Define the theme of "Girl Powdering Her Neck" and then list three symbols and describe the significance of the symbolism to the theme."Girl...

Song is describing a print of a scene where a woman is
putting on makeup and grooming herself. The fact that he is looking at a picture is
important because it is a moment frozen in time. The poem is about the transitory nature
of beauty, the objectification of women and what women go through to sustain beauty. The
picture freezes this moment. In reality, beauty does not last. The line “she is about to
paint herself” literally illustrates that she is creating beauty. It is fake. It is a
mask she must routinely reapply because that is the role she’s been
given.

Morning
begins the ritual

wheel of the
body,

the application of translucent
skins.

She practices pleasure:
(16-19)

She is a courtesan.
This could mean she is someone who attends court, pays close attention to some authority
figure, or it could also mean she is a prostitute. In the case of the latter, not only
is her beauty transitory and for show; it is also for sale. The woman is confined to
this position in life. Her inner self is hidden under these layers of beauty (powder and
makeup). She is selling her own objectification. Her beauty is all that matters to those
around her. They do not care about her mind.

readability="13">

The mouth parts

as
if desiring to disturb

the placid plumb
face;

break the symmetry of
silence.

But the berry-stained
lips,

stenciled into the mask of
beauty,

do not speak.
(43-49)

Her voice and
personality are confined by the “mask of beauty.” She must live in a society where she
is admired for her beauty; not her intellect. Therefore, she is forced to continue the
ritual to keep up the appearance of being beautiful. Otherwise, she will become
irrelevant. Her “placid plumb face” and “berry-stained lips” are a painting. This image
is dead; just like the picture itself. She has become a picture; not a person. A picture
cannot speak.