Dialoguing with a mirror: analysis of sylvia plath’s journals

This course paper focuses on the perception of marriage and self-expression by American writer Sylvia Plath who reflects on the situation of woman writer in the American society of the 1950s. The paper analyzes how the themes of marriage and search for identity are treated in The Journals of Sylvia Plath. Sylvia Plath’s diaries were compiled and published by her husband Ted Hughes after her death. The published journals instantly became a new source for interpretations of her life and work. The entries in her journals span from 1950 to 1962. The journals are heavily edited and censored by her husband who excised parts of the journals representing certain periods of her life.
The present paper includes the socio-historical context of American society in the 1950s and biographical context of Sylvia Plath. It also includes theoretical approaches to women’s diary writing. This will serve as a background for the analysis of Sylvia Plath’s perception of marriage and self-definition which reflects in her journals. Theoretical part shows the main points of socio-historical context of 1950s America as well as introduces biographical background for Sylvia Plath and also covers information about women diary writing. The later one draws the brief image of what diary writing mean for women, as well as, the main themes and reason for keeping a diary. Further, the second part observes how Sylvia Plath reacts to the phenomenon of marriage. In what ways she treats it as negative. It also shows how the writer experiences the combination of marriage and the expression of one’s self identity as a woman writer. The topic of writing as a road to achieving her identity is developed at the end of this course paper. The paper concentrates on the socio-historical and biographical information for it is crucial for understanding Sylvia Plath’s perception of herself and her struggle to find a place in the society. Thus, the second part of the paper is less explicit compared to theoretical part of the paper.