Barbie Doll, Essay Example

For young girls, there can be a lot of pressure to conform to society’s ideal of femininity and beauty. Often, this can have disastrous results for the self esteem and wellbeing of these girls. The poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy tells the story of a girl who fails to live up to the physical standard set by an impossible standard. This poem is an indictment of society and the overemphasis on feminine beauty for young girls. Though it seems to tell the story of a single tragedy, it is clear that Piercy means to address the widespread tragedy inherent in a society that expects women to be Barbie dolls, and places that impossible standard on young girls.

The first stanza describes the way in which the girl was raised. The first word that stands out is ‘girlchild,’ which is in the first line. As a girl, and a child, she was raised in a certain way, and, I believe, she never grew out of her youth. She was acculturated to play at mundane tasks like ironing and cooking. Through play, the girl was taught to reach no further than her own household. In a sense, she was born and bred to be a housewife. She could play pretty at home but, as she grew up, she found that people would find her unattractive. Specifically, we are told that she has a big nose and fat legs.

I think that the poet purposefully singled out a big nose and fat legs because these are largely meaningless, cosmetic differences. Women who have large noses and fat legs are not incapable of any task, nor are they even particularly unattractive based only on those two aspects. The poet was meaning to exaggerate the state of perfection that is expected of young girls and show, from the girlchild’s perspective, how it would feel to have these imperfections. Any reader can identify with a personal imperfection that, while insignificant, still makes us conscious of ourselves. This could be any girl, with small imperfections that keep her from reaching the standard set by Barbie, of being tall, thin, and blond. While the first stanza shows the buildup and eventually disappointment that the girl’s childhood brings, the second stanza sheds more light on the tragedy of the girl’s life.

The reader is told, by the second stanza, that the girl was intelligent, healthy, and capable in most important ways. We are told also, however, that she apologized for herself and was seen only as an unattractive girl, rather than an intelligent girl, or a physically capable girl. It seems clear that this judgment was held by the girl, as well as the people around her. She apologizes for herself and lacks confidence in her own abilities because of her minor physical imperfections.

I wonder if the girl is seen by society as being unattractive and lacking worth because of a strict societal view, or because the girl sees herself as unattractive and, therefore, lacking worth. We could imagine a girl who, raised differently, would have confidence in herself and accept her imperfections, and we could also imagine the world bending to view the girl as she presents herself, taking only brief notice of the small imperfections. Thus, we can see that the poet is singling out the upbringing of girls as shaping their worldview. When the girl child played with dolls and stoves, she shaped her self-image and, when she found that she could not fit her own vision of herself, she became apologetic, emphasizing her imperfections. We can assume that things could have been different for the girl, had she been more confident in herself. In this way, the girl is as much to blame as society.

This likely led to the results described in the third stanza, in which the poet describes how the girl was advised to lose weight and attract the attention of men through feminine tricks. We can assume that she was unsuccessful since her good will is described as running out, leading to her own death, in which she mutilates herself. The third stanza describes the process of change from trying to fit in to society’s ideal, to falling over the edge in frustration and taking it out on the perceived imperfection.

The fourth stanza describes the funeral, and how, when mourners saw her body, they described her as looking pretty. Whether this is from the pity of a funeral setting, or the artificial nature of her nose and makeup is unclear. What is clear is that, in a twisted way, to be called pretty is what the woman would have wanted. It is ironically described as a happy ending, though we know that the subject’s life is a tragedy. Her potential has been wasted and her life was short and unhappy.

What stuck out to me about the fourth stanza is the fact that the subject is, for the first time, referred to as a woman. We can assume that, up until this point, the poet would consider her to be a child. In this way, scorn for the tragedy is laid at the feet of the woman as well as society. She did not achieve womanhood by growing in to a confident, strong woman, but through familiarizing herself with the darkness of death.

This poem confronts a number of issues. The poet has a lot to say about gender stereotypes and society’s role in influencing self-image. We know that this sad story plays out on a daily basis, to varying levels of severity in the lives of children all over the world. It seems clear that Piercy meant to indict not only society, but women who do not rise above society’s standards to find their own way in the world.

Works Cited

Angalou, Maya “Phenomenal Woman” on Feminist.com, recovered 29 January, 2010. http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/insp/maya.htm. Web.

Piercy, Marge. “Barbie Doll” in Norton introduction to Literature by Booth, Allison, Hunter Paul J., and Mays, Kelly J. W.W. Norton and Company, New York, New York. 2007. Print.