Spoon River Anthology · Chapter
Carl Hamblin explained
Carl Hamblin recounts how he was tarred and feathered and his printing press destroyed after publishing a poem on the day the Anarchists were hanged in Chicago.
What happens
Carl Hamblin recounts how he was tarred and feathered and his printing press destroyed after publishing a poem on the day the Anarchists were hanged in Chicago. The poem depicts Justice as a blindfolded, corrupted figure who strikes the weak while accepting gold from the powerful, and whose true horrifying face is revealed when the bandage is removed.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption
Carl Hamblin's poem exposes the hypocrisy of a justice system that claims impartiality ('She is no respecter of persons') while striking the vulnerable and favoring the wealthy who offer gold.
Illusion vs. Reality
The blindfolded figure of Justice is revealed to be blind not from impartiality but from decay and corruption, unmasking the illusion of fair justice.
Characters to notice
- Carl Hamblin
Editor of the Spoon River Clarion, tarred and feathered for publishing a poem critical of justice on the day of the Chicago Anarchists' execution.
Key passages
“I saw a beautiful woman with bandaged eyes Standing on the steps of a marble temple. Great multitudes passed in front of her, Lifting their faces to her imploringly. In her left hand she held a sword. She was brandishing the sword, Sometimes striking a child, again a laborer, Again a slinking woman, again a lunatic. In her right hand she held a scale; Into the scale pieces of gold were tossed By those who dodged the strokes of the sword. A man in a black gown read from a manuscript: 'She is no respecter of persons.' Then a youth wearing a red cap Leaped to her side and snatched away the bandage. And lo, the lashes had been eaten away From the oozy eyelids; The eye-balls were seared with a milky mucus; The madness of a dying soul Was written on her face— But the multitude saw why she wore the bandage.”
Hamblin's poem depicts Justice as a blindfolded woman who indiscriminately strikes the weak with her sword while accepting bribes of gold from the powerful. When a youth removes her blindfold, her eyes are revealed to be rotted and diseased, showing that her blindness is not impartiality but corruption, and the crowd understands why the bandage was needed.
The poem is a powerful allegory for the failure of justice in a class-divided society, directly referencing the Haymarket execution.