The Images in the Poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy - Essay Example

The images in the poem- Barbie Doll The Poem, Barbie Doll, criticizes the society for making her a less for the needs of the patriarchal society. The poet, Marge Piercy generalizes the plight of woman from girlhood to her death-bed. Her identity is curtailed at the early stage itself. The poet in this poem uses many images to show the humiliating condition of the woman folk in a male dominated world. The Thesis statement of this essay can be put as, ‘The presentation of women’s life through the play of images in Barbie Doll’. The poem, Barbie Doll is a famous poem of the noted writer, Margie Piercy. The poem falls into the anthology entitled To Be of Use published in 1973. Barbie Doll ironically presents the famous doll of Mattel Toys in to the status quo of the women in the present American society. Barbie was an icon of every American in the 1960 with its green eyes and tall and slim shape. Piercy in this poem takes the pathetic condition of the women in the world as a general. The women are attributed to socially stereotype from her childhood to death. The poet, Marge Piercy uses the various images like doll, GE stoves, lipsticks, fan belt, pink, white nightie, etc., to describe the status of women at different ages. The theme of the poem is the presentation of women as stereotyped by the other gender in the society. At childhood itself she is become stereotyped with the gifts she get. She lives a life not for her but for the needs of others. The name of her is not relevant and so the poem presents the woman without a name. Throughout the poem it can be seen that the woman lives with the different images attributed on her. The poem is surrounded with different images. The title of the poem, Barbie Doll represents the common notion of idealizing the female body with a doll, Barbie and demands for social concept of her nature. The poet considers that she is a doll for others even from her birth. The poetic presentation of the doll attributes to the nature of a girl- to be a doll for others. The images like stove and irons tell what type of a life is presented to her in the near future. She will have to work in kitchen and do the works for the males. The lipsticks are helping her to color herself with sexual attributes. “The color of cherry candy” (4) is having an excessive sexual impulse. She is a figure of attraction in the make world. In all the layers of her growth she is presented as a consumer product. The attaining of puberty is mentioned as “the magic of puberty” (5) in the poem as this stage brings many changes to body and mind of a girl. Even though it is a great change in a girl, it carries much disturbance in her mind. It is not the internal disturbance, but the external from the other gender. She is watched over by others with an eye of ridicule. Even though she is having intellectual ability and possessing “strong arms and back” she cannot escape from the humiliating looks of the other gender. The word, ‘fan belt’ forms a simile in the poem. She is living as a fan belt to run the engine of the male dominated society. She has to sacrifice her life for the smooth running the patriarchal system prevalent in the present American society. Barbie Doll being the symbol of the women in society as general could not spare it. “So she cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up” (18-19). The last stanza of the poem presents Barbie dead. The color of pink is attributed to the dead state of the woman in a conventional society. Pink is the color that the other gender gave her. The white nightie describes her purity in the world. The male world wants her to be pure and beautiful at death also. So even at the coffin she does not possess an identity. All are attributed to the male generated society. She has no escape from the clutches of the present society. The social pressure on women is so severe and so she has to live a life for others. The identity of woman is often neglected by the other world. She has to be coy and good natured before others. The poem says, “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty, / exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” (13-15). The picture of a lady is not drawn by her but by the society and she is only a doll to behave in front of others. The emotional aspects of a woman are ignored and always she has to act as an air hostess. The puberty is a shame upon her. Others use to ridicule by, “You have a great big nose and fat legs” (6). These feelings take her to her death at the end. Even when she is dead and placed in a coffin she cannot escape from the identity crisis. The attire that was given her is by the patriarchal society who demands the woman dressed in pink and white nightie in order to keep her beauty without loss for the male world. The poem, Barbie Doll published in 1973 portrayed the position of the woman in the American patriarchal society. Marge Piercy harshly criticized the society for making the women stereotyped and not making her a true individual. She is presented with the Barbie doll and thus framing her life with kitchen and sexuality. The whole poem is presented in an allegorical tone. The poet uses different poetic devices to put forward her points. The Title of the poem is an allegorical representation of women’s status quo in the present world. The poet through the lines, “Consummation at last/To every woman a happy ending. (25-26) wants to speak that death is more secure for women than life. She might have used the word consummation as a metonymy (a poetic device) to denote death. For a woman consummation is more preferred than death. She in a way ridicules the society for its atrocities on women. She is having no name in the poem as the poet thinks that a name is insignificant for her. She is the presentation of every woman in the world. The feminist writers took this poem as an important one to depict the atrocities of the male chauvinists against female gender. The writer, through the doll icon of America, has exquisitely pictured the state of woman not only in America but in the whole world. The self of the woman in the poem has to live with the various images burdened over her by the present society. Thus the poem is the best example for the cultural degradation of the female self in the male world. Work cited Piercy, Marge. Barbie Doll (1973) From the collection, To Be of Use. Read More