About Sylvia Plath and the poem ‘ The Applicant ’
Sylvia Plath was a Twentieth Century American poet and author. Most of her works are an expression of her experiences in life, which earned her the title of a major confessional poet. They often condemn the patriarchal nature of the society in which she led her life and highlight the suffering of women.
The poem ‘The Applicant’ was originally written in 1962, but published three years later, in 1965, as a part of the book ‘ Ariel ’. It is notable that this poem was published two years after the death of Sylvia Plath, the poet herself.
The poem is a satire of the superficial notions that society has on a man and woman’s role in a marriage. It is an address to an ‘ Applicant ’ (a man) who has applied for a wife, by the speaker who is supposedly the one who is supplying the girl. It criticizes society’s unfair dictation as to the mechanical role played by a wife in the life of her husband.
The poem ‘ The Applicant ’ by Sylvia Plath
First, are you our sort of a person?
Do you wear
A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
A brace or a hook,
Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,
Stitches to show something’s missing? No, no? Then
How can we give you a thing?
Stop crying.
Open your hand.
Empty? Empty. Here is a hand
To fill it and willing
To bring teacups and roll away headaches
And do whatever you tell it.
Will you marry it?
It is guaranteed
To thumb shut your eyes at the end
And dissolve of sorrow.
We make new stock from the salt.
I notice you are stark naked.
How about this suit——
Black and stiff, but not a bad fit.
Will you marry it?
It is waterproof, shatterproof, proof
Against fire and bombs through the roof.
Believe me, they’ll bury you in it.
Now your head, excuse me, is empty.
I have the ticket for that.
Come here, sweetie, out of the closet.
Well, what do you think of that?
Naked as paper to start
But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver,
In fifty, gold.
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.
You have a hole, it’s a poultice.
You have an eye, it’s an image.
My boy, it’s your last resort.
Will you marry it, marry it, marry it.
Stanza-wise summary of the poem ‘The Applicant’
In the first stanza of the poem ‘The Applicant’, the speaker (interviewer) enquires about the qualifications of the man (applicant) who has applied for a wife. He asks the man if he is suitable for the girl in stock.
He is asked if he has any prosthetic replacements for his body parts or similar aids, such as a glass eye, false teeth, crutch, etc. as proof of the fact that he is missing crucial elements in his life and indeed requires a woman to compensate for it.
In the second stanza, it is confirmed that the applicant does not have that particular necessity. Then why should he be given anything? He begins to cry, which shows his desperation for a wife. He is asked to stop crying, and open his hand. Seeing that it is empty, the speaker finally relents and offers him a girl, to fill that gap.
In the third stanza, the interviewer makes comments on the benefits of his product. The girl will not only fill the man’s hand but do his bidding so long as he has her; serve him tea and help cure his headaches, as a wife should. He is offered the marriage of such an exemplary woman.
The interviewer continues advertising his product to the applicant in the fourth stanza. He guarantees that if he marries her, she would stay with him till his death and then debilitate herself with grief.
He adds that his company/organization guides and shapes new women based on the sorrowful experiences of the previous ones. He notices that the applicant is stark naked – without the company of a wife, and offers him a suit, which is a metaphor for the girl he has in stock.
The girl is black and stiff – trained to only obey and serve. But still, a good product for the man. He is once again asked if he will marry her, as she would withstand all adversities and humiliations for his sake. Society would always recognize him as her husband, even after his burial i.e death.
In the sixth stanza, the interviewer makes a new observation about his client; the applicant’s head is empty – devoid of the conscience that a wife would bring. That’s exactly what they are offering. The speaker finally calls the girl – the suit that was in the closet all this while, and shows it to the man. She may look ordinary now but is highly profitable in the years to come.
As the year’s progress, the woman would bring wealth and happiness to the applicant, in the form of dowry, children, and good company in old age. She is a living doll – an attractive toy that would serve and entertain him without comment. She can fulfill all his household needs, be it stitching clothes or cooking food. She would talk to him ceaselessly and keep him company always.
In the final stanza, the interviewer attempts to make it crystal clear that his client has no reason to refuse his offer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the girl; she is, in every way, just as an ideal wife should be.
She is the very element he had been missing in his life, be it as a poultice to assuage his wounds, or an image worthy of his eyesight. She is his last resort, as there is no other way for him to become a complete man. So now he is offered the choice one last time; will he marry her?
Themes in the poem The Applicant
The Central theme of the poem
The main theme of the poem ‘ The Applicant ’ is society’s stereotypes of the roles played by a husband and wife in a marriage. All through the poem, the interviewer tests whether the applicant’s need for a wife matches the nuptial needs that are dictated by society. The poem opens with the speaker asking the man whether he is society’s ideal bridegroom – an incomplete person.
