Poet Marge Piercy- Introduction
‘Barbie Doll’ is a poem by Marge Piercy, an American writer, novelist, and social activist. It was published in 1971 and written at a time when second-wave feminism was taking place.
Marge Piercy is known for her works such as “Woman on the Edge of Time”, and “He, She and It” which won the Arthur C Clarke award in 1993, and “Gone to Soldiers” a New York Times Best Seller. She is known for her Jewish heritage, communist social political activism and feminist ideals.
Barbie Doll Poem Background
The second-wave feminism took place throughout the Western World during the early 1960s and lasted for around two decades. It aimed to increase equality for women. The poem ‘Barbie Doll’ reflects this ideology. Women at that time were exploited not only for their gender but also for their race.
‘Barbie’ was something of a cultural sensation during that period expressing what the perfect American woman should be like. It represented unrealistic body standards and life of stereotyped gender roles.
This poem portrays the struggle of such women against these societal issues. Through her poem ‘Barbie Doll’, Marge Piercy tried to address these problems by making people question these societal norms.
Barbie Doll poem by Marge Piercy
This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
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.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.
Stanza wise summary of the poem Barbie Doll
In the first stanza, the poet talks about a particular girlchild, saying that she was born as usual and gifted with ‘pee-pee dolls’. The little girl was also given miniature GE stoves and irons and tiny (wee) toy lipsticks that were the color of cherry candy. Then when the girl hit puberty, one of her classmates said that she had a great big nose and fat legs.
In the second stanza, the poet says that the young girl turned out to be healthy, was intelligent, and possessed strong arms and back. She was also sexually zealous and dexterous in her movements. The girl, however, was self-conscious and went around apologizing for her looks. All that people noticed about her was her big nose and thick legs.
The poet describes how society treated the girl in the third stanza. She says that the girl was advised to act coyly, exhorted to be cheerful, exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle. Soon her good nature wore out like a fan belt.
The poet says that because she was fed up with these advice, she cut up her nose and legs and offered them up. This means that she finally yielded to societal pressure.
In the final stanza, the poet says that when the girl (now a woman) finally died, she was laid down in a casket on satin fabric. The undertaker had put make-up on the corpse (undertaker’s cosmetics painted on).
Her turned-up nose looked like it was made out of putty and she was dressed in a pink and white nightie. The people around her thought she looked pretty. Consummation or in this case death seemed to be every woman’s happy ending.
Themes in the poem Barbie Doll
Central Theme of Barbie Doll
The main theme of the poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy is society’s outlook on feminism and women’s rights. In this poem, the poet gives a sarcastic view of how little girls are brought up in a stereotypical manner that is considered ‘feminine’ or ‘womanly’.
Right from childhood, they are taught to look, dress and behave in a certain way. They are gifted with toys that are either dolls (mostly barbie), kitchen sets, or dummy make-up kits. This gives young girls the impression that they have to become ideal wives and mothers in the future.
As they grow up into teenagers and adolescents, they are subject to peer pressure, becoming more conscious of their physical appearance. They are expected to have a size zero figure and are shunned by society if they don’t have perfect facial features or beautifully shaped arms and legs.
The poet paints a picture of a harsh and judgmental society where women who are physically and mentally fit are disregarded since too much importance is given to their outward appearance. They are patronized into being submissive and are expected to be soft, shy, enticing, and physically slim.
Some women eventually give into societal pressure and even go to extremities such as undergoing cosmetic surgery and excessive dieting. Thus, they are under the illusion that they are now more attractive, younger, and slimmer. Such women are admired by society and considered ‘beautiful’ ‘pretty’ or ‘sexually appealing’.
But they forget that in the end, all women irrespective of their physical appearance will leave their mortal bodies behind. This ‘consummation’ or ‘ultimate end’, the poet says is a happy ending for every woman because she will be liberated from the clutches of society.
Line by line interpretation of the poem Barbie Doll
This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
The poet begins the poem by introducing an unnamed girlchild. She uses the word ‘girlchild’ to emphasize how society usually prefers male children to female children. She says that this baby girl was ‘born as usual’ which means that her birth was ordinary.
