What Do Women Want?

In a letter to Princess Marie Bonaparte, Sigmund Freud famously asked, “What does a woman want?” (Jones, Ernest. The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud, Vol. 2. Basic Books, 1955. p. 421). The speaker of the poem immediately provides the reader with a direct and specific answer, although the speaker answers from a singular point of view, rather than with the plural “we.” The speaker says, “I want a red dress” (Line 1). She is not speaking on behalf of all women; the red dress is her personal wish.

“I want it flimsy and cheap” (Line 2) the speaker says. The dress of the speaker’s dreams is not fancy, nor is it a status symbol. It is “too tight” (Line 3). It is like a red flag waved in front of a bull, a blazing provocation, to be ripped from the body at the height of passion. The speaker tells the reader she wants the dress to be “sleeveless and backless” (Line 5)—all the more impactful for being less of a dress and for revealing as much of the body as possible. The suggestion that nobody will have “to guess / what’s underneath (Lines 6-7) indicates a lack of undergarments.