Theory Questions: "The Flea"

This poem, dealing with two people who have been bitten by a flea is suggesting two becoming one. This poem by John Donne is about a man who is wanting a woman to give in to having sex with him. He is using a flea to persuade her to have sex with him. This is a metaphysical abstraction. He states that it is not a sin to be bittin by a flea, therefore it should not be a sin to have sex with each other. He does not want her to kill the flea because that will, in turn, kill him, her and the baby she is pregnant with. One of his arguments is that because they will die anyway, they mine as well die pleasing each other (Each climax was believed to be a "little death" taking away one year of your life). She winds up killing the fly, inferring that she wins, however, he truly wins the argument because she did not lose life by killing the flea, so therefore she will not lose honor or life by sleeping with him. This man builds an argument in order to persuade her into having sex with him. He is using his thinking and power he feels he has over her to persuade her into this. Gender in this poem is clearly playing a large role.

1. How does the culture play a role in this poem particularly (dealing with the fact that it was believed that every climax one had took away a year of one's life) ?

2. How does the man's "persuasive" argument suggest that the woman is the weaker sex and brain in the relationship?

3. Why is it that the woman in this poem seems to only be good for one thing according to the man's persistent for this one thing?