The poem’s exact setting is not specified beyond its feature as an indoor space with a mirror. The only features of this indoor room is that it is dark, and sits on a wall facing an opposite, pink-speckled wall. The setting thus exists in isolation, confining any orienting information for the reader; we are spectating from the speaker’s view and can only see the opposite wall, the woman, and the dim lighting. One could argue that this setting choice is a deliberate move on Plath’s part, directing all focus towards the poem’s emotional and thematic content. It also affords imaginative flexibility for the reader. It mimics the poem’s pattern of anonymity, from the woman’s identity and physical appearance to the time and place. Open-ended, the poem’s setting raises important questions about who, why, and what the poem’s world contains...