How does the phrase ""caressing his cheeks with her / porcelain doll fingers"" contribute to the depiction of people in New Carolina City (Lines 10-11)?
Answers
The poem "New Carolina City" is set in a seemingly perfect city. The perfection is such that it does not seem normal. The phrase "porcelain doll fingers" also makes the same point.
Though "caressing" is an act of love, it is done so with "porcelain doll fingers". A porcelain doll is very pleasing to look at, but is lifeless. It is beautiful, but also inanimate. Thus, it is incapable of showing love. Here too, the love that is shown is not genuine. It is superficial. The city is inhabited by people living a shallow, superficial life. The warmth of relationships and the human element is missing.
Additionally, porcelain dolls are considered exquisitely perfect. The lady thus is perfect, or so it seems. She is outwardly beautiful and has no signs of manual work on her hands. The people thus have a normally high standard of beauty and self-maintenance.