Essay Fundamentals

Redefining the Connotations Associated with Scrubbing

Scrubbing is a hideously ugly sounding word. It sounds vigorous at the outset, with the dogged determination of the double B’s following. True to the nature of the heavy handed scouring that scrubbing implies, the word is onomatopoetic. It brings to mind the comfort of a grandma’s not so gentle bathing attempts as well as trying to restore a dirty stove. Humans are the only organisms that try so obscenely hard to remain spotless, and in more than a physical sense. There is further incentive for recognizing and appreciate scrubbing as the complex thing it is, a means of protection and disguise.

Anyone who owns a dog or has a child knows that forcefully separating filth from flesh is at best a challenge. Wriggling away from the good intentions of a soapy loofah seems to be only natural. My grandmother was particularly vicious; if I stayed at her house she would make sure I was perfectly clean- even between my very ticklish toes. Having five children tends to do that to a woman; each one reflects upon you and therefore should look its best. My grandma was always very concerned with image… Since that time I have taken delight from being scoured to a squeaky clean pink. A proper scrubbing is like getting a massage and scratching a hard to reach itch. The aftermath of certain cleanliness is done no service by the ugly sound of the word scrubbing. That is because scrubbing is far too powerful to be confined to the bathroom alone.

Or is it? Unfortunately scrubbing occurs in the bathroom in a less than desirable manner. Scrubbing the toilet bowl, hard water stains off the mirror, or caked on toothpaste in the medicine cabinet form the dark side of scrubbing. When a mess arises that a mere swipe cannot conquer, scrubbing rises to the challenge. Where would we be without steel wool? The world would be covered with baked on spaghetti sauce and impossibly dirty cookie sheets. Scrubbing can reflect a deep love of cleanliness and the objects being taken care of, almost like saying “I won’t give up on you, grass stained jeans. You will be returned to your original glory.” Though it takes sweat and a little elbow grease to achieve results, scrubbing should be appreciated for its results, not the energy required to complete the task. A pretty, flowery word just wouldn’t do.

Scrubbing has even darker connotations and more cause to its steadfast name. Society has given rise to two unsavory attitudes towards the word. When a commitment to something like the military or a job is broken, it is often referred to as “scrubbing out.” The meaning of the word has been altered to suggest weakness or irresponsibility. However, the starkest nature of scrubbing comes out in culture, past and present. Lady Macbeth, trying desperately to remove imagined bloodstains from her gown, traces of her internal guilt. People required to clean grisly accident and murder scenes, the messes humanity makes of one another, so a house can be resold. Scrubbing is more than just a loveable means of cleaning or a chore; it is The sharp “sc” that begins the word scrubbing comes from these scenarios. A word like wiping doesn’t quite describe the true nature of an earnest scrubbing; it requires physical exertion to achieve a desirable result. Scrubbing transcends a method of cleaning to a way of purifying oneself and ones position in society.

Scrubbing has been viewed for years in unfavorable light, an unwelcome offense of personal space or an undesirable task. But, scrubbing is the oxen of the domestic realm, bearing the load of humanity’s natural tendency to be dirty and our desire to have things look flawlessly clean and to ‘keep up appearances.’