The well-renowned poet Sylvia Plath had gained a high level of recognition not only through her potent verses but even more so through her tumultuous life, plagued by agonizing circumstances. However, the poem “The Applicant “ is a reflection of another depth of emotion, seemingly incongruous to torment, called humor. More precisely, her particular style is intermingled with sarcasm and acerbic commentaries on the state of marriage. By exemplifying stereotypical roles, Plath’s words embody a caustic irony. This, in turn, reflects the decade in which the poem was written, a momentous era of awakening of repressed feminism in the 1960s. Marriage, therefore, is portrayed as an absurdly narrow existence perpetrated by weak men and obliviously tolerant women within cultural paradigms.

With this poem, Plath makes a statement against the ideals society imposes on what true functions a wife and husband serve. Women are generally characterized as docile, fragile creatures who should serve as unwavering epitomes of loyalty. Mockingly, the poet suggests that such women eventually become automated, mechanical versions of a person. Men, similarly, are then portrayed to desire and accept these qualities as inherent or necessary to being good women. Plath also calls marriage the man’s “last resort,” implying the impotence or incompleteness for which the woman would be able to compensate.

There is a contestable argument to what the author implies to be more at fault. Her judgments are tainted with a note of contempt for both viewpoints. Not intentionally vivid in imagery, the poem does invoke stark emotions with words like “thumb shut,” “dissolve,” “naked,” and “black and stiff.” The opening lines alone form ridiculous mental pictures that are effective for shock value. Collectively, there results a humorous “sales pitch” atmosphere created by diction such as “guarantee,” “waterproof, shatterproof, proof against fire and bombs” and “I can sew, cook, talk, talk, talk... .”

Utilizing humor as her vehicle, Sylvia Plath encapsulates the faulty rationale of the established institution and its consequent corruption of love. To her it has become a practical rather than emotional bond; it has entered the realm of an “applicant” rather than a partner or spouse. Through the dialog format of the poem and the questioning tone, Plath points accusingly at apathy and conformity as the culprits. The presentation may be facetious, but the reader comes away with the disturbing realization that this situation is not so laughably uncommon. With bittersweet words and ironic humor, Plath reminds us of the dangers of living for someone instead of with someone.