What Is The Tone Of The Applicant Sylvia Plath

The poem “The Applicant,” by Sylvia Plath, was written in 1962, a year before her suicide. It provides a harsh yet realistic view of gender roles in the 1950s. Women were expected to be housewives who served their husband’s every wish, while men were expected to provide for their family. Society was not open to women who supported the family or men who stayed home and cared for the children. Plath phrases the poem as if it is an interview. The interviewer seems as if he is trying to sell something to the applicant, namely a wife.

The poem starts with the line “First, are you our sort of a person?” This introduces an abrupt tone which continues throughout the entire poem. The tone may be abrupt, but it stays true to Plath’s typical style. It is depressing, but it is not morbid. It is calm, albeit hasty and rushed. Sentences are brief and concise, adding to the abrupt feeling throughout the poem. Plath also makes an interesting word choice in this sentence. Instead of having the interviewer use

Plath presents the submissive view of the women of the 1950s with lines like, “Here is a hand to fill it and willing to bring teacups and roll away headaches and do whatever you tell it.” With this sentence, Plath demonstrates that women were pressured by society to be no more than a housewife who cares to their husband’s every whim. This is also shown by the following line. ‘A living doll, everywhere you look. It can sew, it can cook, It can talk, talk, talk.” This line also demonstrates the use of “it” when referring to the woman who the applicant is being offered. This makes the reader think of the woman as an object instead of a person which reinforces the idea that women at the time were simply there to serve their