In the poem “Daddy”, Sylvia Plath says that there are women who, due to
early conditioning, find themselves without the tools to deal with oppressive and
controlling men. They are left feeling helpless and hopeless. For some women, the
struggle is never resolved, others take most of a lifetime. For a lucky few, they are
granted a reprieve.
The speaker in this poem is Sylvia Plath. The poem describes her feelings of
oppression and her battle to come to grips with the issues of this power imbalance.
The poem also conjures the struggle many women face in a male dominated society.

The conflict of this poem is male authority and control versus the right of a
female to be herself, to make choices, and be free of male domination. Plath’s
conflicts begin in her relationship with her father and continues with her husband.
The intensity of this conflict is extremely apparent as she uses examples that cannot
be ignored. The atrocities of NAZI’ Germany are used as symbols of the horror of
male domination. The constant and crippling manipulation of the male, as he
introduces oppression and hopelessness into the lives of his women, is equated with
the twentieth century’s worst period. Words such as Luftwaffe, panzerman, and
Meinkampf look are used to descibe her father and husband as well as all male
domination. The frequent use of the word black throughout the poem conveys a
feeling of gloom and suffocation.

Like many women in society, we know that Plath felt oppressed and stifled
throughout her life by her use of the simile “I have lived like a shoe for thirty years
poor and white, barely able to breath or Achoo.” The use of similes and metaphors
such as “Chuffing me off like a Jew. A Jew to Dachau, Auschwitz, Belson.” and “I
think I may well be a Jew” clearly shows the feelings of anguished hopelessness
and the ripping agony she must have felt. The agelessness of this poem is
guaranteed as there will always be women who feel the same torture that is
described. .

Strong images are conveyed throughout the poem. The words “marble-
heavy, a.bag full of God” conveys the omniscience of her father’s authority and the
heaviness it weighed on her throughout her life. “The vampire who said he was you,
and drank my blood for a year, seven years if you want to know” describe her
husband and the ability of male power to strip a person of their own sense of
themselves.

The poem is written in stanzas of five short lines. These lines remind me of a Mike
Tyson jab, short but extremely powerful. An example of this “If I’ve killed one man
I’ve killed two-- The vampire who said he was you”. The powerful imagery of these
lines overpowers any of the rhyme scheme.

The tone of this poem is an adult engulfed in outrage. This outrage,at times,
slips into the sobs of a child. This is evident by Plath’s continued use of the word
daddy and the childlike repitition “You do not do, you do not do” and “Daddy,
daddy, you bastard”. Fear from her childhood moves her in directions that will take
her far from herself. In one line in the poem she brings us starkly into the world of a
child’s fear. She uses words that sound like the words of a child staring out at us
from behind “a bardwire snare” “I have always been scared of you.”     

This poem portrays a bleak picture of life for some women. However, we
know that Plath was able to resolve her conflicts. She states “ Daddy I’ve had to kill
you” and “Daddy, you can lie back now. There’s a stake in your big fat black heart”
Athough it appears that Plath has reached resolution this is not the case for many
women who find themselves under the thumb of a male. These women should look
to this poem for help. It is a beautiful argument that clearly shows that she climbed
from total domination by a male to freedom



