypocrisy in moral or religious practice.

## Key lines

> O, Sinner A, to me unknown / Be such a conscience as your own! / To ease it, you to Sinner B / Confess the sins of Sinner C.

The speaker addresses an unknown sinner, wishing for a conscience like theirs, which is eased by confessing the sins of a third party to a second party.

_The poem satirizes the evasion of personal guilt through confession that implicates others._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/to-her
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters