Rich describes her envy of a barren woman. A barren woman can be a woman who can't have children or a woman who simply does not have children. It can mean that the woman has chosen not the have children. If the barren woman is someone who has chosen not to have children, Rich contends that she may regret not have children and such a regret is a luxurious one to have. Again Rich is reiterating the idea that motherhood is not necessarily the ideal situation for all women and that some women even regret choosing motherhood.

This regret is present because motherhood robs the woman of self. Although a woman with no children has regrets about her actions she still has her privacy and freedom. Rich seems to place privacy and freedom strictly in the domain of women who are not mothers. Motherhood is therefore viewed as a weight...
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