Barbie Doll

Barbie Doll

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 outlike 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.

TPCASTT Analysis

T - The title makes one think that the poem is going to be about the supposedly "perfect" body form for a girl, teenager, and woman.

P - The poem is basically talking about a young girl who gave into the pressures of the world. She was happy with herself until one days someone told her that she had, "...a great big nose and fat legs." She didn't ask the person to justify why they thought that, and, instead, believed what he/she said, because when she was young, she had already begun to be influenced by what the world portrays as a "pretty" girl when she was handed dolls that just seemed "perfect." In the end she died and all anyone said was, "Doesn't she look pretty?" as they gazed upon her in her casket. She was content, too, in a way, because she thought she had achieved every woman's happy ending: a "perfect" body.

C - The poet uses much imagery throughout the poem. In the first stanza we are given the image of a young girl's toys: a pretty doll, miniature stove, small make-up kits, and a big nose and fat legs. Throughout the poem the reader sees the girl growing up, exercising and dieting to get that "perfect" body, and later going under the knife to obtain her goal. The poet also uses a simile when she says, "Her good nature wore out like a fan belt," meaning that her unique personality slowly deteriorated as the girl became more and more frenzied with the pressures of the outside world.

A - Throughout most of the poem, the author uses a neutral, flat, matter-of-fact tone, except for the last line, when it says "To every woman a happy ending." which is said in a sarcastic voice.

S - The first shift happens in the last line of the first stanza. The lines preceding this shift make one think of a happy, innocent childhood, while the last line suddenly gives one the realization that judgment actually starts from the moment that each child is uwittingly shown a Barbie and Ken doll. The last shift happens in the last line of the poem, which suddenly becomes sarcastic. The poet states this in a sarcastic tone, because the poet is saying that the "happy ending" for a modern woman is to look "perfect," which is a very superficial thing to have one's happiness based upon.

T - When She Grows Up, She Wants to be Barbie

T - The poet is talking about how obsessed about looks everyone is these days. The theme of the poem is what everyone is beginning to believe: that it doesn't matter if one has inner beauty, if the packaging isn't "perfect."