“Daddy” by Sylvia Plath and Nazi Germany In the poem “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, there are countless themes all associated with the vexation between father and daughter. Death, confinement, and control are among the various themes, all conveying an aberrant message. The title of the poem is misleading; emanating affection and warmth. Delving into the poem, the reader sees past the disguise that Plath has made, discerning her father through her eyes. Her father is compared to Hitler, and ultimately, to the devil himself. Plath utilizes the ideals and events of Nazi Germany to compare, expose, and describe the dysfunctional relationship between the speaker and her father. First and foremost, Plath represents a speaker who compares the association …show more content…
In the eighth stanza, the allusion begins “The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Vienna / Are not very pure or true. / With my gypsy ancestress and my weird luck / And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack / I may be a bit of a Jew” (36-40). Allusion is effectively used to refer back to the history of World War two. The Beer Hall Putsch, referencing the ‘beer of Vienna’, alludes to Hitler’s failed attempt to seize power there. Tyrol, another state in Austria, is also associated with Nazi Germany in this case. Benito Mussolini, an Italian leader, took over in Tyrol and persuaded many Italians to move into the state. Mussolini then banned the use of the native German language, forcing natives to embrace the Italian culture or emigrate to Germany. The selective word choices in this stanza have connotative meanings as well. The use of ‘snows’ and ‘clear’ to describe these locations suggest innocence yet conceal the deceit happening within these locations. The mention of a gypsy ancestress can connect to Nazi Germany, as gypsies were among the groups that were persecuted because they were considered impure. The taroc pack refers to the gypsy ancestry, and the repetition ties the lines together in order to keep the poem’s rhythm. The last line of the stanza could be interpreted as someone along their family lineage was a jew. The daughter could also be saying that she is a jew