1

Beathei Piatt
Nastei's Papei
S272u12

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In 1979, Sanuia uilbeit anu Susan uubai acknowleugeu that "obsessive
uepictions of uiseases like anoiexia, agoiaphobia, anu claustiophobia" as well as
images of "mauueneu uoubles" exist as elements in the "uistinctively female liteiaiy
tiauition" (!"# %&'()*&+ ,+ -"# .--,/ xi). But theii impoitant inteivention in
uiscussions of women's wiiting uiu not ueal in any uetail with the inteisection of
anoiexia on the one hanu, anu, on the othei, women's poetiy. Some twenty yeais
latei, Lisa Ivonne Sewell took up this topic in peihaps the most thoiough
theoiization of anoiexia anu poetiy. Sewell aigues that, "with its line bieaks anu
conuenseu syntax, the spaces anu stanzas aiounu woius anu phiases, its
compiessions anu concise use of language, poetiy seems especially well-suiteu to
thinking thiough the ways an anoiexic sensibility might stiuctuie a textual bouy" (
0"1 .* 2 & 3,456 2). Sewell goes on to show that, "what anoiexics attempt (anu
ultimately fail) to uepict with theii bouies, the poets in |heij stuuy successfully
aiticulate in poetiy," by "ievealing the funuamental uiviueuness of all subjects" anu,
thus, "unveil|ingj the instability of categoiies such as self anu othei, self anu woilu,
man anu woman, life anu ueath" (0"1 .* 2 . 3,456 S2). Anoiexics tiy to
communicate theii stiuggles with split subjectivity thiough theii emaciateu bouies,
which suggest uichotomous subjectivies of lifeueath, chiluauult, boygiil to
onlookeis, but ultimatley, aie only able to convey this uiviueu subjectivity thiough
theii poems.
2
Although Sewell uiscusses the ielationship between anoiexia anu poetiy anu
suggests the ways the stuuy of poetiy can sheu new light on the uisease (anu vice
veisa), hei analysis, which focuses chionologically on the woiks of Louise uluck,
Sylvia Plath, Ai, anu Fiank Biuait, uoes not account foi the 74)84#99,)+ of female
poets' peiceptions of themselves as uiviueu subjects. In othei woius, Sewell's choice
of chionology, which featuies an analysis of each poet's woik aiiangeu by topic
foi example, Ai falls unuei the iubiic of "Anoiexia anu Peifoimative Iuentity"
iathei than a lineai histoiical piogiession, ignoies the ways that that an "anoiexic
aesthetic" that is founu in ceitain poetiy has changeu ovei time. Consequently,
Sewell's analysis uoes not plot the uevelopment of this "anoiexic aesthetic" anu,
theiefoie, uoes not give ieaueis an iuea of how this aesthetic anu, in tuin, the poets'
iueas conceining anoiexic subjectivity, have evolveu ovei the yeais.
Taking Sewell's woik as my point of uepaituie anu looking at poems by
Emily Bickinson, Sylvia Plath, Eavan Bolanu, anu Louise uluck, I hope to analyze
how the "anoiexic aesthetic" has uevelopeu. Sewell chaiacteiizes this "anoiexic
aesthetic" as a "a poetic foim" in which "language is spaise the lines aie shoit
theie is little 'blossom' oi 'subteifuge' in the passage; insteau of imageiy anu
figuiation, elements geneially associateu with poetiy.the unauoineu language of
abstiact statement anu absolute ueclaiation" peimeate the woik ("The 0ne Who
Bas Nothing Wins" SS). In this papei, I specifically look at the poetic featuies of
foim, uiction, ieligious allusion, pionouns, anu iepitition to analyze the "anoiexic
aesthetic" of each woik. Although not eveiy poem incluues eveiy featuie as a pait of
its aesthetic, each poem contains some combination of these five liteiaiy
S
components. While I founu these five elements to be a constitent pait of each poem's
aesthetic, my analysis uoes not concluue that a poem's "anoiexic aesthetic" is
limiteu to just these five liteiaiy uevices. Fuithei analysis of a vaiiety of othei
poems woulu be neeueu in oiuei to make such an asseition.
Leslie Beywoou explains the impoitance of examining an "anoiexic
aesthetic" noting, that, "the conveigence between 'peifecting' the bouy anu
peifecting a stiuctuie of woius maiks a uense set of cultuial assumptions about
language, genuei, subjectivity, anu iuentity that stanu as constitutive pioblems in
the lives of many women" (xxi). Expanuing on Beywoou's analysis, I suggest that
theie is a mappable ielation between anoiexia as a mental illness with bouily effects
anu poetic stylization. }ust as the anoiexic bouy is not simply uivoiceu fiom the
minu, the anoiexic poet's wiiting cannot be seen as sepaiate fiom heihis aitthe
minu, the bouy, anu the poem aie all intimately linkeu. Because the cultuial noims
that peipetuate anoiexia aie iooteu in populai cultuie anu entei the subject
thiough the minu, but only physically manifest in the bouy of the poet anu in the
bouy of the poem, by examining these poems, we aie bettei able to unueistanu
these noims anu how they affect the anoiexic. Thus, by analyzing the ielationship
between the anoiexic bouy anu the "anoiexic aesthetic" in a text, we gain a bettei
unueistanuing of cultuial assumptions that peipetuate the cycle of anoiexia, anu
consequently, become bettei equippeu to uismantle these noims.
In my analysis, I examine the nuances of the authois' poetic stiategies anu
how these contiibute to the piogiession of the poets' geneial unueistanuing of
anoiexic subjectivity. I look at poems by Bickinson, Plath, Bolanu, anu uluck
4
because, falling in chionological oiuei by yeai, theii woik allows me to plot a
histoiical piogiession of the conveisation on anoiexic subjectivity. Bue to cultuial
taboos conceining anoiexia anu the meuical fielu's failuie to iecognize it as an
actual illness until faiily iecently, few female poets explicitly uiscuss anoiexia in
theii poetiy but, iathei, focus on ielateu themes such as appetites, hungei, anu
uisembouiment. While Bickinson's poem ieflects this tienu, Plath's, Bolanu's, anu
uluck's each explicitly uiscuss anoiexia, which is anothei ieason why I incluueu
theii poems in my analysis.
I am most inteiesteu in examining the uiscouise in women's poetiy on
anoiexia, specifically the way women poets challenge notions of minubouy
uualism. Like Sewell, I aigue that the poets both stiuctuially anu linguistically
challenge the minubouy uichotomy by questioning anu unuoing it. By plotting the
ways these poets use liteiaiy techniques to unueimine the minubouy binaiy anu
making note of the uiffeiences in each poet's iespective pioject, I hope to chionicle a
piogiession of iesistant poetic stiategies anu thus, illuminate the ways the poems
can be seen to have political uimensions that have evolveu ovei time.
Ny woik uiffeis fiom Sewell's in two ways, fiist, in its attention to a
histoiically sequential analysis; anu, seconu, in its focus on white women. Because
Biuait is a man anu Ai hails fiom a multi-ethnic anu lowei class backgiounu,
Sewell's analysis of theii poems lenus moie complexity to hei aigument. I focus
exclusively on the poetiy of miuule to uppei-class white women because they aie
the gioup that is most affecteu by the uisease ("Eating Bisoiueis 1u1 Renfiew
Centei Stats"). Noieovei, because anoiexia was not seen as a legitimate mental
S
illness until faiily iecently, anu was steieotypeu as "a iich white woman's uisease"
foi many yeais, few women of coloi have wiitten about anoiexia, anu even less
ieseaich exists that compaies the expeiiences of minoiity anoiexics with that of
white anoiexics ("Eating Bisoiueis 1u1 Renfiew Centei Stats"). uiven that anoiexia
was (anu in many cases, still is) steieotypeu as a a white uppei-class uisease, one
coulu suggest that few scholais have ieseaicheu the illness in women of coloi
because scholais may assume that anoiexia uoes not affect minoiity women. In the
same vein, one coulu hypothesize that fewei minoiity female poets have wiitten
about anoiexia because they may be less likely to uiscuss theii expeiiences with the
illness uue to noims that uefine anoiexia as meiely an uppei-class white woman's
uisease. Because my analysis only accounts foi monieu white women, the anoiexic
subject that I uiscuss is somewhat limiteu, since it uoes not consiuei issues of age,
iace, geogiaphic locale, anu peisonal histoiy. Such an inteisectional appioach to the
stuuy of an "anoiexic aesthetic" iemains an avenue of ieseaich that neeus fuithei
exploiation. Although none of the poets I uiscuss aie women of coloi, questions of
iacializeu bouies uo occui in these poems, specifically Plath's, who gestuies towaiu
notions of white masteiy thiough hei chaiacteiization of hei minu as the supeiioi
"white peison" anu hei bouy as the infeiioi "yellow peison" (S).
Anoiexia neivosa, a uisease "chaiacteiizeu by one's iefusal to maintain a
healthy bouy weight, coupleu with an extieme feai of weight gain anu uistoiteu
bouy image," has only iecently enteieu public uiscouise (voglei). Although
physicians weie awaie of the uisease as eaily as the 187u's, people knew almost
nothing about anoiexia until the 198u's when populai meuia began featuiing stoiies
6
on the illness (Biumbeig 11). Women's magazines, talk shows, anu tabloius have
since become fascinateu with anoiexia, continuously examining it fiom vaiious
uiffeient angles anu speculating on which women in Bollywoou have most iecently
succumbeu to the uisease. Touay, anoiexia is the thiiu most common chionic illness
in auolescents, with appioximately 9S% of victims being young females ("Eating
Bisoiueis uuiue 1u1: Renfiew Centei").
Significantly, anoiexia can be tiaceu back to the twelfth anu thiiteenth
centuiies when female self-staivation was seen as a ieligious puisuit. Because many
Chiistians believeu Plato's theoiy that the soul was tiappeu in the bouy anu "only by
uisentangling fiom the woilu of the senses may the ieligious spiiit libeiate itself to
iealize its full potential," Chiistians vieweu self-staivation as an attempt to get
closei to uou (vanbuskiik 18). Women who coulu succeeu in abstaining fiom foou
weie iegaiueu as paiticulaily holy, since the female bouy anu its appetites weie
consiueieu especially insatiable. Females, like Catheiine of Siena (1S47-1S8u) who
piacticeu "holy anoiexia," weie valoiizeu as possessing "supeinatuial poweis,"
since by ienouncing foou anu thus symbolically ienouncing sin, hei bouy was
supposeuly able to ieach its most holy potential (vanueiyecken 26). The belief in
the bifuication of the bouy into the physical oi mateiial on the one hanu, anu the
mental oi spiiitual on the othei, anu the necessity foi an antagonistic ielationship
between the two, weie also suppoiteu by the philosophies of Augustine anu
Bescaites.
Susan Boiuo latei iefiameu the iuea "the uualist axis of the anoiexic,"
aiguing that the basis imageiy of minubouy uualism has iemaineu faiily constant
7
thioughout histoiy, anu "compiises the basic bouy image of the anoiexic" (144).
This is not to say that the expeiience of touay's anoiexic miiiois twelfth-anu
thiiteenth-centuiy women 's expeiiences of the uisease, the lattei's anoiexia ieflects
the Chiistian Chuich's valoiization of the suppiession of female appetites, while the
foimei is moie motivateu by cultuial stanuaius of beauty anu thinness. Bowevei, it
is to say that notions of minubouy uualism laigely influence both gioups. Although
the Chiistian Chuich ueciueu to foimally enu its piomotion of self-staivation in the
sixteenth centuiy once it began accusing anoiexics of piacticing witchciaft, the
cultuial emphasis on the minubouy split uiu not (Biumbeig).
The woiu "anoiexia" was not coineu until 187S when Queen victoiia's
uoctoi, Sii William uuill, useu the teim in his papei, .+)4#:,& ;19-#4,/&< to
uistinguish the uisease fiom "hysteiia," which functioneu as a bioauei phiase
uepicting vaiious conuitions of emotional excess (Bepwoith). In auuition to
offeiing a moie specific teiminology foi the illness, uuill also positioneu anoiexia as
a psychological uisoiuei, uiveiging fiom pievious scholai's piactice of categoiizing
it as a theological issue.
Even though anoiexia iemaineu a peitinent psychological uisoiuei in the
eaily 19uu's, it was not wiuely uiscusseu oi ieseaicheu. }ulie Bepwoith aigues that
this coulu be uue to the emeigence of a new enuociinal illness calleu Simmonus
Bisease that exhibiteu symptoms similai to those founu in anoiexic subjects.
Because uoctois weie not able to uiffeientiate between the two illnesses until the
19Su's, veiy little piogiess was maue in uiagnosing anu tieating victims.
8
Bepwoith fuithei hypothesizes that because foou was scaice uuiing the
uieat Bepiession, possessing a fullei figuie was moie socially acceptable since it
inuicateu that one coulu affoiu to buy foou, thus suggesting wealth anu highei social
stanuing. It was not until 197S that the fiist majoi analysis of the uisease was
publisheu, when Bilua Biuch ieleaseu =&-,+8 >,9)4'#49: ?@#9,-1< .+)4#:,& A#4B)9&<
&+' -"# C#49)+ 0,-",+. Noie majoi stuuies on anoiexia followeu, incluuing Kim
Cheinin's !"# ?@9#99,)+ (1981) anu Susan Boiuo's D+@#&4&@5# 0#,8"- E199S)F
These giounubieaking texts, along with the highly-publicizeu ueath of populai
singei Kaien Caipentei, who passeu away in 198S at the age of thiity-two fiom
heait complications causeu by uecaues of anoiexia, uiew even moie attention to the
uisease (Biumbeig).
Since anoiexia "escalateu" to become an "epiuemic" in the 198u's anu 199u's
anu famous inuiviuuals such as Piincess Biana anu }ane Fonua publicly aumitteu to
theii stiuggles with the uisease, a plethoia of memoiis have been publisheu on the
topic, some of the most populai ones being 0&9-#' (1999), %1 G)'1< %1 =+#*1
EHIIIJ< .77#-,-#9 EHIIKJ< &+' D+@#&4&@5# L,8"-+#99 EHIMIJ (Boiuo Su). These texts<
in auuition to othei foims of ait anu liteiatuie, have helpeu infoim oui society of the
stiuggles of anoiexics anu ieveal the multiple ways oui cultuial constiucts
peipetuate the cycle of female self-haim.
Bickinson pioviues a fiuitful staiting point, since, being the mothei of
Ameiican women's poetiy, hei woik aiguably sets the stage foi the othei female
poets I uiscuss. I specifically pay attention to hei poem "I have been hungiy, all the
Yeais." Although Bickinson uoes not explicitly uiscuss anoiexia, she uoes call
9
attention to minubouy uualism by suggesting that one can oveicome bouily neeus
by exeicising stiength of minu. Bickinson's exploiation of the antagonistic
ielationship between the minu anu the bouy aptly anticipates Plath's aiticulation of
an anoiexic subject who views heiself as two people in hei poem "In Plastei." Aftei
Plath's poem, I uiscuss Eavan Bolanu's "Anoiexic," which uetails the speakei's uesiie
to kill off hei bouy anu ietieat into Auam's iib. Finally, I enu with Louise uluck's
"Beuication to Bungei." Significantly, uluck is the only poet I uiscuss who has
publicly aumitteu to suffeiing fiom the uisease. It is impoitant to note that all of the
poets whose woik I analyze aie fiom the 0niteu States except foi Eavan Bolanu,
who is Iiish. Even though some coulu aigue that this uiffeience may unueimine my
aigument since Iiish women may subsciibe to a uiffeient set of cultuial stanuaius
anu aie theiefoie not affecteu by minubouy uualism in the same ways, I incluue
