daddy Flashcards
What are the key characterizations in Plath’s ‘Daddy’?
The emotionally damaged speaker and her father’s protean nature
These characterizations reveal psychological depth and complexity.
What nursery rhyme is echoed in the first stanza of ‘Daddy’?
The nursery rhyme about the ‘old woman who lived in a shoe’
This rhyme is used ironically to highlight the speaker’s awareness of her situation.
What action does the speaker contemplate to end her entrapment?
Commit a symbolic patricide
This act symbolizes her desire to break free from her father’s control.
How does the speaker’s discourse in ‘Daddy’ reflect ambivalence?
She sees her father as both a savior and tormentor
This duality illustrates her conflicted feelings toward male figures.
What transformation does the father undergo in the poem?
From a god to a sadistic devil to a vampire
This trajectory illustrates the speaker’s evolving perception of her father.
What feminist theme is present in Plath’s ‘Daddy’?
The male presumption about women’s desires
The line ‘Every woman adores a Fascist’ critiques traditional gender roles.
What is the final image of the father in ‘Daddy’?
A vampire, a parasitic male
This image symbolizes the father’s draining influence on the speaker’s life.
What does the speaker aim to achieve by killing the father figure?
Regain a life worthy of the name
This act represents a liberation from her past.
What does Joyce Carol Oates suggest about Plath’s view of other people?
She doubted that they existed as suffering individuals
This perspective may influence the speaker’s isolation in ‘Daddy.’
What are the two principal prerequisites for individual freedom according to ‘Daddy’?
Self-knowledge and courage
These elements are essential for the speaker’s liberation.
What is a major source of pathos in the poem ‘Daddy’?
The speaker’s failure to recognize her resemblance to Oedipus
This connection emphasizes her tragic situation.
What doctrine does the speaker’s account imply a subscription to?
A bizarre mutation of the doctrine of Original Sin
This suggests that suffering is a result of unconscious guilt.
What does Dorothy Van Ghent question about tragic heroes?
Is one guilty for circumstances?
This inquiry challenges the notion of personal responsibility in suffering.
What does the speaker’s attempt to redefine herself suggest?
It offers limited prospects for success
This reflects the complexity of her emotional struggles.
What alternative does Plath suggest for the speaker’s situation?
Suicide as a decisive, if unhappy, alternative
This underscores the gravity of the speaker’s despair.
