Anne Sexton Literary Essay Example for Free

Anne Sexton Literary EssayAnne Sexton transforms the well-known fairytale Snow washcloth into a sardonic raise of writing that reflects societal perceptions of the woman. In her poem she explores the idea that a woman is nothing more than a biddy, something that sits pretty on a shelf for tout ensemble to admire. She also describes the reliance on men, and how women are becoming dependent and incompetent. She counteracts this with a womens intelligence compared to her beauty and narcissism, and what a woman should be. She explores the idea of beauty and vanity going hand in hand, meaning that even princesses can be vain. Fairytales arent real, and they are overrated- happily forever after does not exist, especially for those who arent beautiful.All fairytales have a female antagonist, and one that is usually a princess. Snow clean-living is sexualized as the virgin.Good Day Mama,and shut for the thrustof the unicorn.She is unsoiled.She is as white as a bonefish. (9-13)Thi s text explains that she innocent and untouched. All that matters to a prince is that she is beautiful and a virgin. A brand new doll with porcelain skin and vitreous eyes.cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper,arms and legs made of Limoges,lips like Vin Du Rhne,rolling her china-blue doll eyesopen and shut. (3-7)Sexton compares Snow White to a doll because she is merely an object for ones admiration and love. She is to be pampered and taken care of in return of sitting pretty on the shelf, to be admired. viewer and vanity play the two-sided coin in this poem, you cant have one without the other. The queen epitomizes vanity, when she asks the mirror who is the fairest of the land. When the reply is Snow White, she is outraged. Being the most(prenominal) beautiful person in the land is what the queen desires. She craves the attention because beauty is so valued, and Sexton makes that clear. If Snow White or the Queen werent beautiful, would anyone ever notice them? Sexton says,Beaut y is a simple passion.Meaning everyone desires beauty, so those who have it are more noticed. Because Snow White is beautiful, both the prince and the dwarves value her. still with beauty comes vanity, and that is something that Sexton believes in. She believes women should be active and intelligent beauty is just a faade that relieves women of reaching their full potential. If a woman is beautiful, she can be just as successful as a smart woman without doing all the work because she can rely on men. Any man volition want a beautiful wife that does not interfere with his matters. This is what the prince seeks, and finds when he falls in love with Snow White only for her beauty.He stayed so long his hair turned greenand still he would not leave.The dwarfs took pity upon himand gave him the glass Snow Whiteits dolls eyes shut foreverto cargo area in his far-off castle.Sexton believes all women should work to be smart, and beauty is no reason not to achieve that. Snow White is unin telligent because she keeps start the door to the queen even when the dwarfs urge her not too. Her unintelligence is linked to her reliance on a man because she ends up in the happily-ever-after position as the wife of a prince even though she did nothing to deserve it. But what Sexton is trying to show us at the end of the poem that Snow White is now obsessed with herself and her status, and that she will one day be the queen that tries to kill the next young beauty. Meanwhile Snow White held court,rolling her china-blue doll eyes open and shutand sometimes referring to her mirroras women do.The fairytale ending is fictional. The world isnt Prince Charmings, beautiful princesses, and evil queens that always lose. The close isnt ever the end because its a cycle of innocence, beauty, vanity, and then ultimately envy. Beautiful women are nothing more than an item they rely on men and are not intelligent. They are envious, and full of vanity. Theperfect women doesnt exist, and there will never be a happily ever after.