"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy

In response to Richardson's last post commenting on the different themes expressed by poet Marge Piercy in "Barbie Doll," I would have to wholeheartedly echo the sentiments written. "Barbie Doll" indeed raises questions to the reader on the effects of society on a woman's self-image.

I wanted to elaborate on what Richardson was contemplating in terms of the poem. It is most interesting to me that at the end of poem, there is not combattance by the protagonist to society's sterotypes. In fact, it seems that there is no way out at all for the girl trying to escape her personal reality in attempts to achieve what others deem to be "right" or "beautiful." Only in death, both literally and figureatively, can she attain acceptance with those around her. Furthermore, upon the achievement of those around her finally noticing her, Piercy plays on the great irony of the situation. While most of her life (she was assigned toys from infancy, as Richardson points out) is centered around playing the role assigned by society, the person who finally achieves societal acceptance is not the same girl that was born in the firts stanza of the poem. She needed to fully transform her persona, physically and otherwise, to attain what she had been longing for. In this way, is the completion of her goal in the last few lines of the poem tainted because the "victor" was not even herself?