The interviewer says that his client needs a wife because his head and hand are empty, or because he is stark naked. A wife would be the poultice for his hole, and an image for his eye. These are references to age-old customs that say that a wife’s duty is to make a man’s life complete and purposeful.
The same idea can be applied to the girl who is being offered. All the benefits and qualities that the interviewer promises about his product are a reference to society’s stipulations regarding an ideal wife.
If taken for a wife, the girl would fill his empty hand, bring him teacups, roll away headaches, do whatever he tells her, shut his eyes and grieve after his death, withstand all difficulties, bring him gold and silver, sew, cook, and talk. The girl will do all the duties that society expects her to do to her spouse, both in his personal as well as public life.
Other themes
Marital relationships, male-dominated society, and gender discrimination are the themes in the poem, ‘ The Applicant’.
Marital relationship
The first theme in the poem ‘ The Applicant ’ is the ‘ consumerization of marital relationships ’. The instance of match-making between a man and a woman is represented as a business deal, wherein a husband has applied to a company for a wife. It is a reference to society’s mechanical perception of marriage.
Male-dominated Society
The next theme in the poem is a ‘ Male-dominated society ’. An applicant is a man. He has the freedom to choose his wife, not vice-versa. An ideal wife is one who serves her husband faithfully without a word, as implied by the lines do whatever you tell it, It can sew, it can cook, etc. The woman apparently has no choice in this matter.
Gender Discrimination
The third theme in the poem is the ‘ Subjugation of women ’. All through the poem, the girl is treated as a product for sale, and not as a human or citizen. She is referred to as a thing.
Her own choices or emotions are overlooked in the interest of the applicant. She is nothing but a living doll. The line’s new stock from the salt, waterproof, shatterproof, etc. corroborates this theme.
Line-by-line interpretation of the poem ‘ The Applicant ’
First, are you our sort of a person?
The opening line of the poem ‘ The Applicant ’ is the first question that the interviewer asks the applicant, a man who has applied for a wife. First here means ‘ First of all ’. The interviewer wants to know whether the man is the type that they are looking for. You refer to the applicant, and our refers to the company that the interviewer is representing.
Do you wear
A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
A brace or a hook,
Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,
Stitches to show something’s missing? No, no?
The interviewer continues to enquire about the qualifications of the applicant. Here, the third to sixth line of the poem contains various examples of prosthetic body items or remedies for disability, such as a glass eye, crutch, stitches, etc. The applicant is asked whether he wears them.
He has to show something’s missing because, in the eyes of society, a wife’s role is to fill in the weaknesses of her husband and make him perfect. The man’s answer is said by the speaker himself, as no. Hence it is confirmed that he is not missing anything.
Then
How can we give you a thing?
The applicant has failed to submit the necessary qualification of missing something. The interviewer refuses to give a wife in this case. Here, thing refers to the girl, who is a product in stock.
Stop crying.
Open your hand.
Empty? Empty. Here is a hand
The applicant begins to cry when his request is rejected, which shows that he is desperate for a wife. The interviewer asks him to stop crying and open his hand. It is confirmed that his hand is empty.
This was the qualification that the speaker was looking for – he has to lack something so that the girl can fill it. Now, the speaker is satisfied and accepts his request. He is offered a hand, which is a synecdoche for the girl.
To fill it and willing
To bring teacups and roll away headaches
And do whatever you tell it.
Now that the interviewer is ready to give the girl to the applicant, he begins to advertise her qualifications as a wife. The hand of the girl would fill the emptiness in the man’s life. She would bring teacups ( serve him tea ) and roll away headaches ( take care of him when he is ill ) as a good wife should. All in all, she would do all his bidding if he marries her. It refers to the hand of the girl, which represents the girl herself.
Will you marry it?
Once the benefits of the girl are explained to the applicant, he is offered her marriage. It is asked in such a way that, how can he refuse such a perfect product?
It is guaranteed
To thumb shut your eyes at the end
And dissolve of sorrow.
We make new stock from the salt.
Next, the speaker lists the promises of his product. The word guaranteed establishes that there is no doubt as to the girl in these aspects. The end in the seventeenth line refers to the applicant’s death. The girl would never leave his side till that moment, and shut his eyes herself, as is the custom.
She would even dissolve of sorrow – grieve after his death. The next line explains the company’s policy – they make new stock ( new women ) out of the salt from the tears of the old ones who have lost their husbands.
In other words, the subsequent generations of girls shape their approach toward their spouses based on the experiences of their married ancestors.
I notice you are stark naked.
How about this suit——
Black and stiff, but not a bad fit.
The interviewer makes a new observation about his client – the applicant is stark naked, that is he is vulnerable without the company of a woman. The girl is now offered as a suit – a form of security in his life.
She is black and stiff – trained only to obey and serve, like an emotionless tool. But he can benefit from it nevertheless, as she will fit correctly and complete his existence.
