The Lady's Dressing Room

For countless years, women have been held to the unrealistic standard of being pure and flawless creatures that do not possess biological human functions that may suggest a more unappealing nature. Despite the fact that women have biological functions, they are frequently held from the eyes of the public view in order to maintain this image that leads to the dehumanization of the female body. In 1732, Jonathan Swift’s poem “The Lady’s Dressing Room” satirized these unrealistic expectations and views that women are held to as being flawless beings that are separated from the human functions. Even while nearly 300 years have passed since this publication, women are still being viewed in the same manner that Swift satirized due to society’s lack …show more content…
The poem surrounds Strephon, a suitor to Celia, a woman who he strictly believed to be the embodiment of perfection, and his exploration of the disaster that was her dressing room. During his search through this room, he finds various items that completely shock and repulse him, such as “a dirty smock appeared, / beneath the armpits well besmeared” (lines 11-12). Finding these objects throughout this seemingly natural beauty’s possessions spoils the image that Strephon held prior to his search of the room, and this event has a lasting effect on his overall view of women. The most frightening discovery that he finds during his search is the chamber pot that reveals the fact that Celia defecates. Upon this horrifying discovery of his seemingly perfect woman, he reacts by “Repeating in his amorous fits, ‘Oh! Celia, Celia, Celia shits!’” (lines 117-118). By reacting in this manner with pure disbelief, Strephon reveals the reality of the view that society holds on women. Despite their evident humanness, women are frequently viewed in a different light because of the societal expectations that are placed on them to appear completely