Joanne Yun

Clothing: To Be Enslaved or Not To Be Enslaved

In “The Applicant” and “Edge,” images of clothes scrutinize societal beliefs of women by criticizing their roles and relationship with men. Sylvia Plath uses the image of clothing to represent two types of women. Generally, clothes are used to define a woman, who is confined to traditional roles and a man. On the other hand, no clothes or nakedness is used to portray a free, independent woman. The use of clothing imagery is utilized to convey both the confinement and independence of women in “The Applicant” and “Edge.”

In both poems, Plath uses clothes to portray a confined woman and a slave to society. The effects on clothing imagery in each poem affect the poem’s theme in different ways. In “The Applicant,” marriage is portrayed as a definite source of happiness and acceptance by society. “Black and stiff, but not a bad fit” (“The Applicant” line 21) and “It can sew, it can cook, /It can talk, talk, talk” (“The Applicant” lines 34-35) relate to each other. Plath is saying that once women accept a form of clothing or marriage, she is entitled to domestic duties and traditional roles. This affects the theme of “The Applicant” by bringing light to Plath’s intention of writing this poem- to show how unappealing and difficult marriage is on women, something the speaker and society would be quick to put down. In addition, Plath also integrates the idea of a confined woman in “Edge.” “Flows in the scrolls of her toga,” (“Edge” Line 5) and “We have come so far, it is over” (“Edge” Line 8) infer that this woman, having gone through marriage and completing all her duties, has gone through enough troubles. For the woman to hear of her death is beneficial to her even though death is usually avoided. This affects the theme of “Edge” because it offers women a solution to their horrible lives- death. To the hopeless woman in “The Applicant,” Plath includes death in “Edge” to bring the woman an end and happiness. All in all, clothes are used to represent a binding life for women.

In “The Applicant” and “Edge,” Plath also alludes to a free, independent woman. In “The Applicant,” a woman, having no clothes, is used to portray a happy woman free from the constraints of marriage. “Naked as paper to start” (“The Applicant” Line 30) focuses on the fact that before marriage, women have the power to do whatever they please. But after the entering of marriage women are practically slaves to their men and households. “A living doll, everywhere you look” (“The Applicant” Line 33) represents the speaker telling the woman that once you are clothed and married, men can manipulate women into doing whatever as a child manipulates their toy dolls. Most often, men choose to work and “bring home the bacon,” while women are told to stay in the house. This affects the theme because Plath knew that if a woman was reading the poem, she would not be happy with the idea of marriage. Using that to her advantage, Plath seized the moment to use this as her inspiration of writing the poem. In “Edge,” the woman is bare-footed and it says: “Body wears the smile of accomplishment” (“Edge” Line 3). The idea of being bare-footed or some sort of nakedness tells of the woman dying as an accomplished, happy woman. In contrast to the effect on the theme of “The Applicant,” Plath shows an example of a woman who has been independent and content. Plath uses this theme to motivate her feminine readers. Consequently, the idea of having no clothes in “The Applicant” and “Edge” represents independence and happiness of women.

With all things considered, Plath uses the image of clothing in “The Applicant” and “Edge” to convey societal beliefs on women. Clothing showing confinement to men as in a marriage, affects Plath’s common theme of breaking societal norms, by showing examples of women and solutions to motivate some of her readers. The idea of nakedness, showing independence and a breaking of the norm, affects the theme by bringing light to the possibilities women have in not falling into slavery of men. All in all, in “The Applicant” and “Edge,” Plath uses the image of clothing to criticize women’s roles and the relationship with men.