The poem of the week for this week was Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy. At first glance, this poem is almost morbid and gory in its description. The third stanza talks about the girl cutting off her own legs and nose as an offering, and the final stanza describes her in a casket with everyone talking about how pretty she looks.
It's sad because this is seen many times in society today. This is the source of eating disorders, body image issues, low self esteem, and sometimes even suicide. One mean comment can completely change someone's life, which in this case it did. That one classmate who told her she had "a great big nose and fat legs" changed her life forever. She went on trying to please everyone but in the end she ended up sacrificing herself.
"In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said."
Her "happy ending" was when everyone finally thought she was beautiful. She had lived a whole life of sadness, trying to look like what society told her she should look like, achieving that only when she was dead.
"Consummation at last.
To every woman an happy ending."
It's sad because this is seen many times in society today. This is the source of eating disorders, body image issues, low self esteem, and sometimes even suicide. One mean comment can completely change someone's life, which in this case it did. That one classmate who told her she had "a great big nose and fat legs" changed her life forever. She went on trying to please everyone but in the end she ended up sacrificing herself.
"In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said."
Her "happy ending" was when everyone finally thought she was beautiful. She had lived a whole life of sadness, trying to look like what society told her she should look like, achieving that only when she was dead.
"Consummation at last.
To every woman an happy ending."