Freedom from Male Oppression in Daddy by Sylvia PlathWord count includes the poem Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy" describes her feelings of oppression from childhood and evokes the struggle that many women face in a male-dominated society. The conflict of this poem is male authority versus a woman's right to control her own life and be free from male domination. Plath's conflicts begin with her father and continue into the relationship between her and her husband. This conflict is examined in lines 71-80 of "Daddy" where Plath compares the damage caused by her father to that of her husband. The short stanzas containing powerful imagery overwhelm readers, forcing them to imagine the oppression the speaker has endured in her. short life. The tone of this poem is that of an adult overwhelmed by indignation and who often slips into a childish dialect; this is evident when the speaker continuously uses the word "dad" and also repeats it quite often. The last two stanzas of the poem, in particular, portray a sad picture of the lives of women who find themselves under a dominant male figure. The passage seems to show that the speaker has reached a resolution after being held under the control of a man all her life. In lines 71-80 the speaker compares her father and husband to vampires saying how they betrayed her and drank her blood. -draining her of life. She tells her father to give up and get it over with, to lie down" (line 75) and in line 80, she says, "Daddy, daddy, you bastard, Plath's attitude towards men is expressed in this passage through her imagery of the villagers trample and dance on the dead vampire. The speaker says "If I have killed one man, have I killed two?" most likely means that all men are the... middle of paper......to die59 And come back, come back, come back to you60 I thought even the bones would be fine.61 But they let me out of the bag,62 And they reattached me with glue.63 And then I knew what to do.64 I made a model of you,65 A man dressed in black with a Meinkampf look66 And a love for the rack and the screw.67 And I said yes , yes.68 So dad, I'm finally done.69 The black phone is dead at the root,70 The voices just can't creep in.71 If I killed one man, did I kill two?72 The vampire who said he was you73 And drank my blood for a year,74 Seven years, if you ask me.75 Daddy, you can relax now.76 There's a stake in your fat black heart77 And the villagers never liked you.78 They're dancing and they step on your toes.79 They always knew it was you.80 Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm done.October 12 1962(#183)