Will you marry it?
It is waterproof, shatterproof, proof
Against fire and bombs through the roof.
Believe me, they’ll bury you in it.
The applicant is again offered her marriage. As if to convince him to agree, the speaker mentions that the suit is waterproof, shatterproof, and proof against fire and bombs through the roof. In other words, she would endure all the difficulties they would have to face as a family without complaint, make his problems her own, and face them together with him.
The speaker asks him to believe him – if he is accepting a product, he has to first have trust in the supplier. They in the twenty-sixth line of the poem refers to society. She would make such an ideal wife, everyone would associate him with her good qualities, even after he is dead and buried.
Now your head, excuse me, is empty.
I have the ticket for that.
The interviewer observes that the applicant’s head is empty in the twenty-seventh line. It means that without a wife’s guidance, a man’s mind cannot have proper conscience and judgment to lead a respectable life.
He uses the phrase excuse me, as a gesture of politeness while criticizing his client, as if offending him would cost him the deal. He refers to his girl as a ticket for the empty mind, like it is a remedy for the problem.
Come here, sweetie, out of the closet.
Well, what do you think of that?
The product that is offered to the applicant is finally brought into view in the next line; the speaker summons her, addressing her as a sweetie like she is the most treasured item in his company’s stock.
She is called out of a closet, which is a reference to her earlier comparison to a suit. The man is asked what he thinks of the product, now that it is visible to him.
Naked as paper to start
But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver,
In fifty, gold.
The interviewer says that at the start of the marriage, the girl is naked as paper – looks simple and plain as if she is a virgin. But in about twenty-five years, she would be silver – she would bring a dowry, bear children, and take care of the household.
If the marriage lasts for another fifty years, then she would be gold – do the crucial duty of tending to him in his old age and protecting his properties after his death. Therefore, she is a highly profitable asset.
A living doll, everywhere you look.
It can sew, it can cook,
It can talk, talk, talk.
The girl would be a living doll in the man’s home – alive and attractive, yet never speaks against him. No matter where he looks, he can’t find a flaw or disadvantage in the doll.
She can do all his household chores- sewing, cooking, etc and hence make life easier for him. She is a tool that can talk constantly when he desires, therefore keeping him company and looking after his affairs in public in his absence.
It works, there is nothing wrong with it.
You have a hole, it’s a poultice.
You have an eye, it’s an image.
The product, or the girl, is in perfect condition – it performs all the functions that the speaker has mentioned so far. There is no problem or damage as yet.
In the thirty-eighth line, the speaker comes back to his earlier point that the applicant needs his product as it fills in his shortcomings; She is a poultice ( a dabbing cloth ) for his hole ( wound ).
All his problems are solved if he has her. She is an image for his eye – his life and possessions gain purpose if he has her. In other words, he needs her for his own security and success.
My boy, it’s your last resort.
Will you marry it, marry it, marry it.
In the final lines of the poem, the interviewer finalizes that the applicant has no choice but to accept his offer. He addresses him as my boy, implying that his client’s future is dependent on his deal. The girl is the man’s last resort, as there is no other alternative to fulfill his life and goals.
The last line is yet another question – one last offer of marriage. He is asked three times, laying emphasis on the fact that he has no excuse left to not marry the girl.
Analysis of the poem ‘ The Applicant ’
‘ The Applicant ’ is a poem that has a sarcastic, interrogative, mocking, and feministic tone. It is written in free verse – there is no specific rhyme scheme or meter. It contains eight stanzas of five lines each. The poem is a series of questions and statements issued by an interviewer to an applicant ( a man who has applied for a wife ).
The speaker in the poem is the interviewer, and only his side of the conversation is given. If the applicant has said anything, it is reflected in the speaker’s words itself. For instance, No, no? and Empty? Empty.
The characteristics of the applicant and the girl are questioned and answered by the interviewer, which is a reference to how marital roles are decided by society, and how little choice the couple has in this matter.
The interviewer’s gender is not mentioned anywhere; but since Sylvia Plath’s works generally criticize male domination, we interpret that the one who is in charge of the girl is probably male.
And since the benefits that he advertises regarding his product are duties that a wife performs towards her husband, it is established that it is indeed a man who has applied for a girl’s hand in marriage.
The applicant is tested for his qualifications in the beginning. He is expected to be missing things in his life in order to qualify for marriage, which is a sarcasm of society’s notions on the reason for the same. The poet begins the poem with the word first, which implies that the interview has just begun, and he is being asked the first question.
Are you our sort of a person? Here, our could not only refer to the company of the interviewer but the society as a whole. The man has to first be society’s ideal man if he wants to get married. The poet has used the imagery of deformities like a glass eye, crutches, stitches, etc. to give the reader the imagination of a desperate and testing situation.
