even though the poem is a mere nineteen lines there are many differing interpretations. the before-mentioned is the most popular interpretation. one of the others is that the word "eadwacer" in the poem is not a proper noun, but a simple common noun which means "property watcher". this brings the characters in the poem from three to two, the speaker and her lover, wulf. if one adopts this interpretation then her exclamation ("do you hear me, eadwacer?") could be meant to be sarcastic or a calling out of his manhood. she is saying that his long absences have made him anything but a protector to her and their child who she worries about. using this interpretation, the speaker's use of irony when speaking of her lover makes the last two lines make sense. the speaker may be saying that wulf has been her lover and her child's father, but has never treated her as or actually been her husband. therefore, the complications of their relationship is easily unbound. however, this seems to be more easily done by wulf than the speaker herself (adams).