Reflections on Kindness by Sylvia Plath?

Question

What do you think this poem is about? Why?

Answer 1

Kindness
-Sylvia Plath

Kindness glides about my house.
Dame Kindness, she is so nice!
The blue and red jewels of her rings smoke
In the windows, the mirrors
Are filling with smiles.

What is so real as the cry of a child?
A rabbit's cry may be wilder
But it has no soul.
Sugar can cure everything, so Kindness says.
Sugar is a necessary fluid,

Its crystals a little poultice.
O kindness, kindness
Sweetly picking up pieces!
My Japanese silks, desperate butterflies,
May be pinned any minute, anesthetized.

And here you come, with a cup of tea
Wreathed in steam.
The blood jet is poetry,
There is no stopping it.
You hand me two children, two roses.
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What about this analysis?

In the first paragraph, kindness is personified as a woman who is kind on the outside but not on the inside. This is the sense given due to the intense use of diction that shows only the outside appearance and nothing on the inside, 'mirror' or 'window'...by window, she refers to the reflection of the window in which the smiles are filled. But even if she meant that the smiles filled in the window are what are seen by others outside, either way it talks nothing of deeper personality. It is talking about appearance or first impression. These are all superficial, not deep or so-called real things. In the second paragraph she talks about things under further depth and reality, such as, 'cry of a child' or 'a rabbit's cry' or 'no soul'. And then she goes back to the superficial talk of the woman kindness, that by eating something sweet like sugar everything will be alright, 'Sugar can cure everything, so Kindness says.' In the third paragraph certains words such as, 'desperate', 'anesthetized', or 'Japanese' stand out. The first word describes pressure (which agrees with the previous comments that her desire to end her life is increasing) and the second word is the sense of sleep but temporarily...i believe her idea of committing suicide would be her way to get back to reality. A shock to lead to back to reality. And so a temporary escape. And the third word, 'japanese', i believe describes how insecure she feels. She is talking about things she has no understanding in, it shows her confusion and height of insecurity and vulnerability. And in the final paragraph, you can tell that her desperation is increasing due to phrases such as, 'The blood jet' or 'There is no stopping it' but one can also tell that her only barrier that holds her from desperation to commit suicide are her children due to this phrase, 'You hand me two children, two roses'. this shows that she practically blames God or even Hughes who has given her two roses that she can't leave behind because they are like love gifts to her and, by knowing her biography, one would know that she doesn't want to leave love. She is attached to love. The fact that she does commit suicide shows how depressed she was that even her utmost desire for love, which she was granted, wasnt enough.

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Answer 2

Kindness Sylvia Plath

Answer 3

Just be honest. Be kind but when you feel someone is taking advantage of your kindness, nip it in the bud, just say "now you're trying to take advantage of my good nature, and that ain't gonna happen." Be definite about it. If they start to argue or disagree with your statement, just shrug and walk away because that's how you felt and so stick with it. Most people who use other people are real real good at justifying their demands and transferring the guilt or blame onto you--just don't allow that to happen. It may mean you will sometimes have to show your prickly, steely side but so be it. And if you are consistent every time, people will begin to understand that you have your limits and to not try to push you beyond that. You can still be kind most of the time, just know where your own limits are and stick to them, don't let others push you around.