A woman turns on the man who broke his vows, and her voice is all scorn and wounded fury. She calls him an ungrateful traitor and a lying lover, then warns every wronged woman never to trust a man again. The romance she once felt was intensely sweet, but that pleasure vanishes almost as soon as it arrives, leaving behind a long, grinding ache. She knows exactly how this game works: men fake anguish to win pity, then abandon the woman who finally gives her heart. Once she sees through the trick, she swears off love entirely—the discovery is too devastating to risk twice. The final sting is her realization that his passion was just a performance to conquer her, and once he succeeded, he lost interest. Now she measures his coldness against the depth of what she gave, and the loss is so total that even death seems like relief. The mood bristles with betrayal and hard-won bitterness, yet beneath the anger there’s exhaustion—a grief so heavy it makes living feel like the real punishment.
Farewell, Ungrateful Traitor! — Summary
Farewell, ungrateful traitor! Farewell, my perjur'd swain! Let never injur'd woman Believe a man again. The pleasure of possessing Surpasses all expressing, But 'tis too short a blessing, And love too long a pain.
'Tis easy to deceive us In pity of your pain, But when we love, you leave us To rail at you in vain. Before we have descried it, There is no joy beside it, But she that once has tried it Will never love again.
The passion you pretended Was only to obtain, But once the charm is ended, The charmer you disdain. Your love by ours we measure Till we have lost our treasure, But dying is a pleasure When living is a pain.