Poem Analysis - To Make Ones Toilette After Death

Introduction: A Chilling Reflection on Vanity and Loss

Emily Dickinson's "To Make One’s Toilette After Death" is a chillingly ironic reflection on vanity, loss, and the transition from life to death. The poem explores the unsettling idea of preparing a corpse for viewing, contrasting the effort with the emotional emptiness that remains after death. It begins with a tone of detached observation but shifts subtly to express the pain and difficulty of moving on after losing a loved one. The poem uses the mundane act of grooming as a metaphor for deeper emotional and spiritual struggles.

Historical Context: A Victorian Obsession with Death

While Dickinson's personal life and emotional landscape heavily influence her poetry, Victorian society's elaborate mourning rituals and fascination with death also provide a context for understanding "To Make One’s Toilette After Death." Victorian culture often involved elaborate displays of grief and remembrance. Funerals were grand affairs, and the deceased were often meticulously prepared for viewing. This poem can be seen as a critique or at least a questioning of the value placed on outward appearance even in the face of irreversible loss.

Theme 1: The Ironic Vanity of Post-Mortem Beauty

One central theme is the **irony of focusing on physical beauty after death**. The opening lines immediately highlight this absurdity: "To make One’s Toilette after Death/Has made the Toilette cool." "Cool" suggests detachment and perhaps even a lack of warmth or purpose. It's difficult to care about pleasing someone who is no longer present, or even capable of appreciating it. This theme is developed through the poem’s matter-of-fact tone when describing the act of grooming a corpse, suggesting the futility of such efforts.

Theme 2: The Painful Absence of Connection

The poem also explores the theme of **loss and the painful absence of connection**. The second stanza shifts the focus from the deceased to the survivors. The lines "When eyes that fondled it are wrenched/By Decalogues away" suggest a deep sense of separation and the impossibility of replacing the intimacy that was lost. The "Decalogues," or Ten Commandments, could symbolize societal rules or divine laws that enforce this separation, preventing the mourner from clinging to the past.

Theme 3: The Difficulty of Moving On

Linked to the theme of loss is the **difficulty of moving on after a loved one has died**. The lines "That’s easier than Braid the Hair/And make the Bodice gay" are key to understanding this. It is insinuated that the physical task of preparing the body is easier than trying to return to a state of happiness or normalcy. The effort to "Braid the Hair/And make the Bodice gay" is more difficult than dealing with the corpse as it suggests a forced attempt to embrace life and joy in the wake of profound grief.

Symbolism: The Toilette as a Metaphor for Superficiality

The central symbol in the poem is the "Toilette" itself, representing **superficiality and the societal emphasis on outward appearance**. It is also symbolic of the efforts we make to present a certain image to the world. The poem suggests that these efforts are ultimately meaningless in the face of death. The "Bodice" can also be seen as symbolic. It refers to the way a person dresses and presents themself, and it implies the social pressures to conform and appear attractive. The fact that it is difficult to make it "gay" suggests a resistance to societal expectation of happiness.

Concluding Thoughts: Death and the Futility of Appearance

In conclusion, "To Make One’s Toilette After Death" is a powerful and unsettling poem that explores the irony of vanity, the pain of loss, and the difficulty of moving on after death. Through vivid imagery and carefully chosen words, Dickinson challenges the societal emphasis on appearance and suggests that true meaning lies beyond the superficial. The poem leaves us pondering the true value of our actions and the enduring power of love and loss. The final thought is that all the efforts of preening and attempts at beauty are meaningless in the grand scheme of death, or can't replace true love.