'Shrinking Women And Tulips'

Female literature often employs the inescapable life of domesticity, plus the expectations placed on women by society. The idea that the female identity is a process, prevails in the prescribed text “Shrinking women” by Lily Myers and the related text “Tulips” by Sylvia Plath. Both of these texts, use extended metaphor to demonstrate restrictions placed on females by society, and how this affects their identity. In addition to this, the protagonists feel ‘trapped’ in the notions placed upon them which are mostly controlled by men.

In the poem “Tulips” written by Sylvia Plath, the protagonist indicates the affect that restrictions placed upon her by society have. She feels her domestic duties as a woman are a burden on her and tries to - metaphorically-

This is consistently shown throughout the text with the extended metaphor of the tulips. Prior to receiving the tulips, she felt a contrasting sense of freedom through the isolation of the hospital room which she is staying. When her husband sends her the tulips, she is reminded of the connections she has with her family and her social duties; she even goes as far as to say, “To lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty”. In saying this, she is denying her identity and social duties in a metaphorical sense. Despite this action, towards the end of the text, the audience is able to infer that the protagonist has accepted these attributes, she no longer feels like “the water is over her head”. Thus, demonstrating how the female identity is constantly changing. Similarly, in “Shrinking Women”, the protagonist also feels the pressure of the social expectations handed to her by society. This is shown extensively through the cautious nature of the mother, which then begins to be replicated by the protagonist herself. In this text, the mother drinks wine (a typically feminine beverage) out of a “measuring glass” which symbolises the impacts the societal expectations have resided upon the mother –

In “Shrinking Women”, the protagonist employs this concept through the repetition of events with variation in nature. The texts cyclical structure establishes the never-ending cycle of pressures on the feminine and the degrading affect it has. It is first mentioned in the text that “the house feels bigger every time I return; it’s proportional”, to show the mother is “shrinking”. In comparison, towards the end of the text, the protagonist mentions the house is “ever-growing”. This allegory exemplifies the idea that she has begun to adopt the actions of her mother, which creates a sense of confinement as she also becomes ‘trapped’ in expectations of the feminine. Hence, the acknowledgment of the house “growing” – she now, just like her mother, is “shrinking”. The protagonist has lost what made her feel ‘free’ due to the realisation of domestic expectations (shown by the stark change of tone towards the end of the text); the process of her changing identity has begun. Likewise, this idea is also prevalent in “Tulips”. The protagonist of this poem begins to feel the impacts of confinement when she receives tulips from her husband. They instantly become symbolic, reminding her of social duties, she has outside of the hospital and the “smiling little hooks” of her family that are dependent on her. Her sense of freedom from isolation is disrupted, which