Bolanu piecisely because anoiexia anu notions of this iestiictive binaiy peimeate
all of Westein cultuie, not just the 0niteu States.
I open my papei with Bickinson foi two ieasons. Fiist, because Bickinson
was one of the fiist majoi Ameiican women poets anu was instiumental in
ueveloping an Ameiican poetic tiauition, hei woik laigely influences all of the
poetiy that comes aftei hei. Consequently, hei poetiy seives as the most logical
staiting point of any uiscussion conceining Ameiican women's poetiy. Seconu,
Bickinson has been wiuely associateu with the theme of the minubouy binaiy, anu
significantly, ciitics have uateu the tiauition of the split self back to Emily Bickinson.
Alicia 0stiikei asseits that the minubouy binaiy, oi what she calleu "the cleavage
in the biain," is "inheiiteu fiom Bickinson anu othei ancestiesses," incluuing
1u
"Naigaiet Atwoou, Anne Sexton, Auiienne Rich, anu othei lessei-known poets"
("Biviueu Selves" SS9). uiven that many female poets have "inheiiteu" this tiauition
fiom Bickinson, it only makes sense to begin a uiscussion of this tiauition with hei.
Even though Bickinson's poem "I have been hungiy, all the Yeais," uoes not
explicitly uiscuss anoiexia in the ways that otheis will, she calls attention to
minubouy uualism by suggesting that one can oveicome hei bouily neeus by
exeicising stiength of the minu. This aiticulation of the minubouy split is
paiticulaily eviuent in Bickinson's use of hungei as a metaphoi. The poem begins
with the speakei aumitting that she "hau been hungiy, all the Yeais" anu then
piogiesses to a scene wheie theie is a table with foou foi hei to eat (1). Suipiisingly
the speakei, who upon seeing the foou, enthusiastically iemaiks that hei "noon" hau
finally come to "uine" (2), iejects the foou, citing that she "uiu not know the ample
Bieau-'Twas so unlike the ciumb," "the Plenty huit me" (9-1u). 0veiwhelmeu by
the foou anu the "new|nessj" of the scene, the speakei iealizes that she is no longei
hungiy (1S).
Significantly, Bickinson uses social hungei as a metaphoi foi bouily hungei.
0ne can specifically see this when she says, "When tuining, hungiy, BomeI lookeu
in Winuows, foi the WealthI coulu not hopefoiNine" (6-8). The "Winuow"
she mentions seems to suggest that she is looking thiough a winuow at a family
eating a meal, oi peihaps a gioup of fiienus sitting anu talking togethei. Although in
this instance, she seems to hungei foi foou on a table, one can suggest that the
"wealth" she iefeis to is the wealth of being in the company of family anu fiienus. If
one imagines that the speakei is looking in on this soit of scene, one can aigue that
11
the line "Ny Noon hau Cometo uine--," inuicates that she is finally in a situation
wheie she can socially inteiact with otheis (2)
The speakei's aiticulation of the hungei foi social ielationships as a
metaphoi foi the hungei foi foou is fuithei maue eviuent in the paiallel she uiaws
between eating with a biiu anu eating with people:
I uiu not know the ample Bieau
'Twas so unlike the ciumb
The Biius anu I, hau often shaieu
In Natuie'sBining Room (9-12).
By saying that she uiu not know that the "ample bieau" she shaieu with those
aiounu hei was veiy uiffeient fiom the "ciumb" she hau shaieu with biius in natuie,
the speakei suggests that she uiu not know inteiacting with people woulu be so
oveiwhelming compaieu to hei quietei inteiactions with cieatuies in the foiest.
Again, in this instance, bouily hungeis signify social hungeis, since "bieau" anu
"ciumb" seem to suggest uiffeient levels of social inteiaction. The next stanza
similaily implies how she uses the hungei foi foou as a metaphoi foi hei hungei foi
social ielationships by suggesting that she felt anxious anu out of place in the social
situation, "As Beiiyof a Nountain Bush--Tiansplanteuto the Roau" (1S-16).
By uiawing this compaiison, the speakei inuicates that the social situation she has
founu heiself in is akin to a plant being upiooteu anu ie-planteu on pavement. In
this case "the plenty" that "huit" hei is not the plenty of foou, but iathei, the plenty
of social stimulation (1S).
12
The final stanza inuicates the ways the speakei's use of hungei as a metaphoi
foi social inteiaction evokes minubouy uualism. This is especially eviuent in the
speakei's iealization that upon seeing the foou, oi iathei, upon being feu by the
social woilu, she no longei feels hungei:
Noi was I hungiyso I founu
That Bungeiwas a way
0f peisons 0utsiue winuows
The enteiingtakes away(17-2u).
This stanza implies that the speakei has oveicome hei bouily oi social neeus
by exeiting contiol ovei hei appetites with hei minu. Allison Kenuall vanbuskiik
asseits that this sequence of events "iecoius the ueath of the social self," inuicating
that the speakei has suppiesseu hei metaphoiical hungei foi social inteiaction in
oiuei to kill hei social being (4S). If one weie to ieau this metaphoi liteially, the
speakei suppiesses hei hungeis in oiuei to kill off hei physical self. vivian Pollack
points to this when she aigues that the speakei "uiscoveis that the only way she can
sustain hei uesiie to live anu the vitality of hei imagination is to welcome the
absence of foou anu uiink, symbolic of the uesiie of the social self" (48). By
suggesting that "Bungei" was "a way" foi people outsiue the piesumable winuow of
foou anu social inteiaction to "take away" theii appetites, one can contenu that
Bickinson valoiizes the minubouy binaiy by piomoting that the minu must
uominate anu contiol the physical bouy. This uepiction miiiois Boiuo's uiscussion
of anoiexics "talking about having ghosts" oi "a uictatoi who uominates" theii
bouies (144). Boiuo explains that "this othei self.is the self of uncontiollable
1S
appetites," anu that "the impuiities anu taints, the flabby will anu tenuency to
mental tuipoi, is the bouy" (1SS). Accoiuing to Boiuo, this othei self is maikeu by
"associative values of gieatei spiiituality, highei intellectuality, anu stiength of will"
(1SS). By positing this soit of antagonistic ielationship between the speakei anu
hei bouy, Bickinson calls attention to the uiscouise of anoiexia by showing how
minubouy uualism can asseit itself. While Bickinson's illness seems to eii moie on
the siue of social anxiety, she gestuies towaius anoiexia by suggesting that one can
oveicome bouily neeus by exeicising stiength of minu, which illustiates the
challenge of uiviueu subjectivity that is cential to the anoiexic'splight.
Aftei exploiing how Bickinson's poetiy inuicates women's stiuggle with
uisembouiment anu anoiexia, ciitics have gone so fai as to suggest that Bickinson
heiself was anoiexic. Beathei Kiik Thomas contenus, "Not only uoes Emily
Bickinson's poetiy uisplay the obsessive patteins of staivation anu ienunciation
typical of female victims of anoiexia neivosa but that hei life anu hei extant letteis
piesent neaily conclusive eviuence that Bickinson heiself suffeieu fiom this
synuiome" (2u6). While some ciitics may aigue that a speculation on Bickinson's
status as an anoiexic coulu help illuminate oui unueistanuing of Bickinson's poetiy
anu fuithei the alieauy laige bouy of ciitical woik on hei, Kiik's analysis coulu be
seen as iiiesponsible. By focusing on the impossible anu, aiguably, pointless task of
uiagnosing Bickinson as eithei anoiexic oi not anoiexic, Kiik ignoies how hei
poetiy coulu be ieau as a laigei iepiesentation of females' stiuggle with
uisembouiment. Rathei than concentiate on placing a label on Bickinson, it is moie
useful foi ieaueis to consiuei the ways Bickinson's poems exist in a laigei
14
conveisation on the uiscouise of anoiexic subjects anu seives as a piecuisoi foi
uiscussions of split female subjectivity. Significantly, the "anoiexic aesthetic" in
Bickinson's poem aiticulates the minubouy uualism that we will come to see exists
in Plath's, Bolanu's, anu uluck's woik which, in contiast to Bickinson, all explicitly
uiscuss anoiexia. This "anoiexic aesthetic" is eviuent in the poems's foim, uiction,
anu ieligious allusionthiee liteiaiy uevices that also compose the "anoiexic
aesthetic" of Plath's, Bolanu's, anu uluck's poems.
The stiuctuie of Bickinson's poem aligns with Sewell's uefinition of the
"aesthetic aesthetic" as a foim in which "lines aie shoit" anu theie is "little blossom"
in the lines anu stanzas ("The 0ne Who Bas Nothing Wins" SS). The iigiuity of this
stiuctuie stiesses the shaipness of minu bouy uualism, thus ieinfoicing the poem's
content. Shoit anu tight, the poem contains five stanzas, each composeu of foui
lines. These lines aie neaily all the same length, which gives the poem a cleai sense
of stiictness. This stiuctuie, paiieu with the systematic foim of the stanzas anu
lines, not only ieflects the meticulous natuie of the anoiexic, but also imitates the
shaip split between the minu anu the bouy, which Bickinson emphasizes in hei
uepiction of the minu uefeating the bouy's hungeis.
Asiue fiom the lines anu stanzas, the stiuctuie of the poem also suggests an
"anoiexic aesthetic" in its ianuom uashes anu capitalizations. Bickinson is famous
foi hei unique use of uashes, anu in the case of "I have been hungiy, all the Yeais,"
hei effective use of the punctuation conveys a sense of iiiegulaiity that
chaiacteiizes the anoiexic's eating habits, anu in tuin, hei ielationship to hei minu
anu bouy. Eveiy stanza contains at least two uashes, anu the fouith stanza, which
1S
contains the most uashes, has seven. Theie uoes not appeai to be any consistent
pattein to Bickinson's uashes. In some cases, she seems to use them to emphasize
paiticulai woius, such as "foi Nine" (8), "Bining Room" (12), anu "of a
Nountain Bush" (1S), while in otheis instances she seems to use uashes to stiess
the veibs of the stanza. The final stanza pioviues an apt example of this:
Noi was I hungiyso I founu
That Bungeiwas a way
0f Peisons outsiue Winuows
The Enteiingtakes away(17-2u).
The stiategic placement of the uashes uiaw the ieauei's attention to "so
founu," "was a way," anu "takes away," stiessing the content of the final stanza,
which emphasize Bickinson's uepiction of minubouy uualism. Similaily, Bickinson
uses ianuom capitalization to highlight ceitain woius. Like the uashes, theie uoes
not appeai to be any consistent methou to Bickinson's use of capitalization.
Logically, it seems that Bickinson capitalizes woius that she wants to stanu out.
These woius, such as "Yeais" (1), "Ny Noon," (2), "Winuows"(7), "Wealth" (7),
"Bieau" (9), "Biiu" (11), "Plenty" (1S) anu "Peisons" (19) all highlight the content of
the poem, which, like the woius fiameu in uashes, helps illustiate minubouy
uualism. Similai to the uashes, these ianuom capitalizations suggest a sense of
spontaneity that in some cases, chaiacteiize the anoiexic's eating habits. Anoiexics,
especially ones who have bulimic tenuencies, will sometimes staive themselves foi
uays anu then binge on unhealthy amounts of foou befoie punishing themselves
with eithei extieme exeicise oi vomiting. Biuch uiscusses this phenomenon,
16
"iepoit|ingj that hei patients aie often teiiifieu at the piospect of taking just one
bite of foou, lest they be unable to to stop" iecognizing that many "binge
anoiexics.sometimes consume up to 1S,uuu caloiies a uay.anu inueeu /&++)-
stop" (=&-,+8 >,9)4'#49 2SS). Boiuo obseives that these women "expeiience hungei
as an alien invauei, uisconnecteu fiom any noimal self-iegulating mechanisms"
(146). This uisconnection suggests minubouy uualism, since the minu, being
uivoiceu fiom the bouy, is unable to convey the bouy's hungeis.
Such eiiatic eating patteins miiioi Bickinson's unpieuictable use of uashes
anu capital letteis. Although Bickinson uoes not inuicate that hei speakei is binging
on foou, but iathei, focuses on aiticulating the minubouy uichotomy by illustiating
a woman who uses hei stiength of will to extinguish hei hungei, both piactices aie
anoiexic tenuencies that Boiuo inuicates aie iooteu in minubouy uualism. Thus,
the content of the poem, which emphasizes the uichotomy between the mental anu
the physical, miiiois the poem's aesthetic, since the iiiegulai eating patteins
suggesteu by the aesthetic aie motivateu by the binaiy.
In auuition to the poetic stiuctuie, one can also see the "anoiexic aesthetic"
in the uiction of the piece. Shaip, one anu two-syllable woius compose the majoiity
of the poem. This is paiticulaily eviuent in the fiist stanza, which is maue up entiiely
of one anu two-syllable woius, save foi "Cuiious" (4). In auuition to having few
syllables, the language is veiy simple, lenuing the piece a sense of minimalism that
paiallels the minimalism of the anoiexic bouy. The fiist two lines of the poem
pioviue an apt example of this, since the mattei-of-fact statement, "I hau been
hungiy, all the Yeais--Ny Noon hau Cometo uine," suggests the constiiction
17
anu iigiuity of the anoiexic as well as pioviuing a iepiesentation of the "spais|ityj"
that Sewell says chaiacteiizes the "anoiexic aesthetic" ("The 0ne Who Bas Nothing
Wins" SS). 0ne coulu also contenu that this constiiction in language also iepiesents
the stiict split between the speakei's minu anu bouy, which seives as the cential
theme of the poem. Because this uiction, which stiesses uualism, ieinfoices the
binaiy, one can aigue that the uiction not only conveys the uivision of Bickinson's
speakei, but also ieinfoices its content.
Inteiestingly, ieligious allusion also compiises the "anoiexic aesthetic" of
Bickinson's poem. Refeiences to "Wine" (4) anu "Bieau" (9) evoke images of
tiansubstantiation, thus suggesting the uuality of bouy anu bloou. In the poem, the
speakei "touch|esj the Cuiious Wine" (4) anu piesumably eats "Bieau" that she "uiu
not know.'Twas so unlike the Ciumb" (9-1u). While it is uncleai whethei she
actually uiinks the wine, one can aigue that the woiu "touch" suggests that she uiu
not uiink it, but iathei, lookeu at it, oi simply toucheu the glass. Conveisely, the
speakei's claim that she was unawaie that the bieau was not unlike the ciumb
inuicates that the she uiu eat the bieau. If one weie to inteipiet hei uiscussion of the
bieau anu the wine as a metaphoi foi the Euchaiist, one can aigue that she has
ieceiveu the bouy of Chiist, but not his bloou, thus emphasizing uualism between
bouy anu bloou. Even though the uichotomy is uiawn between bouy anu bloou
iathei than bouy anu minu, by emphasizing uivision, Bickinson alluues to the
minubouy binaiy that opeiates as the theme of hei poem. Again, similai to foim
anu uiction, the "anoiexic aesthetic" founu in ieligious allusion stiesses the content
18
of the poem by stylistically ieflecting Bickinson's intelligent aiticulation of the
uichotomy between the mental anu the physical.
Bickinson's uepiction of uualism aptly anticipates Plath's aiticulation of
anoiexic subjectivity. In contiast to Bickinson, who employs an "anoiexic aesthetic"
to outline the uiscouise of anoiexia, but uoes not explicitly mention the illness, Plath
uses an "anoiexic aesthetic" to uiscuss anoiexia oveitly anu invokes the uiscouise of
