Confronting the Inessential: The Projection of the Self in the Writing of Sylvia Plath

Santos examines Sylvia Plath's exploration of the self and the natural world in her writing, particularly focusing on her existentialist philosophies. Plath's journals and literary works reveal her struggle to create her own existence apart from societal expectations, and her belief in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's studies 2024-11, Vol.53 (8), p.949-966
Main Author: Santos, Melissa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Authorship
Ideology
Literary criticism
Natural environment
Philosophers
Transcendence
Writing
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Santos examines Sylvia Plath's exploration of the self and the natural world in her writing, particularly focusing on her existentialist philosophies. Plath's journals and literary works reveal her struggle to create her own existence apart from societal expectations, and her belief in the liberation of the subject and the ideology of self-creation. She analyzes Plath's evolving philosophy of thought and action, as well as her use of writing as a tool to confront and transcend her own insignificance. She also discusses the influence of existentialist philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir on Plath's work. She also examines Plath's poems "Tulips," "Fever 103," and "Lady Lazarus" as examples of her assertion of the essential self and her pursuit of transcendence.
ISSN:0049-7878
1547-7045
DOI:10.1080/00497878.2024.2350481