The Munich Mannequins
Encyclopedia
"The Munich Mannequins" is a poem by Sylvia Plath
which recounts Plath's experience of insomnia on a trip to the titular German city. The poem is famous for its opening line and for referring to conservative Munich
as the "morgue
between Paris and Rome."
"The Munich Mannequins" was written in little over a month before her suicide, making it one of her Ariel poems.
Plath suggests that perfection itself "tamps the womb," and goes on to describe the emotions she associates with menstruation
, the cycles of menstruation symbolized by the moon.
Literary critic Pamela J. Annas argues "The Munich Mannequins" describes "particularly well the social landscape within which the "I" of Sylvia Plath's poems is trapped".
She supports this ultimately through highlighting the domination of the artificial(mannequins) over the real(women) and the male society's transformation of women into puppets, and unnatural figures, representing their "disgust with" and "fear of women". She goes on to say that the winter setting in Plath's nature-themed poems represent a period of hibernation before spring and rebirth, while in the context of this city poem, a harsher, social, male-dominated setting, the winter setting represents death instead.
Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
which recounts Plath's experience of insomnia on a trip to the titular German city. The poem is famous for its opening line and for referring to conservative Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
as the "morgue
Morgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
between Paris and Rome."
Style and Structure
The poem is written in 13 couplets, ending with a single one line stanza, and follows no rhyme scheme.Context
In the early 1960s, the fashion models were often referred to as "mannequins," and those from Germany enjoyed special popularity."The Munich Mannequins" was written in little over a month before her suicide, making it one of her Ariel poems.
Interpretation
In "The Munich Mannequins" Plath refers to the lives of women and how they are seen by others, specifically with regard to how biological functions related to childbearing are perceived to define them. The first line of the poem, "Perfection is terrible, it cannot have children," refers both to the appearance of the culturally ubiquitous live German models and that of inanimate mannequins. Just as mannequins cannot procreate, nor can their live counterparts risk their "perfection" by becoming pregnant.Plath suggests that perfection itself "tamps the womb," and goes on to describe the emotions she associates with menstruation
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
, the cycles of menstruation symbolized by the moon.
Literary critic Pamela J. Annas argues "The Munich Mannequins" describes "particularly well the social landscape within which the "I" of Sylvia Plath's poems is trapped".
She supports this ultimately through highlighting the domination of the artificial(mannequins) over the real(women) and the male society's transformation of women into puppets, and unnatural figures, representing their "disgust with" and "fear of women". She goes on to say that the winter setting in Plath's nature-themed poems represent a period of hibernation before spring and rebirth, while in the context of this city poem, a harsher, social, male-dominated setting, the winter setting represents death instead.