the uisease in oiuei to /"&55#+8# the oppiessive binaiy. In this iespect, Bickinson
uefines the binaiy, while Plath inteiiogates it.
Belen Nalson's psychological stuuy on anoiexic bouies in the post-mouein
context pioviues a fiuitful lens foi looking at the ways Plath's poem uepaits fiom
Bickinson's. In hei stuuy, Nalson examines exceipts fiom a seiies of inteiviews
conuucteu with 2S women uiagnoseu anu self uiagnoseu as '"anoiexic," ueploying a
"feminist post-stiuctuialist foim of uiscouise analysis to analyze the inteiview
tiansciipts" anu exploie the social constiuction of anoiexia ("Women 0nuei Eiasuie
1S7"). Nalson aigues that befoie the emeigence of postmoueinism, anoiexic
subjects' uiscouise ieflecteu the iueals of minubouy uualism. Nalson fuithei
contenus that the uiscouise of anoiexic subjects similaily ieflect society's tiansition
fiom moueinism to postmoueinism at the enu of the twentieth centuiy when
acauemics anu aitists began challenging the iueals of moueinism as a "complex anu
heteiogeneous categoiy of uiscuisively constituteu subjectivities, expeiiences, anu
bouy-management piactices" ("Women 0nuei Eiasuie" 1S9).
Nalson goes on to aigue that "'anoiexia can be theoiizeu as, in pait, an
aiticulation of the postmoueinist conceins with the theme of the bouy anu with
19
unueimining oi uisplacing moueinist epistemology anu the human subject on which
it uepenus" ("Women 0nuei Eiasuie" 141). Consequently, cultuie's conception of
the female bouy as a manifestation of minubouy uualism was "questioneu anu
pioblematizeu" ("Women 0nuei Eiasuie" 14S). This inteiiogation of uualism,
which leu to "the ie- theoiization of 'woman' as a fiagmenteu, multiple anu always
socio-histoiically specific fiction," leu to the iuentity of "'woman' being put 'unuei
eiasuie'" ("Women 0nuei Eiasuie" 14S). 0sing Nalson's theoiy as a point of
iefeience, I aigue that Plath's poem aiticulates anoiexic subjectivity as minubouy
uualism, thus aligning with Nalson's theoiy on the mouein uiscouise of anoiexia.
Noieovei, Plath's poem not only aiticulates this minubouy binaiy but also
challenges it, which is seen in both the content anu "anoiexic aesthetic" of the poem.
Consequently, Plath's poem uepaits fiom Bickinson's in its explicit inteiiogation of
uualism.
Naiiateu fiom the point of view of a woman stiuggling with uisembouiment,
"In Plastei" conveys the innei monologue of the speakei, who sees hei minu as "the
white peison" anu hei bouy as "the yellow peison" (2). By ieflecting on hei stiuggle
to kill off the "white peison" anu become embouieu, the speakei ieveals the
conflicting emotions felt by the split subject anu aiticulates the moueinist uiscouise
of anoiexia by iepiesenting an anoiexic women who sees hei minu anu hei bouy as
uiviueu. Like Bickinson, Plath uses a unique poetic stiuctuie as a pait of hei
"anoiexic aesthetic" in oiuei to illustiate how the speakei views heiself as
uisembouieu. Stiict anu contiolleu, Plath's poem contains eight stanzas, each
composeu of seven lines. These lines aie of appioximately equal length, lenuing the
2u
poem a sense of pieuictability. This stiuctuie, coupleu with the methouical foim of
the stanzas anu lines, not only aiguably miiiois the stiict anu contiolleu natuie of
the anoiexic but also ieflects the constiiction of the uiviue between the speakei's
minu anu hei bouy. 0ne can also finu iigiuity in the sequential aiiangement of
stanzas. Rathei than ianuomly plotting how she giows fiom the uespeiate "I will
nevei get out of this!" (1) to the moie optimistic, "I am plotting my stiength," the
speakei sequentially uetails hei giowth, inuicating a uiscipline not altogethei
uiffeient fiom the iitualistic contiol of the anoiexic (SS).
In auuition to a stiuctuieu foim, Plath also integiates minimalistic uiction as
a pait of the poem's "anoiexic aesthetic" to fuithei suggest the speakei's split
subjectivity, a technique we saw befoie in Bickinson. Plath's effective use of uiction
is seen in the mattei-of-fact language anu the shoit, succinct sentences the speakei
uses to uepict the ielationship between "the white peison" anu "the yellow peison."
The fiist five lines of the seconu stanza pioviues a peitinent example of this:
0nly much whitei anu unbieakable anu with no complaints.
I coulun't sleep foi a week, she was so colu.
I blameu hei foi eveiything, but she uiun't answei.
I coulun't unueistanu hei stupiu behavioi!
When I hit hei she helu still, like a tiue pacifist (1u-14).
The language in this stanza appeais neithei oveily uesciiptive noi especially plain.
Bowevei, the uiiect uiction, such as "I coulun't sleep foi a week, she was colu"
suggests a linguistic ieseive chaiacteiistic to the iestiaint of the anoiexic.
Noieovei, the simple sentences, like "I blameu hei foi eveiything but she uiu not
21
answei," fuithei emphasize the constiiction founu in the anoiexic subject. In this
iespect, the language of the poem not only emphasizes the uivision of the subject,
but also ieinfoices the poem's meaning.
In auuition to using foim anu uiction to stiess that the speakei sees heiself in
teims of minubouy uualism, Plath appiopiiates ieligious allusion as pait of the
"anoiexic aesthetic" to highlight the speakei's split subjectivity, chaiacteiizing "the
white peison," hei minu, as "one of the ieal saints" anu "the supeiioi one" because
"she uoesn't neeu foou" (S-4). By suggesting that hei minu is saintly because it can
withstanu hungei, the speakei evokes the Augustinian valoiization of female
staivation anu uisembouiment by uiawing a uivision between the Augustinian iueal
of the "spiiitual self," which is fiee fiom sin, anu the "animal self," which seives as a
vehicle foi sin. Aligning with this iueal, the speakei uiviues hei selves into a "white
peison" anu a "yellow peison" so that hei "saintly" minu can ieign teiioi ovei hei
bouy by contiolling its hungeis (vanbuskiik S6).
We again see the ieinfoicement of the "white peison's" saintliness latei in
the poem when the speakei uesciibes the "white peison" as "shapeu just like
|heij.only much whitei anu unbieakable anu with no complaints" (7-8). The use
of the coloi white is significant to the chaiacteiization of the minu, "the white
peison," since white has tiauitionally symbolizeu puiity, viiginity, viitue, anu
holiness within the Catholic Chuich. The contiast between the "white" minu anu the
"yellow," bouy anu thus the uivision of the speakei, is fuithei ieinfoiceu when one
consiueis that in some cultuies, yellow symbolizes sinful qualities like cowaiuice
anu uisgiace. The juxtaposition between these two colois coulu alluue to the ways
22
the bouy ueceives the minu by expiessing sinful appetites foi sex anu foou,
emphasizing the split subject by showing how the bouy opposes the minu.
The contiast between the colois white anu yellow also suggest the uegiee to
which the minu anu the bouy of the speakei uispaiately auheie to Catholic uoctiine,
fuithei suggesting the uivision of the subject. The speakei's claim that the "white
peison," is "like" the "yellow peison," but has "no complaints" outlines a compaiison
that alluues to female subseivience anu infeiioiity within the Catholic Chuich (8).
0ne coulu aigue that the white peison has no complaints, in pait, because being
white, she is puie anu viituous, anu theiefoie, uoes not piotest because she must
auheie to piopei coues of Catholic femininity. By uiawing this uistinction between
the white peison, the minu, who piesumably uoes not uisagiee, anu the yellow
peison, the bouy, who complains, the speakei implies that the bouy challenges
Augustine's iueals of female passivity anu staivation by possessing anu expiessing
appetites, while the minu uoes not.
Theiefoie, by uepicting hei minu as "saintly, "white," anu "supeiioi" to hei
bouy, the speakei fuithei ieinfoices Augustine's notion that the "spiiitual bouy"
iemains fai gieatei anu moie holy than the ueceitful "animal bouy," since the minu
lacks hungeis anu theiefoie, uoes not uefy the tenets of female emptiness like the
bouy uoes (Augustine). This uepiction of the uualistic minu anu bouy fuithei points
to Nalson's aigument by showing the ways "uiscouise piouuces women's uesiie to
be thin by constituting the thin bouy not as simply beautiful but as a means of
'salvation'" ("Bouy Poly-Texts" 27S). In this way, the speakei's uiscouise suggests
how hei split subjectivity is "constituteu by anu within the uiscuisive context of
2S
cultuie" by invoking the iueals of female staivation in the Catholic Chuich ("Women
0nuei Eiasuie" 14u). Consequently, one can aigue that Plath's speakei not only
miiiois the uiscouise of uualism that Nalson contenus chaiacteiizes the moueinist
movement, but also ieflects the uiscouise of Chiistianity, thus showing how othei
sites of uiscuisive piouuction, such as the Catholic Chuich, also constitute anoiexic
subjects' unueistanuing of themselves.
In hei final iefeience to the Bible, the speakei again chaiacteiizes the "white
peison," hei minu, as "a saint " anu "the yellow peison," hei bouy, as "ugly anu
haiiy," fuithei emphasizing that she is a split subject. This iefeience, which
emphasizes the giotesqueness of the female bouy anu the supeiioiity of the
contiolling anu iepiessive minu, suggests that fleshy anu embouieu females aie
vieweu as unattiactive, uncontiolleu, anu immoial by the Chuich anu by gieatei
society. Such a uepiction points to Nalson's asseition that "the uiscuisive
constiuction of the bouy iesonates with the Chiistian ascetic theme of ienunciation
of the flesh in which contiol is about uenial of the bouy" ("Bouy Poly-Texts" 27S). As
vanbuskiik aigues, the belief that the female bouy shoulu be vieweu as scaiy oi
giotesque was maue populai in pait by the Catholic Chuich, which associates female
flesh with sexuality, "something that conventional theology consiueis
uncontiollable anu sinful at once" (S6). Boiuo expanus upon this asseition when
she points to uualism as "lying at the centei of Chiistianity's ethics of anti-sexuality,"
suggesting that the anoiexic uiscouise of minubouy uualism not only calls foi the
iepiession of female bouies but also the iepiession of female sexuality (146). Thus,
when one consiueis how these vaiious uiscouises anu the anoiexic aesthetics that
24
compose them manifest themselves in the language of Plath's speakei, one can see
how hei uepiction of the minu as "holy" anu bouy as "ugly" paiallel Nalson's
uiscussion of anoiexic subjectivity as being piouuceu by anu within uiscouises of
moueinist cultuie, incluuing that of Catholicism.
Asiue fiom a uiscussion of the Catholic iepiession of female bouies anu
female sexuality, one can also see an examination of iace in Plath's iepiesentation of
the holy "white peison" anu the infeiioi "yellow peison," since such ihetoiic alluues
to insinutations of white masteiy ovei the blakc female bouy (S). This analysis
paiallels the Catholic concept of the female bouy as "sinful anu uncontiollable,"
since, paiticulaily uuiing times of slaveiy, black bouies in the Westein woilu weie
seen as animalistic, baibaiic, anu oveily sexual. This uiscouise, which woikeu to
uehumanize black people, was ueployeu thioughout Westein cultuie to justify
slaveiy. People, especially slave owneis, useu the uiscouise of black baibaiism to
explain that slaveiy was foi "black peoples' own goou."
Although both black women anu black men weie chaiacteiizeu as animalistic
anu oveily sexual by populai Westein tiopes, this steieotype peipetuateu a cultuie
that maue black women's bouies paiticulaily vulneiable to sexual abuse by theii
white male owneis, since theii chastity, a commouity that asciibeu value to white
women's bouies, was seen as nonexistent. Noieovei, because black women weie
seen as the "piopeity" of theii owneis, theii white masteis oftentimes exploiteu
theii bouies foi sexual pleasuie, iaping anu sexually assaulting theii female slaves.
These instances of sexual assault anu iape oftentimes piouuceu chiluien, who
woulu giow up in slaveiy as the piopeity of theii biological fathei, theii masteis.
2S
Sometimes, white masteis woulu iape theii black female slaves in an effoit to make
moie slaves that they coulu use on the faim oi sell, which fuithei illustiates the
teiioi anu violence inflicteu upon the black female bouy by white masteis. We see
the complexities of this powei uynamic in Plath's poem, which suggests the
inescapability of the "white peison," the supeiioi othei, by illustiating the yellow
peison's uesiie to be fiee fiom theii contiol. If one weie to see the "white peison" as
the white mastei anu the "yellow peison" as the black female slave, one coulu
suggest that Plath's aiticulation of the infeiioi bouy, the "yellow peison," tiying to
escape the supeiioi minu, the "white peison," alluues to the black female slave's
stiuggle to escape the contiol of the white mastei, namely the contiol he exeits ovei
hei physical bouy anu hei sexuality.
Anothei way one coulu inteipiet Plath's iacializeu juxaposition between the
"white peison" anu the "yellow peison" is by looking at the ways Plath suggests that
the bouy of a woman of coloi, like that of the white bouy in the poem, is imagineu as
uniuly, sexualizeu, anu a iepositoiy of masculine filth anu uesiie. Inteiestingly, this
logic again follows the Catholic view of female bouies as sinful anu oveily sexual,
which we see in the speakei's chaiacteiization of the white peison as "a saint" anu
the yellow peison as "ugly anu haiiy," alluuing to the holiness of the minu anu the
sexualizeu fleshiness of the bouy. Significantly, Plath seems to suggest that the
bouies of white women &+' the bouies of women of coloi aie imagineu as similaily
uniuly anu giotesque. In this iespect, Plath's poem attempts to giapple with
iacializeu bouies, albeit in a moie abstiact anu less oveit way than hei exploiation
of the white anoiexic bouy.
26
Although Plath's aesthetic miiiois Bickinson's in its effective use of foim,
uiction, anu ieligious allusion, Plath fuithei emphasizes the theme of anoiexia anu
split subjectivity thiough hei confusing anu contiasting use of the pionouns "I" anu
"she." Significantly, Biuch notes that this "confusion of pionouns" manifests itself in
anoiexics, since, a main cause of anoiexia is the "inability to uefine |one'sj own
neeus oi uistinguish them fiom the neeus anu wants of otheis," iesulting in the
subject being unable to establish bounuaiies between self anu family, self anu
cultuie, anu self anu othei (=&-,+8 >,9)4'#49 SS). Because anoiexics cannot ueciphei
theii own uesiies fiom the uesiies of otheis, they cannot uetect theii own appetites.
Noieovei, because anoiexics cannot ueteimine the uiffeience between theii iueals
anu the iueals of cultuie, they aie moie likely to inteinalize haimful cultuial noims
that piomote uniealistic levels of thinness. Both of these factois contiibute to
anoiexics' uecision to staive themselves.
0sing "In Plastei" as an example, 0stiikei exploies the ielationship between
the anoiexic "confusion of pionouns" anu the intentional use of misleauing
