`What Girl Ever Flourished in Such Company?': Sylvia Plath's Religion
Author: Ferretter, Luke1
Source: The Yearbook of English Studies, Volume 39, Numbers 1-2, 1 july 2009 , pp. 101-113(13)
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
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Abstract:
This essay discusses Sylvia Plath's religious beliefs and her expressions of these beliefs in her literary works. Describing herself as `pagan-Unitarian at best', Plath disbelieved in God. She found such belief attractive, but she refused to share it. For Plath, the individual is responsible for creating her own life in the world, the only life she will have. Although open to the possible reality of occult phenomena, Plath's writing about the occult is also, finally, sceptical. Plath's ultimate concern is a kind of feminist materialism. For her, traditional religions and philosophies describe men's experience and are therefore useless to women. Theological ideas and images, whether Christian or occult, are true only to the extent that they represent material human experiences, especially those of love and suffering. Women's material lives, especially the experiences of love, home, and family, are more valuable in Plath's work than any theological or transcendental ideas devised by men.Keywords: Sylvia Plath; religious beliefs; Unitarian; God; occult; feminist materialism; women; Christian; love; suffering; home; family
Document Type: Research article
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