A Commentary on the Human Condition: Jonathon Swift s Celebration Jonathon Swift s poem, The Ladies Dressing Room, is a satire that can be seen as targeting the frivolous vanity of women, but is principally a celebration of women who choose to embrace their natural selves. A less prominent, yet still significant, issue that the poem focuses on is men and their inability to look past the outward appearance. Swift uses powerfully grotesque images of filth to illustrate to his readers exaggerated evidence to the fact that women are human. Laetitia Pilkington tells us that her mother lost her lunch in reaction to Swifts poem, and although Swift may have thought her reaction to his poem to be amusing, it was not his intention. The images he used were meant to make a point not to disgust his readers. Today, as in Swift s time, women are plagued with the idea that they must make their bodies appear without flaw. Swift argues that the imperfections of a woman s body are often the most beautiful things about her because they are humanizing, where as many critics seemed to think Swift s objective was simply to mock women s habits. Rachel Jennings from the University of Virginia wrote, This poem takes one of the most feminine objects, a woman s dressing room, and uses it to paint a repulsive picture of the female sex. I feel it is more about celebrating those who are natural and who embrace their natural beauties rather than simply being a criticism of the habits of women. Furthermore, Swift s objective is to call attention to the flaws in both the male and female mindsets. In this way Swift is an equal opportunity offender of both genders, thus of all humanity. Strephon, who takes inventory of all the sordid articles in Celia s dressing room, goes through a journey of sorts as the poem progresses. The further he delves into all the litter as it lay (LABL, 2346, 8) the faster his naivety disappears. To his surprise he soon realizes that Celia is a human, and not a perfect or divine creature. As seen clearly after line 10, And first a dirty Smock appear'd (LABL, 2346) Strephon isn't exactly happy with his discovery, but he is still optimistic. Next, he finds her comb, The various combs for various Uses/ Fill'd up with dirt so closely fixt,/ No brush could force a way betwixt. (LABL, 2346, 20-23) Here Strephon is just beginning to feel appalled, but this is just the beginning of several sickening images. Swift is methodically deconstructing the way women are perceived as the things that Strephon discovers become more revolting with the progression of the poem. The insight Strephon gains through his discoveries damages the myth of the lovely and supposedly cleanly woman that he believes Celia to be. It is ironic that the more Strephon learns about Celia, the faster his supposed love for her fades. Many people will dismiss the poem, claiming that it has no literary merit simply because of the horrific detail, but this is a close-minded view and merely scrapes the surface. An extract from Jamelah Earle s review of the poem, found on litkicks.com, is evidence to this, and it reads: While Jonathan Swift's satirical writing has survived as long as it has because he's considered a master of the style, I can't stop myself from thinking that The Lady's Dressing Room" is one of the most boyish, immature things I've ever read, thanks to the fascination with the disgusting and the "girls are gross thesis.
Swifts intention is not to repulse his readers, but is to make them aware or at least remind them, that women are not always the delicate creatures they appear to be. Rachel Jennings goes on to say, I believe this satire to be unfairly focused on the female sex with which I believed to be misogynistic in nature. Swift s approach was not meant to be entirely misogynistic, although he does use many devices that may give this affect. His intention was to call attention to the flaws in both the male and the female mindsets. As Strephon discovers more of the less angelic qualities about Celia, he looses a bit of his innocence. Each disgusting article and filth-encrusted implement sends Strephon into an even deeper experiential state. His trust in the female sex becomes utterly lost. Through situational irony the readers can see from the start that what Strephon seeks to do will lead to nothing but disappointment and disgust. We humans are curious creatures, but often, as in Strephon s case, we discover much more than we bargain for. Our convictions can be forever changed with one unwanted discovery, and after this change occurs, a return to ignorance is almost impossible. Ignorance is comfortable. Attempting to venture outside of blissful obliviousness to gain a greater perspective is always dangerous territory. Strephon s perception of Celia, before he discovers her methods of preparing herself, was that of a goddess, which is why what he discovered was all the more horrifying. The fact that he was so easily wooed by Celia s mask is evidence to his shallow tendencies. The Lady s Dressing Room can also been seen as a critique of the lengths women go to in order to meet the ideal image of the female body and men's expectation that the illusion be real. From a modern perspective, this poem remains relevant. If Swift were to have lived in the 21 st century, it is likely that he may have been able to construct a modern day The Lady s Dressing Room, if not something much more exaggerative thanks to modern inventions that manipulate the way people are perceived, such as the internet and Photoshop. The Lady s Dressing Room is still as applicable to people today, as it was when Swift penned it. It is a work that transcends time. At first as he snoops around Celia s dressing room he is disgusted. He hopes that if he continues his search he might find something that doesn t repulse him, therefore redeeming her in his eyes. In his search for something redeeming, he sees