pionouns in liteiatuie by uiscussing the juxtaposition between "I" anu "she" as a
tiope in women's poetiy. 0stiikei notes of Plath's poem, "Nothing anu nobouy
exists insiue the poem but 'I' anu 'she;' ' 'I' iejects both iesponsibility anu
uepenuence by insisting not 'I neeu uoctois anu nuises' but 'I am uepenuent only on
an aspect of myself which is uepenuent on me,' anu hei meanness thioughout the
poem illustiates the tight connection between passivity, uepenuence, solipsism, anu
self-loathing" ("In the Ninu" SS7-SS8). The speakei in Plath's poem cleaily uefines
the "I" anu "she" in the fiist line by uiawing a uistinction between hei two selves:
27
the yellow peison, "I," anu the white peison, "she," uespeiately exclaiming, "I will
nevei get out of this!" (1) The fact that the speakei consistently uses "I" to uesciibe
hei spiiitual self, the white peison, anu "she" to uenote hei physical self, the yellow
peison, implies that the speakei sees heiself as a uiviueu subject.
Plath specifically piesents an inteiesting play on "I" anu "she" when she
wiites that the speakei iecognizes that the "she" looks similai to heiself: "She lay in
beu with me like a ueau bouyAnu I was scaieu, because she was shapeu just the
way I was." (6-7). While these coulu be ieau as inuicatois of the speakei's
embouiment oi the meiging of the speakei's two selves, since the speakei seems to
view "she" anu "me" as alike in appeaiance, such an inteipietation fails to iecognize
how the speakei's language continues to aiticulate the uivision of the minu anu
bouy by chaiacteiizing hei spiiitual self as lying next to hei, iathei than being a pait
of hei. Because the minu anu the bouy aie lying next to each othei, as opposeu to
being uniteu as one, anu aie theiefoie, still sepaiate, one cannot ieau these lines as a
uepiction of the speakei's embouiment. Notably, the speakei seems suipiiseu that
"she," hei minu, looks the same shape as "I," hei bouy. Technically, the speakei
shoulu see hei minu anu bouy as connecteu, anu thus, shoulu view them as similaily
shapeu. Theiefoie, the fact that she expiesses suipiise anu feai ovei theii similai
appeaiance suggests the uegiee to which she uelusionally views hei minu anu bouy
as sepaiate.
The speakei in Plath's poem nevei oveicomes hei spit subjectivity because
she is unable to uefeat the "white peison," oi what Boiuo woulu teim "the uictatoi"
who uominates hei bouy (144). By aiticulating the uiscouise of minubouy uualism
28
thiough an "anoiexic aesthetic" anu showing how poweifully the uiscouise
constitutes the speakei's existence, Plath not only exposes the teims of the binaiy
but also questions them. 0ne can see the speakei's inteiiogation of uualism when,
iefeiiing to the "white peison" she says, "I wasn't in any position to get iiu of hei"
(4S). By saying that the speakei was not in any position to get iiu of the "white
peison" anu thus, was not capable of oveicoming the minubouy uichotomy, Plath
points to the ways the patiiaichal anu misogynist society that constiucteu this
uiscouise pievents the speakei fiom bieaking fiee of it. uiven that this uiscouise
was cieateu anu has aiguably been uphelu by men, one coulu aigue that by
inteiiogating the binaiy between the mental anu the physical, Plath challenges the
patiiaichal anu misogynist society that cieateu it. The line "I was in no position to
get iiu of hei" fuithei suggests this point by implying that, outsiue of uualism, theie
uoes not exist any othei lens foi women to unueistanu theii bouies. This speaks to
the way uominant uiscouises of the binaiy limit anu inhibit women's abilities to see
theii bouies as whole. In this iespect, Plath's poem, anu the "anoiexic aesthetic"
that emphasize its content, moves foiwaiu fiom Bickinson's by not only aiticulating
the uiscouise of anoiexia, but by contesting it.
Like Plath anu Bickinson, Bolanu uses a unique poetic stiuctuie, minimalist
uiction, anu ieligious allusion to constiuct an "anoiexic aesthetic" that questions
uualism in hei poem "Anoiexic." As uoes Plath, she incluues confusing pionouns to
point to the speakei's uisembouiment. Bowevei, unlike Plath, who focuses on the
uualistic natuie of anoiexic subjectivity thioughout the entiie poem, Bolanu's
constiuction of anoiexic subjectivity changes halfway thiough the poem to one of
29
eiasuie, which is eviuent in the speakei's uepiction of heiself as Eve wishing to
ietuin to Auam's iib. This change is ieflecteu in the "anoiexic aesthetic"the final
stanzas contain a loosei stiuctuie, moie elaboiate uiction, anu moie uefinitive
pionouns. This tiansition paiallels Nalson's theoiy on the tiajectoiy of anoiexic
uiscouise by illustiating an anoiexic subject whose bouy eventually succumbs to the
postmoueinist eiasuie of women's bouies.
Iionically, by positioning the speakei as Eve tiying to ietieat back into
Auam's iib anu, thus, uepicting hei as wanting to eiase heiself by no longei existing
as a physical bouy, Bolanu, like Plath, calls attention to the patiiaichal uiscouises
that constitute anoiexia. Consequently, she subveits the language of minubouy
uualism that is cential to patiiaichy. By showing this "unueimining" ("Women
0nuei Eiasuie" 141) thiough the ueletion of the female bouy as opposeu to the
uivision of it, Bolanu exposes the postmoueinist uiscouises of anoiexia anu thus,
points to the ways the binaiy haims women by foicing them to paiticipate in a futile
wai against theii bouies, what Susan Boiuo calls "the no-win game" (146).
Bolanu uses a stiict foim as pait of hei "anoiexic aesthetic" in oiuei to offei
a cleai uepiction of the split subject. The iestiaineu stiuctuie of the fiist half of
"Anoiexic" contains six thiee-line stanzas of compaiable length. The sentences that
compose these lines aie veiy shoit anu blunt. Succinct phiases like "Flesh is heietic"
(1) anu "Yes, I am toiching" compiise the fiist half of the poem, conveying a tone of
iigiuity (4). These lines aie of appioximately equal length, lenuing the poem a sense
of stiuctuie anu pieuictability. This stiffness, coupleu with the methouical foim of
the stanzas anu lines, not only aiguably miiiois the stiict anu contiolleu natuie of
Su
the anoiexic but also ieflects the shaip split between the speakei's minu anu hei
bouy. 0ne can also finu constiaint in the sequential aiiangement of stanzas. Rathei
than ianuomly plotting how she giows fiom the uespeiate "I will nevei get out of
this!" (1) to the moie optimistic, "I am plotting my stiength," the speakei
sequentially uetails hei giowth, inuicating a sense of meticulousness not altogethei
uiffeient fiom the iitualistic contiol of the anoiexic (SS).
Similai to the minimalist uiction founu in the "anoiexic aesthetic" of
Bickinson's anu Plath's poems, the language useu in the fiist six stanzas in
"Anoiexic" is veiy constiicteu, suggesting the speakei' uisembouiment. Woius anu
phiases aie ueclaiative anu nonuesciiptive, which contiibutes to a tone of
lifelessness. The oveiuse of simple uiction is paiticulaily seen in the laige amount of
one anu two syllable woius the speakei incoipoiates into just the fiist thiee lines of
"Anoiexic." These woius incluue "flesh," "is," "my," "bouy," "a," "witch," "I," "am,"
"buining," "anu," "it." This lifeless anu uull language suggests a uistance between
the speakei anu the subject, paiticulaily when one consiueis that the uiction is
neithei oveily uesciiptive noi ievelatoiy. Like the anoiexic bouy, the length anu
content of the woius cannot be excessive because excess, which suggests the
"hungeiing, voiacious, all-neeuing, anu all-wanting" uesiies of the aichetypical
female, signifies femininity (Boiuo 16u). Consequently, anoiexic inuiviuuals, as well
as society in geneial, feai what they consiuei to be oveiabunuant female bouies. If
one weie to ielate the anoiexic's feai of excess to the poem, one can suggest that the
language of the anoiexic miiiois hei bouy, thus ievealing how the poet manipulates
language to moie viviuly constiuct an "anoiexic aesthetic" that uesciibe the
S1
speakei's plight as a uualistic subject.
While we eventually iealize that the "flesh" the speakei uiscusses in
"Anoiexic" (1) is hei own, the fiist few lines of the poem suggest that the "flesh" anu
hei "bouy" (2) aie two sepaiate entities. Such confusing uiction, paiieu with the
tight anu minimally uesciiptive language of the eaily stanzas, cieates space between
the speakei anu hei subject, which in tuin, implies a uistance between hei minu anu
hei bouy. This sepaiation iesembles the uualism seen in the lines' content, which
inuicates the speakei's split subjectivity thiough the metaphoi of a "witch" (2).
Again, this iunning metaphoi, which emphasizes the speakei enacting violence on a
bouy that she uoes not see as connecteu to hei spiiitual self, illustiates the poweiful
uiviue the speakei feels between hei mental anu hei physical being. Thus, just as the
stiict foim of the fiist half of the poem ieinfoices the woik's content, the language
useu in the beginning of the poem similaily emphasizes the meaning of the stanzas,
cieating an "anoiexic aesthetic" that befittingly conveys the anoiexic's stiuggle.
Asiue fiom foim anu language, Bolanu uses ieligious allusion as pait of hei
"anoiexic aesthetic" to fuithei highlight the uualism of the subject, a uevice that
Bickinson anu Plath also integiate into theii poems. We fiist see ieligious allusion in
"Anoiexic" when the speakei uistances heiself fiom hei bouy by iefeiiing to it as a
"heietic witch" (2). By metaphoiically calling hei bouy "a witch" anu inuicating that
she is "buining " anu "toiching" it, the speakei moves beyonu simply illustiating hei
uisembouiment to suggesting the ways in which hei uivision came as a iesult of hei
feeling that hei bouy is ueviant, moie specifically, ueviant fiom the Catholic Chuich
(S). This is paiticulaily eviuent in the connection she uiaws between hei uesiie to
S2
buin hei bouy anu hei view that hei bouy is a witch: "Ny bouy is a witchI am
buining it "(1-2). The oiueiing of the lines suggests that the speakei buins hei bouy
because she views it as a heietic witch, oi against the noim, inuicating that hei self
abuse comes as a consequence of hei belief that hei bouy is abnoimal anu sepaiate
fiom hei spiiitual self.
The content of the fiist six lines of "Anoiexic" fuithei emphasize the uivision
of the subject when one consiueis the line, "flesh is heietic" in ielation to the
speakei's uiscussion of buining hei bouy, the metaphoiical witch (1). Buiing the
Salem Witch Bunts of the seventeenth centuiy, many women suspecteu of
uissenting fiom ieligious teachings weie accuseu of witchciaft anu seveial of those
convicteu weie buineu at the stake. Religious institutions piefeiieu this methou of
execution since the buining of one's bouy was believeu to cleanse the soul.
vanbuskiik links the metaphoi of the staiving anu toituieu witch to both the Salem
Witch Tiials anu Chiistianity, noting,
Buiing the Niuule Ages, women's bouies weie. toituieu both as a iesult of
witch buinings anu the excessive fasting in which spiiitually oiienteu women
often engageu. (2) Wheieas witch buining was abuse imposeu fiom the
outsiue, the speakei of Bolanu's poem has inteinalizeu the tiauitional
Chiistian messages about the sinfulness iesulting fiom embouiment that
oiiginate in Augustine's wiitings. Augustine's uesciiption of Auam anu Eve's
'passions in theii animal bouy fiom which we shall be fiee in oui spiiitual
bouies' ieflects his iuea that the bouy is a vehicle of sin (72). The speakei of
SS
'Anoiexic' fights against the ieality of hei bouy anu the neeus that come with
it by staiving it anu puiging the foou she uoes eat (S6).
By invoking the language of the Salem Witch Tiials anu the abuse of women in
ieligious institutions, the speakei in "Anoiexic" suggests that hei bouy, like a witch,
has both physically anu spiiitually uissenteu fiom what is acceptable by society. In
this iespect, hei flesh, thiough its supposeu excess, is "heietic" because it uefies
noimative stanuaius of iueal beauty, what Kim Cheinin calls, "the tyianny of
slenueiness" (62, 6S). Noieovei, because, accoiuing to vanbuskiik, "fat is eviuence
of embouiment, which is inheiently sexual.anu theiefoie, sinful," hei flesh also
uefies Chiistian notions of piopei womanhoou (S).
If we continue to plot this ieligious allusion, we see that the paiallel uiawn
between the speakei's bouy anu a heietic witch ieveals the ways the speakei has
uisconnecteu heiself fiom hei bouy in a twisteu effoit to achieve the peifect
physical anu spiiitual female iueal. By uiawing a uivision between the Augustinian
iuea of the "spiiitual self," which fiees one fiom sin, anu the "animal self," which
seives as a vehicles of sin, the speakei suggests that she wants to "cleanse" hei bouy
thiough buining, thus uistoiting hei physical foim to abiue by social anu ieligious
convention. This uesiie suggests that the speakei believes that by buining hei bouy
anu thus, killing hei physical self, she will enable hei spiiitual being to emeige as
supeiioi, fieeing heiself fiom sin just as Catheiine Siena uiu in the 1Suu's thiough
"holy anoiexia." By using the fiist six lines of the poem to illustiate the uivision
between hei conscious being anu hei physical being thiough witch imageiy, the
speakei intiouuces the theme of hei uisembouiment anu thus, suggests the way in
S4
which hei subjectivity, like that of Plath's speakei, is constituteu by the Chiistian
piinciple of female ienunciation.
Asiue fiom analyzing the speakei's aiticulation of hei bouy as a "heietic
witch" thiough the lense of Catholic female sexual iepiession, one can also see a link
between the speakei's sexuality anu hei anoiexia by analyzing it as a tiaumatic
thwaiting of bouily matuiation anu sexualization, as well as an aftei-affect of sexual
tiauma (2). Accoiuing to the National Centei foi Eating Bisoiueis, anoiexia is "an
auaptive illness," which means that it "uoes something useful foi the suffeiei."
Stuuies show that anoiexia oftentimes functions as a way foi inuiviuuals to expiess
innei pain, feel a sense of contiol contiol, anu ueal with anxiety.
Significantly, anoiexia can also be a way foi inuiviuuals to avoiu sexual
matuiation. Stuuies show that anoiexia usually begins in young giils at the time of
pubeity, a peiiou when most females gain weight. Psychotheiapy has founu that
"few giils welcome the changes of pubeity anu expeiience it as a time of feeling
uisempoweieu" (National Centei foi Eating Bisoiueis). Reseaicheis hypothesize
that some giils, seeing sexual matuiation as a piecuisoi to theii sexualization,
uevelop anoiexia as a subconscious way of avoiuing the inevitable sexualization that
Westein cultuie imposes upon young women. By staiving theii bouies anu thus
iefusing to uevelop hips anu bieasts, these women iesist physically tiansitioning
into young auulthoou, anu theiefoie, iesist becoming sexual objects. In this iespect,
these females stiive to maintain theii piepubescent anuiogynous bouy to avoiu the
piessuies anu uiscomfoit that come along with occupying a matuie sexual bouy.

