Explication of “Barbie Doll”

Marge Piercy’s poem Barbie Doll follows a female from girlhood to death, her life a metaphor for the harm that beauty standards cause women. The piece opens with an account of the subject’s toys such as dolls, stoves and makeup, all objects that represent traditional  femininity and thus this “girlchild” is thrust into her first gender role. The poem’s point comes into focus with the subject’s classmate stating “You have a great big nose and fat legs.” A contrast to this statement is the subjects characterization that outlines the girl as being “healthy, tested intelligent, possessed strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.” Despite the strength and wit the child possesses she “went to and fro apologizing” for her appearance and existence and believed “Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.” This belief led her to “exercise, diet, smile and wheedle” while societal pressures to “play coy” and “to come on hearty” repeatedly wore at her patience and confidence. Piercy utilizes overstatement to outline the subject’s struggle in that she “cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up.”
The final stanza depicts the woman’s demise and final resting place. No longer does she wear her own make-up but has been painted with the “undertaker's cosmetics.” I find this line interesting in that while alive the subject had no agency in her appearance once she was ridiculed, she existed to please everyone else and now someone else is applying her makeup. Another intriguing line is one that states the girl as having a “turned-up putty nose.” This leads me to believe that the subject went so far as to have cosmetic surgery to fix her perceived imperfection. My theory is that the woman of this poem struggled with an eating disorder and complications of this lead to an untimely death.
The closing lines are powerful and serves to emphasize the author’s views “Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said. Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending.” The line “Doesn't she look pretty” is assumed to be spoke by a attendee of the funeral, a person that shows remorse for the girl yet still only truly sees her for her appearance. The use of “pretty” also finally validates the subject in her attempts to be and feel physically beautiful, but such attempts are in vain for her struggle has killed her. This too-late-validation is mentioned in the lines “Consummation at last. To every woman a happy ending.” Ultimately the “happy ending” is ironic in that the currently high standards set for women in society make for no real closure in that no female feels adequate.