Jonathan Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room"

Paper Summary:

This paper describes Jonathan Swift's poem, "The Lady's Dressing Room", which is about a couple named Celia and Strephon. Celia is away and Strephon is curious as to what is inside Celia's dressing room. The paper explains that this poem portrays a popular belief amongst most men that a woman is supposed to be refined in every way and that when this idea of her is tainted it somehow makes her less of a woman. After analyzing the poem, the paper concludes that, just as women in the 18th century were supposed to display qualities that were goddess-like, women of today have similar expectations to live up to. The expectation is perfection but the attempt to reach perfection causes many of the self esteem problems that women face today.

From the Paper:

"While there seems to be a goddess-like expectation of women in the 18th century, the same expectations hang over women's head today. There is this push to be beautiful always because first impressions mean everything. In order to feel confident about themselves, women put on makeup, style their hair, and wear flattering clothes. There are entire stores dedicated to beauty. You can find a multitude of different types and brands of the same product. There are beauty salons everywhere, and there are too many clothing stores to count."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Weise, Wendy S. "Seeing and the Difference It Makes: Ocularity, Gender, and Space in Swift's and Montagu's 'Dressing Room' Satires". Women's Studies. 35.8. (2006): 707-738 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Auburn University U Lin.,Auburn.13 July 2009 <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=3&hid=105&sid=389bf71b-7f55-492b-8532-c6613d62650e%40sessionmgr102>.

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