SS
Thus in auuition to functioning, in pait, as a piouuct of sexual iepiession,
anoiexia can also be vieweu as a iesult of one's uesiie to halt bouily matuiation anu
the cultuial sexualization that it entails by maintainng the bouy of a piepubescent,
anu ostensibly, asexual, chilu. If one weie to view anoiexia in this way, one coulu
also see the ways that anoiexia can also opeiate as a way of coping with sexual
tiauma. Accoiuing to 0iit Noise anu Leah Shapiia, theie is a uiiect link between
sexual abuse anu anoiexia:
Pievalence estimates of sexual abuse among inuiviuuals expeiiencing eating
uisoiueis is vaiiable, anu iepoiteu moie in females, seeming to fall aiounu
appioximately Su% (Connois anu Noise, Woousiue anu uaifinkel . This
estimate is likely uistuibingly unueiestimateu uue to the peisonal natuie of
sexual tiauma anu the associateu seciecy, guilt, anu embaiiassment that
often accompanies such (1).
Because suivivois of abuse oftentimes "uevelop an ingiaineu uisgust anu hate foi
the bouy, as well as an oveiwhelming sense that events in one's life aie
uncontiollable, " many suivivois of sexual abuse use anoiexia as a way to cope
(Noise, Shapiia 1). Inteiestingly, "the stiongest association between sexual abuse
anu eating uisoiueis has been founu amongst inuiviuuals with bulimia. When
combineu with othei psychiatiic comoibiuity, paiticulaily substance abuse, bulimia
has been linkeu with highei fiequency anu moie seveie histoiy of sexual abuse"
(Beep, Lilenfelu, Plotnicov, Pollice anu Kaye). If one weie to apply this analysis to
the speakei's conceptualization of heiself as a "heietic witch," one coulu contenu
that in auuition to gestuiing towaius sexual iepiession, Bolanu also seems to
S6
suggest sexual tiauma, since the speakei, like the anoiexic who has suiviveu sexual
abuse, chaiacteiizies self-loathing as a cential element of hei uiviueu subjectivity.
Thus, thiough hei uiscussion of the "heietic witch," Bolanu links sexuality anu
anoiexia in teim of both Catholic iepiession anu sexual tiauma, pioviuing ieaueis
with a moie nuanceu unueistanuing of the speakei's uiviueu subjectivity (2).
Peihaps the most obvious inuicatoi of the speakeis' split subjectivity in
Bolanu's poem is the confusing anu contiasting use of the pionouns "I" anu "she,"
which we also see as pait of the "anoiexic aesthetic" in Plath's poem. In "Anoiexic,"
the conflation of the pionouns "I" anu "she" in the fiist half of the poem plot the
speakei's giowth fiom uisembouiment to eiasuie. This uiffeis fiom Plath's use of
ambiguous pionouns, since she employs them thioughout the entiie poem anu not
just in the fiist half of the woik. The speakei in "In Plastei's" unueistanuing of
heiself as a split subject is eviuent in the vaiious ways she uesciibes hei bouy as
sepaiate fiom "I," oi heiself, calling hei bouy "a witch" (2), "hei" (S), "she" (7), anu
"the bitch" (1S). vanbuskiik explains the ways the commingling of pionouns suggest
the speakei's uiviueu subjectivity, obseiving,
Wheieas she iefeis to hei passive bouy in thiiu peison, she uses the fiist
peison to expiess hei actions, things that she tiies to contiol. The
inteimingleu use of fiist- anu thiiu-peison pionouns in these lines ieflects
the speakei's uisassociation fiom hei bouy, which she calls a 'witch,' a 'hei'
(2, 4). Fuitheimoie, it iepiesents hei uesiie to iepiess aspects oi qualities in
heiself that she feels aie sinful. Even though 'I' anu 'she' aie the same
peison, the speakei associates the 'I' with the peison she wants to be: a self-
S7
contiolleu, obeuient, anu sinless woman. The 'she' insteau iefeis to the paits
of heiself that shaie qualities with Eve, such as uesiie, weakness, anu
instinct (S6).
Theiefoie, in auuition to suggesting hei uisembouiment, the speakei's confusing use
of "I" anu "she" also inuicates hei uesiie to uistance heiself fiom the sinful
chaiacteiistics of Eve, which ieveals a connection between hei manipulation of
pionouns anu hei use of biblical allusion.
Significantly, unlike Plath's poem, in which anoiexia woiks to illustiate the
speakei's uualism thioughout the entiie piece, Bolanu's poem changes halfway
thiough, with the seconu half of "Anoiexic" containing an aesthetic that suggests
cancellation of the bouy iathei than bouily uivision. This is specifically seen in the
poem's ielaxeu foim, elaboiate language, exact pionouns, anu ieligious allusion to
Auam anu Eve. These bieaks in the iigiuity of the poem's aesthetic miiiois a less
uualistic uepiction of the subject anu signals what Nalson teims the "eiasuie" of the
female bouy, thus pointing to the piogiession Nalson uesciibes as the tiansition in
the uiscouise of anoiexia fiom moueinism to postmoueinism ("Women 0nuei
Eiasuie" 142).
The stiuctuie of "Anoiexic" bieaks fiom its initial uisciplineu foim at the
beginning of stanza seven, thus inuicating the speakei's tiansition into an "anoiexic
aesthetic" that emphasizes what Leslie Beywoou teims, "the cancellation" of the self
(29):
Bow waim it was anu wiue
once by a waim uium,
S8
once by the song of his bieath
anu in his sleeping siue (24-27).
This stanza contains one compounu sentence anu theiefoie, uiffeis fiom the choppy
simple sentences that compose the fiist six stanzas of the poem, lenuing the eighth
stanza a sense of cauence anu fieeuom that contiasts to the iestiaineu natuie of the
woik's initial stanzas. The sentence appeais moie expansive anu moie coloiful than
the choppy anu abiiugeu sentences founu in the fiist few stanzas. Reauing stanza
eight alouu, one notices that the ihythm of the poem evokes a unity of the lines.
Each line, although enjambeu, can easily be ieciteu as one complete thought.
Noments of pause, which occui at each enjambment befoie the woius "once" (2),
"once" (S), anu "anu," (4) give the poem a ihythmic pattein that contiibutes to the
cohesiveness of the lines. The unity anu ihythm of the lines gieatly contiasts to the
uisjointeu lines anu bioken sounu in the poem's initial stanzas. Bowevei, insteau of
inuicating the speakei's embouiment, this foim suggests the speakei's eiauication.
Asiue fiom poetic foim, the tiansition in the "anoiexic aesthetic" fiom one of
minubouy uualism to one of bouily eiauication can be seen in the woik's
uesciiptive uiction. Woius like "angulai" (S6) anu alliteiative phiases like "sleeping
siue" (27) anu "sensuous enclosuie" (2S) auu moie cohesion to the piece,
contiasting to the minimal one-syllable woius founu in the beginning of the poem.
This change in aesthetic paiallels the content of the lines, which suggest that the
speakei uesiies to ietieat into Auam's iib anu thus kill off hei bouy.
The tiansition fiom the "anoiexic aesthetic" of uualism to one of bouily
extinction is also eviuent in the poem's ieligious allusion. The last iefeiences to the
S9
Bible contiast to the ieligious allusion founu in the fiist half of the poem, wheie
ieligious allusion is useu to uenote the speakei's split subjectivity. 0ne specifically
sees the use of ieligious allusion to uepict the uestioyal of the bouy in the speakei's
claim that she wants to "slip" back into Auam's iib: "I will slipback into him
againas if I hau nevei been away" (S1-SS). The paiallel the speakei uiaws between
heiself anu the stoiy of Eve is eviuent in the final stanza when she iefeis to "the fall"
(4S) that she wishes "to foiget," which suggests an allusion to the fall of Auam anu
Eve (4u). Accoiuing to !"# ?5' !#9-&*#+-, uou fashioneu Eve out of Auam's iib, anu
Eve is iesponsible foi the fall of mankinu; hei appetites uestioy an entiie iace. The
speakei fuithei evokes the tale of Auam anu Eve in the final lines when she says that
she wants to move
Into foikeu uaik,
Into python neeus
Beaving to hips anu bieasts
Anu lips anu heat
Anu sweat anu fat anu gieeu (4S-47).
The piogiession fiom the "anoiexic aesthetic" of uualism to the "anoiexic
aesthetic" of uisappeaiance is also ieflecteu in the tiansition fiom ambiguous
pionouns to uefinitive ones. The use of the male pionoun, "his," paiieu with the
uiscussion of a "thin" "iib," which occuis in the fiist half of the poem, (19) inuicate
that the speakei is iefeiiing to Auam's iib. This is maue eviuent when the speakei
says, "once by the song of ",9 bieathanu in ",9 sleeping siue: (2S-26). Significantly,
the use of the phiase "in his sleeping siue," suggest the iib, while the use of the woiu
4u
"again" in the phiase "I will slipback into him again" implies that she was insiue
this space befoie, which given the biblical stoiy, fuithei pioves that she is iefeiiing
to Auam's iib. The speakei also affiimatively iefeis to heiself as "I," as opposeu to
ambiguously seeing heiself as "I" anu "she," implying that she uoes not view heiself
as a uualistic subject anymoie. This tiansition fiom affiimative pionouns to
ambiguous ones uoes not inuicate that she sees heiself as whole but iathei, shows
that she has killeu off hei bouily hungeis enough to kill off hei physical self, anu has
thus become nonexistent. Such eiasuie is eviuent when she goes back into Auam's
iib, since being an appenuage of Auam, she is no longei a bouy. Thus, the pionouns
useu in the seconu half of the poem uenote eiasuie iathei than uual subjectivity.
By expiessing hei uesiie to ietuin into Auam's iib, the speakei not only
iepiesents Nalson's uesciiption of postmoueinist anoiexic uiscouise as one that is
pieoccupieu with bouily eiasuiewhich we finu in the "anoiexic aesthetic" in the
ielaxeu foim, uesciiptive language, ieligious uiction, anu exact pionouns that
compose the last half of the poembut by uoing so, exposes anu challenges the
patiiaichal piouuction of the uiscouises of uualism. When the speakei ietieats into
Auam's iib, she seems to point to the ways the uiscouise of binaiies, both in teims of
minubouy anu malefemale oiiginateu with men. Paiauoxically, when she ietuins
to Auam, she obtains the anoiexic's goal of having the minu uefeat the bouy, since
she has been able to kill off hei bouy in oiuei to entei as a soul in Auam's iib,
howevei, insteau of existing as a bouiless woman she now exists as a man. This
paiauox points to the ways uichotomous constiuctions of uiscouise such as
minubouy uualism, aie both inescapable anu haimful to women. Thus, Bolanu's
41
anoiexic aesthetics expanus upon Plath's by not only illustiating a challenge to the
binaiy, but also outlining how uualism favois men at the expense of women. As a
iesult, Bolanu expanus upon Plath's inteiiogation of uualism by uelineating the
genuei politics of the binaiy.
uluck moves foiwaiu fiom Bolanu's ciitique of genuei politics in hei poem
"Beuication to Bungei" by challenging othei uichotomies that exist alongsiue
minubouy uualism, thus exposing ieaueis to the ielationship between the
minubouy binaiy anu othei manifestations of split subjectivity that affect not only
anoiexics, but aiguably, all inuiviuuals. uluck illuminates these uichotomies,
manwoman, lifeueath, anu youngolu by using an aesthetic similai to the style
founu in the pievious poems uiscusseu. Bowevei, unlike the othei poets, who
stiategically use foim, uiction, confusing pionouns, anu ieligious allusion to
compose theii anoiexic aesthetic anu ieinfoice the content of theii woik, uluck only
employs the uevices of foim, uiction, anu iepetition to compiise hei aesthetic.
uluck's woik also uiffeis fiom the woik of the pievious poets in the explicit
connection she uiaws between hei poetiy anu anoiexia. uluck outlines this
connection by compaiing the poet's neeu to peifect hei wiiting with the anoiexic's
uesiie to peifect hei bouy, which allows uluck to ieflect on the way cultuial noims,
specifically those that valoiize uichotomous constiuctions of the self, peipetuate a
society wheie people aie impelleu to peiceive themselves as funuamentally uiviueu.
As Elizabeth Bouu notes, "in aligning the anoiexic's neeu to contiol anu peifect with
that of a wiitei, in this poem uluck ueclaies hei aesthetic anu the foices that impel
hei to auopt it" (18S). In this iespect, uluck's woik not only suggests the
42
ielationship between anoiexia anu wiiting, but also suggests the ways that
anoiexics anu wiiteis aie similaily motivateu by the uesiie foi peifection,
uelineating peifection as a foice that influences both wiiteis' anu anoiexics'
obsession with (textual) bouies.
0pon examining the similaiities anu uiffeiences between uluck's pioject anu
that of pievious poets, it is cleai that hei pioject uepaits fiom the woik of the past
in two funuamental ways. Fiist, in its oveit aiticulation of the ielationship between
anoiexia anu poetiy, which she outlines as both iequiiing the neeu to "peifect" the
physical bouy oi the "bouy" of a text. She uiaws this paiallel at the enu of the poem,
wiiting, "I feltwhat I feel now, aligning these woiusit is the same neeu to be
peifect, of which ueath is the meie bypiouuct" (14-17). While Bickinson, Plath, anu
Bolanu all suggest this ielationship in the style of theii wiiting, none of them
explicitly outline this ielationship in theii poetiy like uluck uoes. Seconu, in its
stiategic use of foim, uiction, anu iepetition, as opposeu to the othei poets' use of
foim, uiction, 74)+)N+9< &+' 4#5,8,)N9 &55N9,)+F 0nlike the othei poets, who use this
aesthetic to inteiiogate minu bouyuualism, uluck employs the aesthetic to not only
ueconstiuct anu challenge minubouy uualism, but to also chaiacteiize the binaiy
as a constiuction that exists alongsiue a host of othei uiviueu subjectivities.
Consequently, hei pioject seives as an illumination of the ways uiviueu subjectivity
affects all inuiviuuals, not just those who suffei fiom anoiexia.
As mentioneu befoie, uluck is the only poet in this stuuy who has publicly
aumitteu to suffeiing fiom anoiexia anu hei expeiience with the uisease has laigely
shapeu hei ait. uluck states that foi hei, self-staivation was a means of self-
4S
constiuction anu hei attempt to "appeai entiiely fiee fiom all foims of uepenuency,
to appeai complete, self-containeu" (C4))O9 11). Bei poem, "Beuication to Bungei,"
iionically suggests the ways in which the anoiexic's uesiie to "appeai complete"