She was presented with ‘pee-pee dolls’ or dummy baby dolls that are usually gifted to little girls. She was also given miniature models of GE (General Electric) stoves, ironing boxes, and tiny ‘wee’ lipsticks the color of cherry candy. The poet thus portrays how right from a very young age society discriminates between ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ by teaching girls that their only role in life are to be a wife and mother.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
The poet continues, saying that when the girl reached puberty i.e., her early teens, one of her classmates commented that she had a ‘great big nose and fat legs’. This statement depicts a harsh reality where impressionable young women are taught to adopt a particular notion of beauty, subjecting many of them to peer pressure.
She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.
The poet says that this young girl was healthy, was regarded as intelligent, and had strong arms and back. This implies that though she was mentally and physically fit, she was looked down upon since women were not supposed to be ‘strong’.
She seemed to have ‘abundant sexual drive’ which was quite normal for youngsters of her age but was not favored as a ‘feminine’ characteristic. She also had ‘manual dexterity’ implying that she was skillful in using her hands.
‘She went to and fro apologizing’. This means that she was sorry for herself and the way she looked, thus apologizing. It could also mean that this showed a meek attitude since she was not proud of her looks.
The phrase ‘fat nose on thick legs’ is a figurative way of saying that all that people saw in her despite her strengths were her physical flaws i.e., her big nose and thick legs.
She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
The poet says that the girl was advised by people to ‘play coy’ meaning, behave flirtatiously. She was also urged (exhorted) to have a cheerful (hearty) attitude, exercise, diet, smile and to sweet talk (wheedle).
Finally, the girl was so fed up that the poet says ‘Her good nature wore out like a fan belt’. This is a metaphor for the girl’s breaking point where she gives in to society’s unrealistic expectations. Thus, the woman is no longer her genuine self.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.
The two sentences mentioned above could be a metaphor for what the girl indirectly did to herself. She must have undergone cosmetic surgery to correct her nose and remove excess fat from her legs.
Here, ‘offered them up’ is used sarcastically to mean that she sacrificed her natural appearance, just like an offering, to please society. The poet implies that by doing so, the young woman tried to get rid of the parts that she considered ugly.
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.
In this stanza, the poet talks about the girl’s death. She says that when the girl died (presumably when she was young), she was laid down on satin in a casket. The phrase ‘undertaker’s cosmetics’ refers to how the undertaker restructured her face to make her look nice.
After surgery, the girl had a ‘turned-up putty nose’. This means that her nose looked artificial like it was made out of clay (putty). She was dressed in a ‘pink and white nightie’. These colors refer to the typical ones used for dolls and dresses.
The fact that she was dressed in a ‘nightie’ instead of something more formal and suitable indicates that she was made to look as attractive as possible. The people around her even admired this physical appearance asking among themselves how pretty she looked. Thus, even in death, she was not spared but made to look like society wanted her to do so.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.
The poet ends the poem on a tragic note. She says that ‘consummation’ or ‘death’ is a happy ending for every woman. She is trying to convey that death is preferable to the ridiculous expectations of society that some women are forced to fulfill.
Analysis of the poem Barbie Doll
The poem Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy is a satire on gender stereotypes. Though ‘Barbie Doll’ is not mentioned anywhere in the poem, the title of the poem refers to society’s role in gender stereotyping, sexism, and patriarchy.
The poet gives a brief account of a girl’s life right from birth to death. The poet talks about a particular girl who right from the time is an infant is taught to be a typical ‘woman’ by being given toys that will teach her to be a wife and mother.
As she grows up, she is taught that she must look and behave in a certain way. Even though she is intelligent and healthy, these qualities are side-lined and she is forced to be what she is not.
Finally, she relents to these expectations and loses herself in the process. She is no more her authentic self. By pleasing society, she brings sadness to herself and is supposedly happy only after death.
The poem is written in free verse and has no specific metrical pattern or rhyme scheme. It is rich in imagery as the poet gives a vivid description of the girl’s life. Through her narration, the poet brings to the minds of the reader a chronological order of events in her protagonist’s life.
Poetic devices used in the poem Barbie Doll
Metaphor:
“Her good nature wore out like a fan belt”
Enjambment:
“This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee….”
Alliteration:
“…. color of cherry candy”
Simile:
“…. like a fan belt.”
