" Many critics simply could not understand why, if the woman is transported to the jungle via a dream, would the sofa on which she reclines appear with her. After all, when a person dreams at night, they do not typically include their bed in the dream. It is these very criticisms that Plath responds to nearly 50 years later. From a literal standpoint, a woman on a red sofa in the jungle makes no sense, but from a non-literal view, Yadwigha on her red couch adds her own beauty to the scene, making it much more than a simple jungle setting. The point of the painting is not to make all the elements fit together in a literal sense, but to make them fit together in a way that is visually appealing and that captures the imagination, transcending all logic and common sense in the process.
"The Snake Charmer"" was first shown in 1907, bringing Rousseau much acclaim in the art world and possibly helping to shape the development of surrealism (Babb). This painting is clearly an influence on "The Dream, " which was first shown three years later. The female snake charmer who is the focus of "The Snake Charmer " appears in the background of "The Dream, " where she is once again playing a pipe of some kind. The environments of both paintings are also very similar: both take place in a jungle setting under the same full moon, though "The Dream " is certainly far more diverse in both plant and animal matter. The snake charmer is found standing under branches of the same kind of tree in both paintings, later described by Plath as "heart-shaped " and "like catalpa leaves " ("Yadighwa, on a Red Couch, Among Lilies, " 6). Amazingly, these jungle environments were created "from visits to the zoo and botanical gardens, from postcards, books, and from Rousseau's vivid imagination, " as the artist never left France. (Tate Gallery).
Sylvia Plath's poem, "Snakecharmer " bears little resemblance to Henri Rousseau's painting of the same title; instead, it is as if she wrote the poem not about the painting, but about the idea of a snake charmer.