ultimately exposes the multiple ways hei iuentity is fiactuieu into vaiious uualisms.
This theme is paiticulaily eviuent in the iigiu foim of the poem, which suggests the
uivision of the subject. Ban Chiasson aigues that uluck's "vaiious aesthetic
stiategies aie all uefineu foi one puipose, to piotect hei fineness of peiception anu
exactness of speech fiom what it cannot but see anu cannot but say (1S7). 0pon
looking at the shoit anu succinct stanzas, "telegiaphic syntax, abiupt line bieaks,
anu fiequent use of enjambment," in "Beuication to Bungei," it is cleai that uluck
incoipoiates an "anoiexic aesthetic" foi just this puiposeto uesciibe hei
expeiiences with anoiexia anu "to piotect hei fineness of peiception" in oiuei to
best aiticulate anu ieflect on the anoiexic stiuggle (0"1 .* 2 & 3,456 1uu).
Stiuctuially, the poem is veiy iigiu anu is composeu of one stanza maue up of
seventeen lines, suggesting a iestiaint chaiacteiistic to the "anoiexic aesthetic."
Nost of the lines aie veiy minimal anu contain only thiee to foui woius, with the
longest line containing eight woius. Like the poems of Bickinson, Plath, anu half of
Bolanu's, this unique poetic stiuctuie lenus the poem a sense of pieuictability. This
constiiction, paiieu with the meticulous foim of the lines anu stanzas, not only
iesembles the contiolleu natuie of the anoiexic, but also paiallels the constiiction of
the uivision between the speakei's minu anu hei bouy.
Asiue fiom foim, the poem's uiction, like the uiction of the pievious poems,
suggest an "anoiexic aesthetic." Sewell chaiacteiizes the poems in uluck's collection
44
.4&4&- as "poems that iaiely iely on metaphoi oi imageiy; the language is flat,
contiolleu anu maikeuly iestiaineuit is the language of an anoiexic
uisengagement" (0"1 .* 2 & 3,456 62). This is paiticulaily eviuent in the fiist thiee
lines, which aie composeu entiiely of one anu two syllable woius, save foi one
woiu, "quietly," which has thiee syllables (1). Inteiesting, the noun given the most
elaboiate anu multi-syllabic mouifiei is "bieasts," which is mouifieu by "uigiessive,"
aiguably the most sophisticateu woiu in the poem (9). This emphasizes the woiu
"bieasts," anu thus impels the ieauei to consiuei the ways in which "bieasts" aie
seen as excessive oi "uigiessive," pointing to society's feai of female excess anu
valoiization of the minubouy binaiy (9). In auuition to having few syllables, the
language is simple, which suggests a uegiee of minimalism that miiiois the scaicity
of the anoiexic bouy. 0ne coulu also aigue that the austeie language evokes the
stiict split between the speakei's minu anu bouy, inuicating that the foim of the
poem emphasizes its content.
}oanne Feit Biehl contenus that the "taut lines" founu in the stiuctuie of the
poem "uiaw the ieauei's eyes" to anothei component of the "anoiexic aesthetic"
enjambment (6). These enjambments, paiieu with the shoit lines, inteiestingly
makes the poem appeai aesthetically skinny, iesembling the thin bouy of the
anoiexic subject. Noieovei, uluck's effective use of enjambment conveys an
eiiaticism chaiacteiistic to the anoiexic's eating habits, anu thus, ieflects hei
ielationship to hei minu anu hei bouy. Although the speakei seems to comment on
both the cultuial causes of anoiexia anu the speakei's own stiuggle with the illness
thiough lyiical sentences, these sentences aie nevei expiesseu in one full line, but
4S
iathei, aie uisjointeuly bioken into sepaiate lines. This occuis in the fiist seveial
lines:
It begins quietly
in ceitain female chiluien
the feai of ueath, taking as its foim
ueuication to hungei,
because a woman's bouy
is a giave; it will accept
anything. I iemembei (1-7).
Significantly, the enjambments emphasize the sentences that they split. This is
paiticulaily seen in the phiase, "because a woman's bouyis a giave." (S-6). This
specific enjambment points to "is a giave," anu thus emphasizes the ways in which
the female bouy uies as a iesult of its "ueuication to hungei" (4). The highlighting of
"a giave" also suggests the ways in which society views the female bouy as a
uangeious vessel that "will accept anything," thus alluuing to the feai of female
appetites (foi foou anu sex) anu the uisuain foi excess that we also see in Bolanu's
poem (7). Because this feai is iooteu in the Augustinian iuea that the spiiitual minu
must uefeat the bouy's sinful hungeis, anu women, having supposeuly "weak"
minus, cannot iesist theii hungei anu thus, "accept anything," one can aigue that the
constiuction of this enjambment ieinfoices the content of the poem, since both
suggest minubouy uualism.
The stiategic splitting of phiases uiaws the ieauei's attention to "that I
woulu saciifice" (12), "of blossom anu subteifuge" (14), anu "which ueath is the
46
meie bypiouuct" (17), stiessing the content of the finals lines, which convey the
speakei's stiuggle with both physical anoiexia in hei bouy anu poetic anoiexia in
hei wiiting. This not only ieinfoices the ielationship between anoiexia anu poetiy
that uluck outlines eailiei in the poem, but also suggests minubouy uualism, since
she woulu "saciifice" (12) the "flesh" (11) in oiuei to have hei minu uefeat hei bouy.
Noieovei, since the "bypiouuct" of "ueath" (17) suggests the ways that the anoiexic
tiies to achieve "peifect|ionj" by using stiength of minu to kill off the bouy's
hungeis, anu thus, kill the bouy, one can contenu that such enjambments miiioi the
content of the poem.
In auuition to implementing a iigiu poetic foim in "Beuication to Bungei,"
uluck also incoipoiates iepetition to fuithei illustiate the poem's "anoiexic
aesthetic." In his uiscussion of uluck's poem "Castile" }ames Longenbach aigues that
uluck's effective use of iepetition allows hei to "simultaneously |piesentj a scene
anu |questionj it" (1u). This "piesenting" anu "questioning" can specifically be seen
in the iepetition of the woiu "touching" in the miuule of the poem: "touching the
soft, uigiessive bieasts,touching at fifteen" (9-1u). Longenbach obseives that
"because each iepetition of a phiase occuis in a slightly alteieu context, the phiases
feels both uiffeient anu the same. Anu theii movement consequently embouies the
fluiu, eiiant sense of memoiy that the poem uesciibes" (1u). While, again,
Longenbach is iefeiiing to "Castile" anu not "Beuication to Bungei," one can aigue
that the movement fiom "touching" (9) to "touching" (1u) not only "piesents" the
logic of the anoiexic subject anu "questions" society's valoiization of minubouy
uualism, but also "embouies the fluiu, eiiatic sense" of the anoiexic (1u). In this
47
iespect, the stiategic use of iepetition, which contiibutes to the aesthetic, ieinfoices
the poem's content, since it exposes anu inteiiogates uualism.
Asiue fiom exposing anu inteiiogating minubouy uualism as it applies to
anoiexic subjects, uluck also positions the uichotomy as a constiuction that exists
alongsiue a host of othei binaiies, suggesting that eveiyone is somewhat of a split
subject, not just anoiexics. The fiist binaiy that uluck suggests opeiates alongsiue
the minubouy uichotomy is the genuei binaiy: manwoman. This uualism is most
explicitly seen in the speakei's paiauoxical uesiie to iebel against patiiaichy by
wiiting about hei expeiiences as an anoiexic anu questioning the patiiaichal
constiuction of minubouy uualism, paiieu with hei wish to become thin anu thus
make hei bouy appeai moie masculine, which we see in hei effoits to thwait bouily
matuiation nau sexualization. Sewell uiscusses this iiony, noting, "the most
immeuiate iiony that infoims anoiexia is the way the anoiexic's behaviois suggests
both a iebellion against patiiaichya iefusal to paiticipate in its stiuctuies by
ueclining to paitake of the most basic of cultuie's iituals (eating) anu uttei
compliance to social uictates that insist women be thin (0"1 .+ 2 & 3,456 66). Biuch
anu Boiuo both uiscuss this in theii stuuies on anoiexia, noting that some anoiexic's
"play out theii fantasy to be a boy thiough anoiexia," but insteau of gaining the
powei associateu with masculinity, they lose powei, both mentally anu physically
(Boiuo 1SS). Beywoou iuentifies this as an "anoiexic logic" wheieby females "cancel
out |theii ownj female piesence anu powei" (Su). Boiuo suggests that many
anoiexics associate the "minu" within minubouy uualism with maleness, since
society teaches that men aie smaitei, moie spiiitually enlighteneu, anu moie moial.
48
Similaily, anoiexics associate the bouy with female-ness because society places so
much emphasis on the female bouy anu uepicts it as something that is impuie anu
uncontiollable. Although uluck's speakei uoes not explicitly outline the
manwoman binaiy that exists alongsiue minubouy uualism, she inuicates it by
uepicting a speakei who, like othei anoiexics, "saciifice" (12) theii flesh in oiuei to
iiu it of feminine "blossom anu subteifuge," so as to appeai moie masculine, anu
thus, moie closely align with the mental siue of minubouy uualism (14). Noieovei,
by pointing out the ways in which anoiexia "begin quietlyin ceitain female
chiluien," (1-2), uluck calls attention to the genueieu natuie of minubouy uualism,
thus fuithei emphasizing the paiallel binaiies of minubouy anu manwoman.
In auuition to the malefemale binaiy, uluck also suggests the ways the
uichotomy of lifeueath exist as a pait of minubouy uualism. This is specifically
seen in uluck's consistent iefeiences to "ueath," which occui in lines thiee anu
seventeen, anu hei use of the metaphoi "a giave" (6) to uepict a woman's bouy,
which suggests a "uifficulty of uistinguishing the ueau fiom the living" ("The 0ne
Who Bas Nothing Wins" 69). While the speakei of the poem is cleaily alive anu
ieflecting on hei anoiexia anu the anoiexia of othei's as a uisease that, if not tieateu,
iesults in ueath, anu thus uoes not explicitly outline the uichotomy between life anu
ueath, she chaiacteiizes the bounuaiy between the two as a tenuous one. This is
paiticulaily seen in the tiajectoiy of the speakei's uiscussion of anoiexia anu ueath.
In the fiist few lines, anoiexia is simply "the feai of ueath" (S) but by the miuule of
the poem, anoiexia seems to almost enact ueath, with the speakei "saciific|ingj" hei
"flesh" (11, 12). Although the speakei uoes not uie, but insteau, suggests the
49
possibility of it by uefining "ueath" as a "bypiouuct" (17) of the anoiexic "neeu to be
peifect" (16), hei illustiation of what coulu have been hei ueath inuicates that the
line between life anu ueath is a bluiiy one. This line exists in conjunction with the
bounuaiies of minubouy uualism, since anoiexics attempt to enact ueath on the
bouy in oiuei foi the enlighteneu anu alive minu to asseit contiol ovei the peison's
being, thus ieinfoicing the binaiy of life (minu)ueath (bouy).
Asiue fiom the uualisms of malefemale anu lifeueath, uluck positions
youngolu within minubouy uualism. This is paiticulaily eviuent in the speakei's
act of "iemembei|ingj" (7), which inuicates that she is an auult looking back on hei
expeiience with anoiexia as a chilu. Inteiesting, the speakei begins with a
ueclaiative statement, "it begins quietlyin ceitain female chiluien" (1-2), which
suggests that she is not going to talk about heiself, but iathei, "it" (1) anu how "it"
affects "ceitain female chiluien" (2). Bowevei, the line "I iemembei" (7) biings the
expeiience back to the speakei. Bei iecollections of "touching" (9-1u) hei flesh anu
hei use of the past tense, which is seen in the lines "I feltwhat I feel now," fuithei
suggest this split between a past self anu a piesent self, oi the young with the olu
(14-1S). 0ne can assume, given the speakei's thoughtfully ietiospective tone anu
intellectual statements ("it is the same neeu to be peifect"), that she is now an auult
looking back on hei youngei self. 0ne can aigue that this uichotomy also exists
within the minubouy binaiy, since in Westein society, the young anu theii bouies
aie valoiizeu as moie beautiful anu somehow "bettei" than the bouies of oluei
people, just as the minu oi masculinity is seen as "bettei" than the feminine anu the
Su
bouy. In this iespect, the minubouy binaiy is positioneu alongsiue not only sexist
notions of malefemale, but also ageist notions of youngolu.
Significantly, uluck's positioning of the binaiies of malefemale, lifeueath,
anu youngolu within minubouy uualism suggests the ways that uiviueu
subjectivity affects all inuiviuuals. }ust as minubouy uualism oppiesses anoiexic
subjects, othei binaiies exist alongsiue minubouy uualism anu oppiess otheis in
similaily complex ways. If one weie to take an inteisectional appioach to looking at
the ways these binaiies affect subjects, one coulu see how at any given time, these
subjects aie constiucteu anu oppiesseu by a host of othei uualisms not even
consiueieu in this stuuy, incluuing blackwhite anu iichpooi. All of these binaiies
maik the bouy in ways that anoiexia, manifesteu by minubouy uualism, maiks the
bouy. As Sewell notes, "ceitain aspects of anoiexia ieveal contiauictions that infoim
the iuentities of all subjects" (0"1 .* 2 & 3,456 69). Thus, these contiauictions,
which aie seen in the uichotomies that uluck aiticulates, suggest the ways that
anoiexia not only ieveals the anoiexic's stiuggle with minubouy uualism, but also
exposes ieaueis to the split subjectivity of all inuiviuuals, thus chaiacteiizing
uualism as cential to the human expeiience.
0pon close examination of the poems, "I have been hungiy, the Yeais," "In
Plastei," "Anoiexic," anu "Beuication to Bungei," it is cleai that the poems exist
within a laigei conveisation on women's stiuggles with minubouy uualism,
specifically as this uualism peitains to anoiexic subjectivity. By incoipoiating a
unique "anoiexic aesthetic," the poets emphasize females' stiuggle with minubouy
uualism by questioning anu unuoing the binaiy in vaiious ways. Notably, theii
S1
inteiiogation of the binaiy chionologically builus upon one anothei's ait. Bickinson
begins the conveisation by outlining the uiscouise of anoiexia anu uefining the