The groundwork for the development of electroshock therapy was laid in 1935, when a Budapest psychiatrist, Von Meduna, observed that epilepsy was extremely uncommon among schizophrenics. He also noted that schizophrenic symptoms tended to disappear after seizures. Accordingly, he set out to find a way to induce epileptic-like convulsions to help schizophrenics. He first tried administering camphor and oil but this did not work out well because it was hard to predict when the convulsions would take place within three days following the inducement. He then tried Metrazol, but this drug caused tense fear and anxiety in patients and resulted in high fatalities. This particular procedure was considered a barbaric form of treatment, therefore, was shortly abandoned. (Coulman 676)
Electroconvulsive therapy was finally introduced in 1938 by two Italian scientists, Cereletti and Bini. In this procedure the patient lay on a padded couch with electrodes attached to his head and an electric current of 70 to 130 volts was administered for a fraction of a second. This shock resulted in convulsions similar to grand-mal seizures, after which the patient was unconscious for several minutes. A muscle relaxant was often given to the patient prior to the treatment to minimize the intensity of seizure activity and prevent side affects such as bone fractures and impaired breathing. Usually, a number of shock treatments were given over a period of days or weeks. Although electrotherapy has not been proven to be effective in the treatment of schizophrenics, it has been found to be highly effective in the treatment of depressives. (Coulman 678)
Diagnosis of ECT over a two week period for the severely depressed is 30 or more treatments, and 10 treatments for the somewhat depressed. However, currently these treatments are not given forcefully-the patient must volunteer for treatment (Boodman 2). Electroshock therapy has also been successful for people who don’t respond to drugs. It has been used on the elderly, those with AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, pregnancy and even heart transplants. Many patients respond favorably to the treatment and return for further ECT sessions, since its affects are only temporary. (Cauchon 3)
In actuality, doctors and scientists do not yet understand how ECT works. Recent advances in chemotherapy, another type of therapy used to treat many types of psychological disorders, have reduced the use of ECT. While ECT is still used as a form of therapy, scientists still explore all aspects of it. For now, researches claim there are no serious side affects from electroconvulsive therapy besides memory loss and temporary unconsciousness. However, disturbingly current statistics show that 1 in every 200 ECT treatments is fatal. (Cauchon 2)
Many familiar faces have received ECT in the past, and in some cases, these treatments were not so successful. Actress Vivien Leigh from “Gone With the Wind," received ECT on several occasions. Poet Sylvia Plath described her shock treatments in her 1971 book, “The Bell Jar.” She wrote, “with each flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break and the sap fly out of me like a split plant”. Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall wrote that ECT helped pull him out of a serious depression in the early 1950s. Ernest Hemmingway fatally shot himself after being released from the Mayo Clinic, where he had undergone ECT. (Boodman 6)
Other extreme side affects of ECT are comparable to this particular one: A report by the FDA through CDRH medical reporting systems cites a 66-year-old female who underwent ECT and suffered severe memory loss. After receiving shock therapy against her will she had forgotten how to cook, knit and even reading was difficult, although she had a Bachelors degree at the time. The FDR reported several other severe memory loss incidences, including memory loss of a foreign language essential to an experienced foreign language teacher. (No Author 2)
Other types of therapy which administer electric current through the central nervous system include electrosleep therapy and surgical implantation of microcircuitry. Although interest in electrosleep therapy has waned in recent years, its possibilities are still being explored. Also referred to as cerebral electrotherapy, electrosleep therapy is much milder than electroconvulsive therapy. In this procedure, a soft mask containing electrodes is placed over the eyes. A mild electric current - - just enough to cause a slight tingly sensation - - is administered. The patient does not loose consciousness or experience convulsions and he may or may not fall asleep during the half hour treatments. These treatments are usually administered daily for one or two weeks. (Coulman 681)
In one of the first studies of electrosleep therapy in the United States, Rosenthal and Wulfsohn reported that the affects were favorable and reduced anxiety, stress, depression and insomnia for those who underwent the therapy. Overall, this form of therapy was not proven to be extremely healing for any kind of emotional state.
(Coulman 676)
Surgical implantation of microcircuitry involves the electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) and is used to learn more about how various areas of the brain function. Such research has lead to the surgical implantation of microcircuitry to control some forms of maladaptive behavior such as homicidal impulses or chronic suicidal behavior. In fact, it is highly possible that one-day manic-depressives will be able to control extreme mood swings with ESB.(Coulman 679)
While scientists continue to investigate exactly what electricity does to the human brain, they still use it as a form of therapy. ECT is administered annually to 100,000 Americans (Boodman 7). This inexpensive form of temporary relief is administered by the simple twist of a dial and is yet to be refined. These imperfections can make ECT an unpredictable and risky procedure that may even end lives. Still everyday, hundreds of desperate Americans give into these sometimes favorable artificial convulsions induced by electrical power.

Works Cited


Boodman, Sandra G. Shock Therapy...It’s Back. [Online] Available
http://www.efn.org/-detron/electroshock/postshock.html


Cauchon, Dennis. Stunningly Quick results often fade just as fast. [Online] Available
          http://www.usatoday.com/life/health/lhs188.htm


Coulman, James, ed. Abnormal Psychology and Normal Life. Illinois:
Scott, Foresman and Company, 1964.


No Author. Ban Shock: Shock Therapy- - it’s no good for the brain. [Online] Available
          http://www.banshock.org/