The Lady's Dressing Room

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This passage is the final four lines of the poem, and is the first time Swift speaks in the first person. In the passage, he claims that now Strephon has seen the items in the dressing room, and this allows him to think like him. He can now understand that the way men see women is that they are beautiful creatures compared to flowers, but in all actuality, they are more likely compared to feces that was made up to look like flowers. Swift is addressing men’s ignorance, but shows that he is not a part of the men that make up this ignorance. By saying that he is not a part of the men that make up such ignorance, his argument is strengthened. He is showing that he understands that women are more than the make-up they wear, even if they are as ugly as the men that want to compare them to something more beautiful.

In conclusion, Swift uses irony by meaning the opposite of what he is saying to show that women and men are more alike than men may believe. Men and women are alike in a lot of ways, and Strephon’s bubble was quickly deflated when he learned that Celia wasn’t as perfect as he had been told. Swift makes a list of several disgusting actions by women that cover-up the truth of just how closely related men and women are. There are a lot of stereotypes that follow both men and women around. Men are the unkempt, smelly, sloppy ones and women are the clean, organized and put together ones. We are all human and live our lives day by day. Being a female myself, I can say that my room isn’t always spotless, clothes are often thrown around, perfume bottles and mismatched shoes cluttering the floor. The thought that some men have of women is wild, we aren’t all prim and proper. We aren’t always put together but we are all human. It is possible that the text can be read as degrading women, as the text constantly portrays a negative image of Celia, but this is the irony of the text. Swift shows the grossness of women with very detailed imagery and shows Strephon’s disgust for the purpose to show that men are ignorant to the similarities of men and women and just how equal they really are. By alluding to Greek Mythology, Swift allows Strephon’s perception of women to be so off base that he compares them to mythological Goddesses. But the fact is, women are not Goddesses, and in turn, men are not Gods. Both men and women are equally disgusting, we all get dirty, we all let our clothes pile up sometimes, we all leave things laying around. It’s human nature, it happens. Society has a funny way of portraying men and women and each person gets these wild thoughts about how each other should act, dress, live, etc. Strephon is one good example of the simple ignorance of some men, women aren’t perfect and are just as human as the next one.