Helen of Troy does Countertop Dancing. Analysis

Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Dancing is a poem written by canadian writer Margrett Atwood in 1995. The poem is found in one of Atwood’s poetry books entitled, ‘Morning in the Burned Houses’ by using the myth of Helen of Troy. Helen of Troy an iconic woman a symbol of beauty.

 Helen of Troy does Countertop Dancing can be viewed as a commentary of a 20th century society that has its roots firmly entrenched in capitalism.Helen of Troy Does Counter Dancing” is a cleverly written and very important poem about the dangers of objectification and how it can simultaneously build up and destroy a person.

Greek Mythology, Helen of Troy was the most beautiful woman of the world. She was the daughter of Zeus -and thus had blood from the gods. He rapped Leda (Helen’s mother). Helen was married to Menelaus (King of Sparta).

In the mythological Helen of Troy was an object of men’s desires from a very young age. Mythological Helen was also never given a voice, but Atwood has explored the effect of long term exposure to this type of attention on a young woman, and has created a bitter, disingenuous personality for her. Atwood’s Helen sees the power she has over men and chooses to capitalize on their weakness. Counter-dancing Helen knows that she will be objectified no matter what she does, and she therefore seizes control by objectifying herself first.

Using Helen of Troy as the ‘prostitute/stripper’ in the poem, .. creates great interest and entertainment due to the history of who Helen of Troy was. Helen is here being referred to as having no morals and self-respect. This introduces feminist resistance in the sense of irony that the ‘most beautiful woman in the world’ is a prostitute. This allusion provides us with the idea of the approach Atwood had for this poem. The poem begins with the idea that woman feel disgusted towards other woman who sell their bodies and degrade themselves by stripping and entertaining men.

She is a stripper who is justifying herself and her profession. (“I keep the beat, and dance for them because they can’t.”, “and I’ll take the money.”, “Selling gloves, or something. Instead of what I do sell.”)  She acknowledges that other people judge her because of her actions and her profession. (“…who’d tell me I should be ashamed of myself”, “instead of naked as a meat sandwich”).

Referring to the men as only “rows of heads and upturned eyes” implies that they are not worth more than the sum of their parts, much as she is viewed by society. Her use of the phrase “ready to snap at my ankles” links the men to dogs, after having earlier referred to herself as “naked as a meat sandwich”.

The men view her as something to be consumed, whereas she sees them as nothing more than salivating mutts. This passage also alludes to her divine affiliations, earthquakes and floods having been explained by mythology in Ancient Greece. She claims that she understands these natural disasters, as well as the urge to crush ants (the mortal equivalent of a god’s power to destroy), because these phenomena are an assertion of power through destruction.

Power, objectification and sex are inextricably linked in the poem, much as they were in Helen’s mythological life, although in this version of poem which talk about Helen as a modern figure who reread her mythical representation as a ' beautiful Helen'.

Objectification/ Physical beauty  Inequality of gender - examines power relations between men and women.  Presents a capitalistic society whereby men seemingly have a dominant position economically.  Desire/ lust/ sexuality of woman Are the speaker’s choices and actions determined by the society she lives in or by her.

Author's message is Beauty is both a gifted item and a parasite to women Beauty is a trait that can be used and abused, Beauty should be exploited, It is a powerful element that can be used to control and manipulate those around them, however, it can also be self damaging.

Atwood’s poem is a writing on the oppressed female and her finding of power and control in everyday life.

Stanza one deals with the way women in society regard strippers as an insult to all woman as well as ‘Helen’s’ argument as to why she has chosen this job. The second stanza forms a story base about her clients and their reaction towards her as a stripper. The last stanza is more aggressive and personal on ‘Helen’s’ behalf. This form of poetry is enjoyable to follow and keeps the reader interested. Margaret Atwood successfully exposed her idea on the oppressed female and her fighting for control in Everyday life . She refuses to obey and agree with the idea that woman need to have humble day jobs in order to be accepted by society.