Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” begins with a blanket statement: “No matter what life you lead / the virgin is a lovely number” (Lines 1-2). Sexton establishes the tone of the speaker; the casual phrase of the first line suggests a modern voice, not one from the fairy tale itself, and the confident, informal tone hints at the subtle critique to come, as she undercuts the value of the virginal ideal throughout the poem. The speaker describes what makes the virgin so lovely: “cheeks as fragile as cigarette paper, / arms and legs made of Limoges, / lips like Vin Du Rhone” (Lines 3-5). Sexton sets up the virgin as a uselessly beautiful object: She is fragile and weak, liable to break at any point. She is consumable, like a glass of wine or cigarette, and thus easily objectified. Rather than being warm and human, she has “china-blue doll eyes” (Line 6) that are only capable of being open or shut, with no other nuances.

Sexton writes that the doll-like virgin’s eyes can be “Open to say, / Good Day Mama, / and shut for the thrust / of the unicorn” (Lines 8-11).