a cabinet, Which Strephon ventured to look in, / resolved to go through thick and thin (LABL, 2348, 80-81) The audience can tell through dramatic irony that no good can come from opening the box, but he decides to venture inside it anyway. In this section of the poem Swift likens Strephon s encounter with the cabinet to the myth of Pandora s box. It is ironic that in the cautionary tale after the box is opened and all the evils of the world escape from it, all that remains is hope and hope is what drove Strephon to open the box in the first place. It turns out that that the chest is occupied with Celia s excrement and Strephon only realizes this after he begins to dig through it. Once he comes to this sickening realization he proclaims, Oh! Celia, Celia, Celia shits! (LABL, 2349, 118) He becomes overwhelmed by the inescapable fact that Celia is in fact a human being. If he had not continued to delve into the cabinet and discovered its incriminating contents, he may
have been able to leave the dressing room while still holding onto a shred of his romanticized perception of Celia. Because he found the most humanizing evidence of all, he can never see Celia as the goddess he once believed her to be. After Strephon discovers the true nature of Celia s habits, his view of all women becomes tainted. He no longer feels that he can trust any woman, no matter how beautiful. He becomes paranoid and always feels as if he is being deceived. He comes to believe that if others perceive a woman as a goddess, just as he felt about Celia before he made his discoveries, she must have something to hide. While this poem is an obvious mockery of the vain beautification habits of women, it also serves as a celebration of those women who aren t afraid to be natural and who care about things other than their appearance. Swift s aim was not to disgust his readers through powerful images, but was to bring to their attention that women are very real creatures, and that this fact should be celebrated rather than oppressed. Swifts opinion on the subject of feminine vanity is better explained when examining his other works. A few of his notable poems were written for a woman he loved whom he called Stella. One poem he wrote in particular was written in celebration of Stella s 34 th birthday. Through the poem he praises her in an unconventional way by saying: Stella this day is thirty-four, (We shan t dispute a year or more) However Stella be not troubled Although thy size and years are doubled. (LABL, 2343, 1-4) This poem is evidence that Swift admires women for who they really are rather than how they appear on the outside. Describing a woman s age and size are not usually terms of endearment, but by praising her flaws he only means to congratulate her for not being like all the others. The poem that Swift wrote for Stella s birthday is often compared to Shakespeare s Sonnet 130. The speaker in Shakespeare s sonnet uses similar devices to that of Stella s birthday poem in that they both praise the one they love in unconventional ways. In Sonnet 130, there is no use of elaborate metaphor or allusion. The ordinary beauty and humanity of his lover are important to the speaker in this sonnet which can be seen in how he praises his lovers flaws, and he deliberately uses distinctive love poetry metaphors against themselves. Similarly, Swift s aim was to prove that his admiration for Stella went much deeper than carnal allure. Being an individual, in Swift s eyes, is much more valuable than conforming to strange beautification rituals to gain acceptance. Swift gives the reader a subjective view of Celia through the eyes of Strephon because Celia is not present to defend her own perception. Every element of who Celia is, at least in terms of her appearance, is available for analysis. This leaves Celia completely vulnerable and ultimately any woman who has her back turned. It opens the private area of a woman's life completely because there is nothing she can hide. Swift is saying that men who subscribe to the idea that women are these objects of immaculate perfection are also vulnerable, but in the sense that to learn the truth is destructive to them.
As humans, we struggle to be content in our situations, but a general disposition of discontent will do nothing but worsen our situations and take us farther away from reality. The attributes that seem to be most valued by the general public are physical ones, which is why Swift s poem is so applicable to society of modern day. Swift s aim was to remind his readers that women are in fact human and should be thought of as nothing more. Women who accept and embrace their biological assets are the most beautiful. Swift s satirical targets are both Strephon and Celia who serve as metaphors for all men and women. Through his satire Swift urges us to look beyond the superficial and to focus on the deeper virtues, otherwise we will end up as Strephon did: in an eternal state of disgust and paranoia.
Work Cited Earle, Jamelah. "Jonathan Swift and Lady Montagu: An 18th Century Literary Smackdown." Literary Kicks. N.p., 11 Apr. 2007. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. Solomon, Harry M. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 3rd ed. Vol. 19. Houston, TX: Rice University, 1961. Print. "The Lady's Dressing Room." The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J.H. Dettamar. 4th ed. Vol. 1C. White Plains, NY: Longman, 2009. 2343-349. Print. (LABL) "The Myth of Pandora's Box." Pandora's Box, the Greek Myth of Pandora and Her Box. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2012. <http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/pandoras-boxmyth>. University of Virginia, English Department. Satire and Misogyny in Swift's " The Lady's Dressing Room", n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/ipad/2011/02/01/satire-and-misogyny-in-swifts-theladys-dressing-room./>.