Note that the girl is always referred to with the pronoun it and thing instead of she or her. This is a hint that girls are generally treated as tools and not as humans by society. Since the poem was written in 1962, it is understood that the poet is criticizing the Western society of that period.
The man is also harshly questioned and ridiculed by the interviewer; the interviewer could be representing not only his company but the society as a whole, and men too are coerced to follow social customs and overlook their own choices. Therefore, we can understand that the speaker represents the society in the poem and the applicant, the common citizen.
The first two stanzas of the poem raise the qualifications of the applicant. But from the third stanza onwards, the qualifications of the product are listed. Therefore the society’s ideals of both men and women are mentioned.
In the fifth stanza, the poet uses violent imagery like fire, shatter, bombs, etc. to convey the impression of adverse conditions. A wife is expected to bear all sorts of predicaments to support her husband. It is an attempt to make the reader understand the suffering of women.
There are repeated instances of death in the poem, like at the end and bury. This means that once married, a couple is intertwined till the end of their lives and there is no turning back.
In the seventh stanza, the poet repeats the word talk three times. This can have a lot of different interpretations but is perhaps to convey that the girl has a lot of challenges to face in the future, which, as she is physically incompetent, has to solve by talking.
The poet again uses the imagery of body parts like hole, eye in the last stanza to show that the applicant is incomplete without marriage, and it is a desperate deal.
The final line of the poem again contains a repetition; marry three times. It is to lay emphasis on the fact that at that point, the applicant has no other option left. Also, this line justifies the main theme of the poem – the notions of marriage.
Every time the question about marriage is asked, the interviewer begins with will you. This conveys the tone of a non-refusable offer. The title of the poem is justified, as it is addressed to the applicant. The whole situation takes place because the applicant has requested a wife.
It can be observed that in several instances, the lines continue on to the next sentence, and in some cases to the next stanza itself. Like, Do you wear a glass eye, false teeth or a crutch, a brace or a hook, rubber breasts or a rubber crotch, stitches to show something’s missing , Here is a hand To fill it and willing, It is waterproof, shatterproof, proof against fire and bombs through the roof, etc. This maintains a continuity in the flow of questions and statements that the interviewer makes to the applicant.
Poetic Devices in the poem ‘The Applicant’
The literary devices used in the poem ‘ The Applicant ’ are simile, metaphor, enjambment, alliteration, and personification.
Simile :
Naked as paper to start – the girl’s virginity and inexperience at the beginning of marriage is compared to a paper.
Metaphor :
1) A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
A brace or a hook,
Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,
Stitches to show something’s missing?
Here, all the weaknesses and loopholes in the applicant’s life are compared to physical disabilities and prosthetic aids.
2) How can we give you a thing? – The girl is compared to a thing – a product that is offered.
3) We make new stock from the salt. – The new women who are shaped based on the experiences of the old ones are termed as stock.
4) How about this suit – the girl is compared to a suit.
5) I have the ticket for that. – the marriage of the girl is compared to a ticket.
6) But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver,
In fifty, gold.
Here, the various benefits that the girl will bring after marriage are termed gold and silver.
7) A living doll – the girl is compared to a living doll.
8) You have a hole, it’s a poultice.
You have an eye, it’s an image.
Again, the various shortcomings in the man’s life are compared to hole and eye, and the girl is compared to a poultice and image.
Synecdoche :
1) Here is a hand – the hand represents the girl.
2) new stock from the salt – salt represents the tears of the girl.
Personification :
1) Here is a hand
To fill it and willing
To bring teacups and roll away headaches
And do whatever you tell it.
The hand is personified as a person ( wife ) who will do the applicant’s bidding.
2) And dissolve of sorrow – The hand is personified as something that dissolves after the applicant’s death.
3) A living doll, everywhere you look.
It can sew, it can cook,
It can talk, talk, talk.
A doll is personified as a human who can take care of all the applicant’s needs.
Alliteration :
Some lines in the poem have repeated consonants. They are :
1) Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch
2) Stitches to show something
3) Empty? Empty. Here is a hand
4) waterproof, shatterproof, proof
Against fire and bombs through the roof.
5) It can talk, talk, talk.
6) Will you marry it, marry it, marry it.
Enjambment :
Some continuous lines in the poem are in fact the same sentence. They are:
1) Do you wear
A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
A brace or a hook,
Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,
Stitches to show something’s missing?
2) Then How can we give you a thing?
3) Here is a hand
To fill it and willing
To bring teacups and roll away headaches
And do whatever you tell it.
4) It is guaranteed
To thumb shut your eyes at the end
And dissolve of sorrow.
5) How about this suit—
Black and stiff, but not a bad fit.
6) It is waterproof, shatterproof, proof
Against fire and bombs through the roof.
7) Naked as paper to start
But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver,
In fifty, gold.
8) It can sew, it can cook,
It can talk, talk, talk.
