Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath paints a picture of how society is unapologetically patriarchal. In Munich Mannequins, she begins by saying, “Perfection is terrible, it cannot have children.” She refers to the inanimate objects that are human-like and seem to have no flaws. Plath says this in response to the widely shared view that women alter their perfection by giving birth. In society, men lose their attraction to women after giving birth because they perceive their beauty has decreased. Their allure fades, and some husbands resort to cheating after their women give birth. This poem communicates the message that women can not be objected since they have a womb. Just like mannequins can not procreate, women can not be perfect. They are perfectly imperfect, as are all human beings, and “the blood flood is the flood of love.”
There is an unequal treatment in marriage. Plinth paints a society where women are considered unequal and inferior to men when it comes to marriage. In the applicant, Plath explains that a woman has to follow certain procedures to be considered as a wife. She compares these conditions and qualifications like a job interview. When it comes to the “wife materials,” men are thorough in evaluating how perfect they want their wives to be. In the applicant, the woman is asked whether she has anybody flaws, and when she does not have any flaw, she is ‘offered’ a flaw. The poem also paints women in marriage as mere objects. A woman is called “it,” and if the woman is compliant with whatever “it” is told, marriage is guaranteed. Plath says that if the woman brings “teacups and roll away headaches” and does “whatever you tell it,” that woman is qualified to get married. In the same poem, Plath criticizes how a man thinks of himself as perfect and is very flawed. She states that although man is sometimes stupid and has nothing to offer, society will always protect him. The society cloaks men’s imperfections virtue of how they dress and not their manners or virtues. The same poem points out women’s imperfections and says that their only duty in marriage is to please men. For instance, Plath says that a woman is, “A living doll, everywhere you look” and that “It can sew, it can cook” irrespective of her age.
In Mary’s song, Sylvia Plath brings out the dark side of man. She writes about he holocaust and how gruesome it was. In the poem, she says, “The ovens glowed like heavens, incandescent” to paint how the Jews were burnt alive. The poem depicts the heinous things that were done to them, how their blood was shed, and how the smell of their body lingered in the air. This poem alludes to the oppression that exists in this world for minorities. It voices the pain of being oppressed without fault. The only fault that one is being accused of is being born in a certain community. It paints the darkness that is in this world when one is not on the majority side. Ultimately, it addresses the other side of human nature that must never be seen. Plath also used the Holocaust event to symbolize American women’s entrapments.
Plath also paints out instability in marriage. She talks of cheating and suspicion in marriage. She also talks about prenatal depression. In her poem, “The Other,” Sylvia writes, “You come in late, wiping your lips.” When one wipes one’s lips, it usually is to erase the evidence of either eating or kissing. Also, coming in late into one’s home implies that activity caused the delay. The woman is suspecting her husband of cheating. Cheating is one of the critical problems in marriage. From a statistical point, men cheat more than women do, which is why many marriages fail. Cheating is more pronounced when women are pregnant, and men claim to not find companionship in them. These men look for other sexual avenues, leaving their wives and spouses at home. This often leads to prenatal depression and desperation of their companions because they feel abandoned. This depression can encourage self-harmful tendencies and other negative coping means. For instance, in the same poem, Plath says, “Between myself and myself, I scratch like a cat.” This could imply that she has developed negative ways of coping with her husband’s cheating.
Sylvia Plath also talks about depression throughout her poems. Specifically, in “Brasilia,” she speaks of a world that exists after her death. She intended to take a leave of life (CITE) and how long she intended to do this is unknown. The title of her poem pays tribute to the new capital city built in Brazil. It was built after Brazil gained independence. This is of significance because Plath felt that after her suicide, she would find peace in a new world. This world would be free of depression, hurt, and turmoil.
In the poem, she says, “People like light rays, leave.” She had tried to commit suicide before but wasn’t successful. Due to the stress that she experienced after being separated from her husband, this poem implied that it was the end. Her depression was also stemming from her childhood traumas. She had lost her father at a young age, and suicide was never that far away from her thought. Depression is one of the worst issues when it comes to families. Furthermore, when underlying severe issues are addressed, new stresses will always increase the risk of committing suicide.
In conclusion, through her poems’ themes, she feels like the world has a rubric for the perfect woman, not for a man. The expectation that society demands from the woman are so much to bear. The balance between the genders is severely unequal, and she feels like she cannot tip the scales. There is an air of despair about her poems that eventually culminates in her death.
Works Cited
Noel, Hans. “Ideological Factions in the Republican and Democratic Parties.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 667, no. 1, 2016, pp. 166–188., doi:10.1177/0002716216662433.
“THE 2020 DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.” Democrats, democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform/.
Saad, Lydia et al. Understanding Shifts In Democratic Party Ideology. 1st ed., 2019, Accessed 4th October 2020.
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