Anne Sexton Literary Essay Example for Free

Anne Sexton literary EssayAnne Sexton transforms the well-known fairytale coulomb etiolate into a sardonic piece of opus that reflects societal perceptions of the woman. In her poem she explores the idea that a woman is nothing more than a doll, something that sits middling on a shelf for all to admire. She also describes the reliance on work force, and how women are becoming pendant and incompetent. She counteracts this with a womens intelligence compared to her dish and vanity, and what a woman should be. She explores the idea of beauty and vanity sack hand in hand, meaning that even princesses potbelly be vain. Fairytales arent real, and they are overrated- happily of all time after does not exist, especially for those who arent beauteous.All fairytales have a female antagonist, and one that is commonly a princess. Snow White is sexualized as the virgin.Good Day Mama,and shut for the thrustof the unicorn.She is unsoiled.She is as gabardine as a bonefish. (9-13)Thi s text explains that she innocent and untouched. All that matters to a prince is that she is fine-looking and a virgin. A dirt new doll with porcelain skin and glassy look.cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper,arms and legs make 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. Beauty 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 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,Beauty is a simp le passion. convey everyone desires beauty, so those who have it are more noticed. Because Snow White is beautiful, both the prince and the dwarves value her. But 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 encompassing potential. If a woman is beautiful, she can be just as successful as a offend woman without doing all the work because she can rely on men. Any man will hope 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 keep in his far-off castle.Sexton believes all women should work to be smart, and beauty is no reason not to execute that. Snow White is unintelligent beca use she keeps opening the door to the queen even when the dwarfs urge her not too. Her unintelligence is coupled 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 End isnt ever the end because its a oscillation 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 ne ver be a happily ever after.