Prufrock Allusion

The stage of apotheosis emphasizes the hero reaching an epiphany. The protagonist gains the utmost knowledge about the rigorous journey. For example, Prufrock fears women because they can have his head “brought upon a platter” (Eliot 82). The quote alludes to the beheading of St. John the Baptist, an oil painting by Caravaggio in 1608. The biblical allusion tells the story of Herod, the tetrarch, imprisoning John the Baptist for divorcing his wife and uptaking his brother’s wife, Herodia. Furthermore, Herodia’s daughter Salome requests for John’s head on a platter from Herod who promises to fulfill her desires (Graves). Eliot utilizes the tale to convey the degradation of power Prufrock will experience under the infatuation of the woman. Under
The allusion refers to Jesus resurrecting Lazarus of Bethany four days after his burial. Prufrock seeks to speak to someone from Hell because those that sin cannot come up to Earth to expose his shameful secrets. However, in the case of Lazarus, the narrator questions the worth of his lover. Lazarus suppresses his courage to express his lovestruck feelings. Moreover, the woman in “Mirror” acknowledges the emotional turmoil that accompanies her physical fragility. Plath explains how “an old woman / [r]ises towards her day after day like a terrible fish” (Plath 18). Raised as a Unitarian Christian, Plath lost her faith after the death of her father. The use of the fish in “Mirror” reflects a connection between the woman and the poet. The “terrible fish” indicates how the mirror reminds her of her depression without the hope of recovery from her mental corruptness. Her subconscious teaches her not to hide her true emotions, “a fragile surface [laying] thickly over an inner turmoil Plath herself perceive[s] as a slouching beast struggling for release” (Freedman). This leads to the author’s “suicide and her schizoid tendencies”