minubouy binaiy by using social hungei as a metaphoi foi bouily hungeis. Plath
builus upon Bickinson by oveitly invoking the uiscouise of the uisease in oiuei to
challenge the binaiy. Plath accomplishes this by showing the ways in which outsiue
uualism, theie uoes not exist any othei lens foi women to unueistanu theii bouies,
pioving that the uominant uiscouise of uualism inhibits women fiom viewing
themselves as fully embouieu. Bepaiting fiom Plath, Bolanu uelineates the genuei
politics of the binaiy by suggesting that the only way foi women to feel embouieu is
to "uisappeai" into the bouies of men, which she suggests in hei uepiction of Eve's
uesiie to ietuin to Auam's iib. By uepicting this uesiie, Bolanu, like Plath, exposes
the way patiiaichal uiscouise of uualism make it impossible foi women to see
themselves as full subjects. Bowevei, unlike Plath, Bolanu accomplishes this by
illustiating the ways this piessuie compels women to want to "uisappeai," iathei
than simply iemain a split subject. Finally, uluck moves foiwaiu fiom Bickinson's,
Plath's, anu Bolanu's aiticulations by suggesting that minubouy uualism, which lies
at the centei of the anoiexic's stiuggle, exists alongsiue othei binaiies, theieby
ievealing the ways that uualism aiguably affects all subjects, not just anoiexics.
uiven the fact that these poems expose, question, anu uismantle minubouy
uualism, while also positioning the minubouy uichotomy within a context of othei
binaiies, it is cleai that the poets' conveisation on the uiviueu subjectivity of
women, specifically as it peitains to anoiexia, is a highly political one. 0pon looking
at theii woiks thiough the lens of a sequentially histoiical analysis, one can see how
S2
Bickinson, Plath, Bolanu, anu uluck builu upon each othei's conceptualization of the
anoiexic female bouy anu its ielationship to minubouy uualism in both the foim
anu content of theii poems, thus suggesting the ways that theii peiceptions of the
bouy anu uualism, anu thus, theii politics, have evolveu ovei time.
Impoitantly, this conveisation on anoiexic subjectivity anu minubouy
uualism must continue in oiuei foi women to moie effectively challenge the
patiiaichal foices at woik that piomote minubouy uualism anu female self-
staivation. Although this papei outlines the conveisation as it exists in the woik of
foui canonical white miuule to uppei-class female poets, othei aitists, incluuing
women of coloi, women who live outsiue the West, lessei-known poets, memoiiists,
novelists, anu singei-songwiiteis have contiibuteu anu continue to contiibute to the
uiscussion. Asiue fiom these aitists, I believe that it is impeiative foi othei women
to join the conveisation, incluuing moie women of coloi, women fiom othei social
classes, women of uiffeient ages, anu women fiom vaiious othei geogiaphic
locations. Noieovei, scholais neeu to ieseaich the woik of these women in oiuei to
piouuce a moie thoiough theoiization of the "anoiexic aesthetic." This will not only
help expanu the conveisation on anoiexic subjectivity, anu thus, will potentially aiu
women in aiticulating anu challenging the uiscouises of minubouy uualism, but
may also help theiapists, ieseaicheis, anu scholais bettei be able to unueistanu
anoiexia anu how it affects vaiious women uiffeiently, which coulu, in tuin, leau to
moie effective tieatment foi iecoveiing anoiexics.
Asiue fiom simply helping ieseaicheis bettei unueistanu anoiexia, ieauing
anu composing poetiy on anoiexia anu minubouy uualism coulu also help moie
SS
women cope with the uisease. While this iemains a contioveisial topic that neeus
fuithei exploiation, stuuies show that both ieauing anu wiiting poetiy helps
inuiviuuals iecovei fiom mental illness, incluuing anoiexia. While speaking of the
impoitance of ieauing poetiy, Emeison famously saiu "in genius we iecognize oui
own uejecteu thoughts. They come back to us in a ceitain alienateu majesty"
(Balpein 4). If one weie to consiuei this quote in teims of ieauing poetiy on
anoiexia, one coulu see the potential ways ieauing poetiy, such as that of Bickinson,
Plath, Bolanu, anu uluck, coulu help iecoveiing anoiexics iecognize theii own
iepiesseu feelings conceining minubouy uualism anu self loathing. This
iecognition coulu in tuin, aiu in the healing piocess. Nick Balpein suggests the ways
in which ieauing poetiy coulu help ieaueis ieflect on theii own lives in his
uiscussion of uluck's poetiy, aiguing, "I might want the majesty anu the alienation.
What was the ieason I iejecteu these thoughts in the fiist place. I might want to feel:
this is a thought I nevei woulu have hau. I woulu have iejecteu it befoie thinking it.
Anu yet I am going to think about it now." (4). Citing that uluck "tuins |heij
ieaueis into one oi moie chaiacteis," Balpein contenus that many of uluck's poems
stylistically position the ieauei as the speakei, as if to say, "heie's one about you."
(S). uiven that many of uluck's poems ueal with anoiexia, paiticulaily those founu
in .4&4&-< one can aigue that such poems may speak to anoiexic ieaueis, positioning
them as speakei, thus foicing them to confiont tiuths that they may eithei be
evauing oi iepiessing thiough theii illness. Since iecognizing one's issues aie an
integial step in oveicoming any mental illness, one can suggest that this iecognition
thiough the ieauing of poetiy coulu aiu in the iecoveiy of anoiexia.
S4
}ane Beuley points to the theiapeutic effects of uluck's "ieauei-auuiess style"
by ieflecting on uluck's poetiy, noting, "Foi although we may feel imposeu upon by
this ihetoiical gambit, we aie also likely to finu it peiveisely ieassuiing. Nysteiious
anu painful as the human conuition has tuineu out to be, uluck's 'I'll tell you
something,' faces it unflinchingly anu affiims that we aie in it togethei" (6).
Similaily, if one weie to apply this theoiy to the ieauing of poetiy as theiapy, one
can suggest that ieauing poetiy may help in the iecoveiy piocess of anoiexics by
affiiming that they aie not alone in theii stiuggle foi embouiment, thus contiibuting
to gieatei feelings of self-woith anu uecieasing feelings of isolation. If ieaueis aie
able to inteipiet theii anoiexia as existing within a laigei fiamewoik of all women's
stiuggle with split subjectivity, as opposeu to seeing theii uisease as inuiviuual
pathology, peihaps they will bettei be able to combat the uisease.
Asiue fiom ieauing poetiy, wiiting poetiy may help women iecovei fiom
anoiexia. Although seveial stuuies have been conuucteu on the "Sylvia Plath Effect,"
(Kaufman, Sexton 272) which founu that female poets show significantly highei
iates of uepiession than othei gioups of wiiteis, few stuuies exploie how poetiy
can be useu as a theiapy tool foi anoiexic women. Accoiuing to Naiy B. Lamoieaux
anu }oan L. Bottoiff, while othei ieseaicheis "have shown that mental illness tenus
to 'shattei' the affecteu inuiviuuals sense of self, powei, anu contiol, anoiexia
neivosa is unique in pioviuing a peiceiveu sense of powei anu contiol to the
affecteu inuiviuual, anu thus the piocess may be uiffeient," foi tieating anoiexic
inuiviuuals (171). The two go on to aigue that "with anoiexia, the women |in theii
stuuyj explaineu that they expeiience 'a huge sense of no sense,' of who they weie.
SS
Thus, the women's accounts of theii iecoveiy focuseu on theii incieasing sense of
self" (174). With these finuings, Lamoieaux anu Bottoiff aigue that "suppoiting
women's iecoveiy effoits may theiefoie uepenu upon self-uevelopment woik that
eventually ieplaces the eating uisoiuei" (18S). }ames C. Kaufman's anu }anel B.
Sexton's woik suppoits this claim: "Beepei analysis into how the wiiting paiauigm
woiks have pointeu to the impoitance of uisclosing a tiaumatic event anu
tianslating it into language, impioving self-iegulation, anu fieeing up woiking
memoiy. Each of these explanations have an unueilying piemise: the foimation of a
stoiy oi naiiative" (274).
uiven that poetiy wiiting allows women to uevelop a sense of self thiough
ieflective composition anu, in many cases, enables women to foim a peisonal
naiiative thiough woius, one can contenu that poetiy wiiting can be a useful tool in
helping anoiexics iecovei fiom theii illness. Since "poems uo not caiiy the same
naiiative stiuctuies that stoiies uo," some ieseaicheis aigue that it may not be as
effective in helping inuiviuuals iecovei fiom mental illness (Kaufman, Sexton 27S).
Bowevei, as long as the poetiy "is wiitten expiessively, with a naiiative-baseu
theme," it can aiu in the iecoveiy piocess (Kaufman, Sexton 279). 0ne poet who
utilizeu poetiy wiiting as theiapy was Anne Sexton, a famous confessional poet anu
fiienu of Sylvia Plath who committeu suiciue at the age of 4S aftei battling yeais of
uepiession. Significantly, Anne Sexton's theiapist encouiageu hei to wiite poetiy as
pait of hei tieatment (Kaufman, Sexton 276). Although she was nevei able to
oveicome hei mental illness, hei confessional poetiy, which is both expiessive anu
naiiative in foim, aiguably helpeu hei cope, anu continues to speak to geneiations
S6
of women stiuggling with similai issues. Although scholais continue to uebate
whethei oi not Sexton suffeieu fiom anoiexia, the fact that she was able to use
poetiy to help hei ueal with hei anxiety, uepiession, anu bi-polai uisoiuei suggest
that the poetiy wiiting coulu also be useu to help inuiviuuals ueal with othei mental
illnesses such as anoiexia.
Emily A. Keinei anu Naiilyn R Fitzpatiick pioviue peihaps the most
thoiough examination of the use of wiiting as pait of the iecoveiy piocess foi
anoiexics, echoing othei ieseaicheis in theii emphasis on both expiessive anu
naiiative wiiting by uiscussing "exteinalization" anu "ieauthoiing;"
Clients aie active agents in cieating theii ieality, anu selecting anu oiganizing
infoimation in theii suiiounuings (Schafei, 1992). Within this uomain,
naiiative theiapies woik fiom the position that theie aie uominant social
naiiatives that can oppiess anu uisempowei clients (Paiiy anu Boan, 1994).
The goal of theiapy is to help the client locate the pioblem in society
(exteinalize it) anu uevelop a new, moie auaptive naiiative about the
pioblem. Foi example, a uominant naiiative in Noith Ameiican society is
that women must be thin. A client's eating uisoiuei can be unueistoou within
this context; by exteinalizing the pioblem in this way, the client can
unueistanu hei eating uisoiuei s a sepaiate entity that both impacts, anu is
impacteu, by hei actions (White & Epston, 199u). The goal of #:-#4+&5,P&-,)+
is thus to naiiate how the piessuie to be thin impacts the client's
life.Q#&N-")4,+8 is moie complex.within this piocess, clients can be
encouiageu to wiite oi think about new stoies in which theii pioblem no
S7
longei has powei ovei theii lives.the new stoiy suppoits hei uevelopment
of agency anu helps the client both combat hei symptoms anu unueistanu
hei pioblem in a new way" (SS6).
Thus, as long as poetiy is both naiiative anu expiessive, anu allows the
wiitei to exteinalize anu ieauthoi events, it can be useful in helping anoiexics
iecovei by allowing them position theii uisease in a laigei context anu thus,
unueistanu theii anoiexia in a uiffeient way. Keinei anu Fitzpatiick aigue that
ielative to othei foims of wiiting theiapy, poetiy offeis wiiteis the ability to
appioach uifficulty subjects with moie uistance, since the abstiact natuie of poetiy
enables wiiteis to "iegulate pain thiough uistance," allowing "clients to access
emotional mateiial in the most unstiuctuieu way" (S4u). uiven the impoitance of
accessing feelings to expiessively constiuct a naiiative to the anoiexic iecoveiy
piocess, poetiy's ability to giant wiitei's uistance fiom theii pain may offei an
effective alteinative to othei foims of wiiting theiapy. 0ne coulu aigue that poetiy
wiiting coulu moie effectively help anoiexics constiuct a legible naiiative, since,
being chaiacteiizeu by uenial anu often being iooteu in iepiesseu pain, anoiexia is
most times not conuucive to moie tiauitional foims of self-expiession, such as talk-
theiapy anu jouinaling.
Asiue fiom helping inuiviuuals iecoveiy fiom anoiexia, poetiy wiiting may
be able to help pievent futuie geneiations fiom suffeiing fiom the uisease by
uisiupting oui society's "mastei naiiative" conceining minubouy uualism anu
female bouies. Catheiine uaiiett uiscusses this concept by noting,
S8
Within each society, people's expeiience is stiuctuieu by symbolic foims; the
linguistic, visual anu peifoimative ways each cultuie uses to iepiesenteu
ieality. 0f all symbolic systems, pievailing naiiative foims aie among the
most impoitant. Each society, in its uiffeient histoiical peiious, gives iise to
ceitain 'mastei naiiatives' which ueteimine people's peiceptions of ieality.
Nastei naiiatives about self-staivation aie a goou example. }oan Biumbeig's
(1988) histoiy of 'piouigious fasting' shows how, in uiffeient contexts,
fasting giils anu those who obseiveu them selecteu theii inteipietations of
this behavioi fiom a pool of cultuially anu histoiically specific meanings. In
meuieval Euiope, the uominant naiiatives weie Chiistian anu many of these
fasting women weie 'saints.' By the enu of the nineteenth centuiy, the
uominant naiiative about the bouy was meuical anu the same behavioi was
unueistoou as an illness. As we appioach the twenty-fiist centuiy, othei
stoiies aie becoming available. Some of these will peihaps pioviue uiffeient
stoiy-lines which enable the anoiexic quest to enu in uiscoveiy anu
iecoveiy" (4u).
Looking at the poems of Bickinson, Plath, Bolanu, anu uluck, it is cleai that
theii woiks have alieauy "pioviueu uiffeient stoiy-lines" foi ieaueis by both
challenging "the mastei naiiative" of minubouy uualism anu conceptualizing the
female bouy in new ways. Bowevei, we neeu moie stoiy lines in oiuei to uismantle
notions of uualism anu cieate a woilu wheie women can live as fully embouieu
subjects. Although this piocess will take time anu effoit, it is nonetheless impeiative
foi the health anu well-being of futuie geneiations of women.
S9
Appenuix 1: 2 "&' @##+ "N+841< &55 -"# R#&49 EMSTMJ
=*,51 >,/U,+9)+

