The speaker in "The Applicant" seems to be society. The first stanza asks, "are you our sort of person? ...Rubber breast or a rubber crotch?" Implying do you, man or female, make yourself appear a certain way to become society's "sort of person".
I feel when Sylvia used the word naked several times, her meaning behind it is innocence, and eventually she won't be, "in twenty-five years she'll be silver", illustrating as time gets older she will appear as something else.
I find it significant that she uses the pronoun "it", stating, "A living doll, everywhere you look. It can sew, it can cook, it can talk, talk talk. / It works, there is nothing wrong with it." She is describing a girl who has all the "right" characteristics for a husband. The last line is quite important as it says, "My boy, it's your last resort. / Will you marry it, marry it, marry it." (notice there is no question mark -?). This shows that society believes it is up to the boy to decide who his wife is and if she fits all the criteria. I believe Plath is writing in society's point of view and is trying to speak to men, and even society overall.
I love the way you explain how the pronoun "it" is significant in this piece. At the end, where there is no question mark, do you think he has a decision? If there is a period, isn't that more of a statement? I think this idea would really support your claim that she is speaking to society. What tone do you think she is using? Does she agree with this message to society? Think about words like "rubber" the repetition of "talk," why does she choose to use the word "silver?" All of these very specific choices lend to the tone of the piece and the tone leads to how the reader views Plath's ideas about the relationship between society and gender.
ReplyDeleteReading the class notes, I definitely can see that it represents an arranged marriage. Thinking the speaker was society, it definitely also conveys the voice of a father trying to put two people together. Plath's ideas about relationships seems to be that boys and girls don't have a decision, conveying being trapped in an unwanted life designed for the both. The class notes are similar to mine when we both stated the "it" is objective and robotic.
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