Daddy

When Plath first tried to commit suicide, people thwarted her attempt as “they pulled out of the sack.” She was then “stuck together with glue,” which brings to mind an image of a vase which has cracks but was simply glued together. Although the cracks can no longer be seen, the vase is made weaker by it. Afterwards, Plath resolved to recreate her father in another man, making a “model” of him. “Meinkampf look” and “a love of the rack and the screw,” echoes the evil Nazi image she portrayed of her father. The “rack and screw,” a torture device used to tear people limb from limb refers to Plath’s father’s and her husband’s ability to torment her. She marries this man as evidenced by the “I do, I do,” which brings to mind marriage vows. She then tells her dad “I’m finally through” being dependent on him because she has a husband now. In the next line, “the black telephone,” a means of communication is “off at the root.” Roots, found in the soil, can be associated with the image of her buried dad. Thus, Plath has lost communication with her dad. “Worm through” reinforces the idea of how the father’s voice comes from the soil. She refers to her husband as a “vampire,” an undead creature which sucked Plath dry. Also, since Plath cannot banish the memory of her dad, he continues to haunt her from the grave, just like how a vampire cannot be contained by death. Thus, her husband is simply a representation for her dad. “If you want to know” gives off a childlike and hurt tone as if she feels her father’s disinterest in her life. The term of endearment, “Daddy” used throughout the poem is also ironic because she loathes him. The line “Daddy, lie back now” shows that she will not rely on him anymore. In line 76, the “stake in your fat black heart” is a way in which one kills a vampire. Since her father is alive beyond the physical world, this method is needed in order to exorcize her memories of him. Now that the father is dead, the “villagers dance and stamp,” rejoicing over his death. The last line concludes with Plath’s declaration of her violent disassociation from the memory of her father, as she addresses him as “you bastard.”