I hau been hungiy, all the Yeais --
Ny Noon hau Come -- to uine --
I tiembling uiew the Table neai --
Anu toucheu the Cuiious Wine --

'Twas this on Tables I hau seen --
When tuining, hungiy, Bome
I lookeu in Winuows, foi the Wealth
I coulu not hope -- foi Nine --

I uiu not know the ample Bieau --
'Twas so unlike the Ciumb
The Biius anu I, hau often shaieu
In Natuie's -- Bining Room --

The Plenty huit me -- 'twas so new --
Nyself felt ill -- anu ouu --
As Beiiy -- of a Nountain Bush --
Tiansplanteu -- to a Roau --

Noi was I hungiy -- so I founu
That Bungei -- was a way
0f Peisons outsiue Winuows --
The Enteiing -- takes away --









6u
Appenuix 2: 2+ C5&9-#4 EMTVMJ
W15B,& C5&-"

I shall nevei get out of this! Theie aie two of me now:
This new absolutely white peison anu the olu yellow one,
Anu the white peison is ceitainly the supeiioi one.
She uoesn't neeu foou, she is one of the ieal saints.
At the beginning I hateu hei, she hau no peisonality --
She lay in beu with me like a ueau bouy
Anu I was scaieu, because she was shapeu just the way I was

0nly much whitei anu unbieakable anu with no complaints.
I coulun't sleep foi a week, she was so colu.
I blameu hei foi eveiything, but she uiun't answei.
I coulun't unueistanu hei stupiu behavioi!
When I hit hei she helu still, like a tiue pacifist.
Then I iealizeu what she wanteu was foi me to love hei:
She began to waim up, anu I saw hei auvantages.

Without me, she woulun't exist, so of couise she was giateful.
I gave hei a soul, I bloomeu out of hei as a iose
Blooms out of a vase of not veiy valuable poicelain,
Anu it was I who attiacteu eveiybouy's attention,
Not hei whiteness anu beauty, as I hau at fiist supposeu.
I pationizeu hei a little, anu she lappeu it up --
You coulu tell almost at once she hau a slave mentality.

I uiun't minu hei waiting on me, anu she auoieu it.
In the moining she woke me eaily, ieflecting the sun
Fiom hei amazingly white toiso, anu I coulun't help but notice
Bei tiuiness anu hei calmness anu hei patience:
She humoieu my weakness like the best of nuises,
Boluing my bones in place so they woulu menu piopeily.
In time oui ielationship giew moie intense.

She stoppeu fitting me so closely anu seemeu offish.
I felt hei ciiticizing me in spite of heiself,
As if my habits offenueu hei in some way.
She let in the uiafts anu became moie anu moie absent-minueu.
Anu my skin itcheu anu flakeu away in soft pieces
Simply because she lookeu aftei me so bauly.
Then I saw what the tiouble was: she thought she was immoital.

She wanteu to leave me, she thought she was supeiioi,
Anu I'u been keeping hei in the uaik, anu she was iesentful --
Wasting hei uays waiting on a half-coipse!
61
Anu secietly she began to hope I'u uie.
Then she coulu covei my mouth anu eyes, covei me entiiely,
Anu weai my painteu face the way a mummy-case
Weais the face of a phaiaoh, though it's maue of muu anu watei.

I wasn't in any position to get iiu of hei.
She'u suppoiteu me foi so long I was quite limp --
I hau foigotten how to walk oi sit,
So I was caieful not to upset hei in any way
0i biag aheau of time how I'u avenge myself.
Living with hei was like living with my own coffin:
Yet I still uepenueu on hei, though I uiu it iegietfully.

I useu to think we might make a go of it togethei --
Aftei all, it was a kinu of maiiiage, being so close.
Now I see it must be one oi the othei of us.
She may be a saint, anu I may be ugly anu haiiy,
But she'll soon finu out that that uoesn't mattei a bit.
I'm collecting my stiength; one uay I shall manage without hei,
Anu she'll peiish with emptiness then, anu begin to miss me.













62
Appenuix S: .+)4#:,/ EMTSIJ
=&B&+ G)5&+'

Flesh is heietic.
Ny bouy is a witch.
I am buining it.

Yes I am toiching
hei cuives anu paps anu wiles.
They scoich in my self uenials.

Bow she mesheu my heau
in the half-tiuths
of hei feveis

till I ienounceu
milk anu honey
anu the taste of lunch.

I vomiteu
hei hungeis.
Now the bitch is buining.

I am staiveu anu cuiveless.
I am skin anu bone.
She has leaineu hei lesson.

Thin as a iib
I tuin in sleep.
Ny uieams piobe

a claustiophobia
a sensuous enclosuie.
Bow waim it was anu wiue

once by a waim uium,
once by the song of his bieath
anu in his sleeping siue.

0nly a little moie,
only a few moie uays
sinless, foouless,

I will slip
back into him again
as if I hau nevei been away.
6S

Cageu so
I will giow
angulai anu holy

past pain,
keeping his heait
such company

as will make me foiget
in a small space
the fall

into foikeu uaik,
into python neeus
heaving to hips anu bieasts
anu lips anu heat
anu sweat anu fat anu gieeu.















64
Appenuix 4: >#',/&-,)+ -) ;N+8#4 (197S)
L)N,9# 35N/U

It begins quietly
in ceitain female chiluien:
the feai of ueath, taking as its foim
ueuication to hungei,
because a woman's bouy
,9 a giave; it will accept
anything. I iemembei
lying in beu at night
touching the soft, uigiessive bieasts,
touching, at fifteen,
the inteifeiing flesh
that I woulu saciifice
until the limbs weie fiee
of blossom anu subteifuge: I felt
what I feel now, aligning these woius
it is the same neeu to be peifect,
of which ueath is the meie bypiouuct.















6S
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