Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Applicant" by Sylvia Plath offers a scathing critique of the societal constructs of gender roles and the institution of marriage, framed as an almost bureaucratic process. Written in 1962, the poem came into existence during a time when second-wave feminism was just gaining momentum. Although seemingly farcical at the outset, the poem swiftly delves into an unsettling examination of how society packages and commoditizes human relationships, particularly those between men and women.

The poem begins with a series of probing questions to assess the suitability of the "applicant," the unspoken subtext being that anyone missing something, be it an eye or a limb, is incomplete. The absurdity escalates with the line, "How can we give you a thing?" suggesting that the only way to fill this perceived emptiness is to provide the applicant with a spouse. This opening sets the stage for what is to come, showing us that the world Plath paints is one where human value is appraised based on societal checklists, reducing people to 'things' to be completed or complemented by another 'thing.'

The hand offered "To fill it and willing / To bring teacups and roll away headaches" symbolizes the role women have been prescribed - that of nurturers, caregivers, and subordinates. The hand is "guaranteed / To thumb shut your eyes at the end / And dissolve of sorrow," implying that this object of a spouse can provide comfort and even ease the existential crisis one might face at the point of death. This section highlights how traditional gender roles not only objectify women but also place undue emotional burdens upon them.

In discussing the suit that is "Black and stiff, but not a bad fit," Plath may be alluding to societal constraints or roles that men are expected to fill, symbolized by the stiffness and the color black. It is "proof / Against fire and bombs through the roof," emphasizing the societal expectation for men to be impervious to emotional or physical harm. This suit is both a disguise and a fortress, and in it, the male applicant is supposedly invulnerable, yet it is also a garment in which "they'll bury you."

Towards the end, the poem introduces another object, this time for the head: "Naked as paper to start / But in twenty-five years she'll be silver, / In fifty, gold." The woman in this relationship is described as malleable, just like paper, and like a good investment, her worth increases over time, albeit superficially. She "can sew, it can cook, / It can talk, talk, talk." Here, the woman becomes another 'it,' another object whose main functions are to serve and to fill the gaps in someone else's existence.

Finally, the relentless repetition of "Will you marry it, marry it, marry it," becomes an almost manic chant, a ritualistic affirmation of society's compulsion to conform to these roles and definitions of completeness. "The Applicant" holds up a mirror to society's grotesque attempts to fit individuals into preconceived molds, revealing the dehumanizing process that such conformities often entail.

In a sarcastic yet profoundly insightful manner, Sylvia Plath's "The Applicant" exposes the hollow core of societal norms. It questions the labyrinthine ways in which culture constructs and perpetuates gender roles, treating the sacred institution of marriage as a transactional exchange where people are reduced to mere objects, fulfilling roles rather than forming meaningful relationships.

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