A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath

by Nancy Hunter Steiner

Memoir by a Smith College roommate and friend of Plath, described as ' the best informed account we could have of crucial events in the life and art of this important poet'. Introduction by George Stade.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Memoir, Biography

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the memoir aspect of this (very short) text really interesting - it felt honest as well as sensitive, and definitely captured a "time" in Sylvia's life.

Whilst the essay at the end by George Sande was engaging and threw up some interesting ideas (the white self versus the yellow self, etc), I also found it a bit bland and a bit problematic.

Insightful on the whole, though!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is about 80 pages long. One section is a critical essay about Plath's poetry by an academic. The other longer section is a memoir by a woman who was a roommate of Plath's in college.

The critical part is absolutely boring if you've ever read any critical work on Plath. The scholar says little if anything that a good reader of Plath's poetry hasn't figured out already.

The memoir section Plath's roommate Nancy Hunter Steiner writes is very good. After a somewhat predictable beginning full of generalizations about Plath's personality, Steiner gets down to business: the telling of a story about Plath that begins with her return from suicide, moves through an incredible story of Plath's rape by someone who may be a Prof, and ends with Plath's seemingly charmed move to England.

That story will tell you what you need to read Plath's poems. Ignore the rest.

[tima · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘I suspect that when she did die, on that bleak and lonely February day when she stuck her head into the oven, it was because no one was there to pull her out- to submit to the final macabre threat: “I’ll die if you desert me.”’

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slim 80-page memoir written by Sylvia Plath's college roommate. It's an interesting glimpse into Plath during her time at Smith. For fans of Plath's "The Bell Jar" this provides a little more of the "real" story.

[nabihah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
'I suspect that when she did die, on that bleak and lonely February day when she stuck her head into the oven, it was because no one was there to pull her out- to submit to the final macabre threat: "I'll die if you desert me."'

[Kassia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Sylvia Plath's work and ESPECIALLY Ariel - but MAN this is depressing.

Interesting but definitely not a before-bed read!

[Bohemian Book Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since ARIEL is ultimately my all-time favorite collection of poems, I simply had to get a book with the title "A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath"... only to find out that it didn't do exactly the sort of "looking" I was expecting to see within its 83 pages.

What the "Memory" part did do was grip me from start to finish with its narrative style and eye-witness/personal experience account of a brief yet tumultuous period of friendship with the  blossoming, neurotically insecure, Smith College queen of top grades, "Lady Lazarus" herself.

Both George Stade's Intro and Nancy Steiner's Memoir have succeeded in making my re-reading of Plath's poetry and prose more historically/culturally informed and autobiographically rounded, without the need of analysing her work and life in the dissecting, critical sense.

For this subtle and unexpected surprise, together with the delight I encountered in Steiner's diction and writing, I give it a 5 star rating.

[danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts were a 4... specifically the memoir bit.

[Bodil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting bok, that gives yet another view on Sylvia Plath. But I found the long introduction rather, well, loong!

[Hannah Edmonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short but well written insight into Sylvia Plath's short life. Written by her friend and college roommate, Nancy Hunter Steiner, it's an unflinching look at what it was like to be in Plath's inner circle.

Hunter Steiner met Plath when she returned to college after her infamous suicide attempt later detailed in The Bell Jar. The two became very close very quickly. Nancy was Plath's saviour the night she was raped and began to haemorrhage, something written about very vividly and in excruciating detail in this book.

That part in particular was very interesting, as in stark contrast to Plath's semi-autobiographical character in The Bell Jar, Plath was terrified and begged not to be left alone. Not that I blame her.

The shorter part of the book is an essay by George Stade; while he raises some interesting points, after the vivid and exceptional writing of Nancy Hunter Steiner, it fell a little bit flat at the end. Perhaps it should've been added as a foreword instead of an afterword.

[Linde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text gives a very personal look at Sylvia Plath from the perspective of her roommate. Ms Hunter Steiner makes a clear attempt at stating that this is her experience, and therefore not objective, which I appreciated very much. I used this as one of the sources for my Thesis, and must say it was a pleasant read. For me, it truly made Plath feel more "human" in the sense that I felt as though I know other people somewhat like her. It seems less reverential compared to some other texts that have been written about Plath.

[han⚢ · Rating 3 out of 5]

steiners memoir was intriguing and insightful as well as well written, but the thirty-odd pages of introduction by george stade would’ve been an easy omission. noticed the publication date was 1973, but that does not excuse the rampant misogyny displayed by stade when discussing both plath and steiner. i really appreciated steiners acute humanisation of plath during her college years, i’m going to have to reread the bell jar soon to piece the puzzle of fiction and autobiography together.

[Harper Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

from the title you would think this book goes deeper into sylvia’s poetry, but it’s really an insider scoop on her college years. honestly felt like no one was meant to know all of this and i don’t love that this woman made money off of her very short lived friendship with sylvia. would love to read an extended version of the forward that only speculated based on what sylvia actually wanted us to have - her own writing.

[Caroline Nieto]

This was a really interesting read! I'm pretty much endlessly interested in Sylvia Plath, but I find that every time I learn more about her, I seem to know less about who she was. This depiction of Plath in her college days changed my perception of her, since I've mostly heard about her childhood and motherhood.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het memoir gedeelte was wat saai, het nawoord was een stuk interessanter (en maakte al het voorgaande dat geschreven was ook een stuk beter). Sylvia Plath is een heel ander soort persoon dan ik, ze ziet dingen veel abstracter dan dat ik ze zie.

Eén minpunt is dat er meerdere keren naar Freud wordt verwezen.

[John Lindvay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed ths book. It explains that the "Belle Jar" was a memory of Sylvia Plath's life. The book is written by a Smith Collage room-mate, Nancy Hunter Steiner, and her experiences with Sylvia when they attended collage together.

[lilah ᥫ᭡。🦢 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 'I suspect that when she did die, on that bleak and lonely February day when she stuck her head into the oven, it was because no one was there to pull her out - to submit to the final macabre threat: "I'll die if you desert me."'

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written personal memoir of a friendship with Sylvia Plath, with engaging anecdotes. At the end, there is a disturbing story of a rape. It ends with the mystery of Plath's famous suicide.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real life account of a famous scene in The Bell Jar, plus a personal interpretation of Sylvia ' s mental illness.

[Penni Russon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this in the house where I am dogsitting. Like many others I am fascinated by the spectre of Sylvia Plath. This is a very interesting read as it captures Sylvia Plath in her college years (Steiner was her room mate), clearly coloured by hindsight, but nonetheless a gripping portrayal of what it was like to exist in her periphery. Plath comes across as having taken on mythical proportions even for Steiner who knew her intimately, and there is a slightly tremulous, disbelieving tone at times (as we all take on when we talk about those school friends who fall out of favour or for whom we fell from favour at a time in your life when friendship is everything).

Must read for anyone who has a Plath fixation, or for people interested in the "mean girls", "queen bees and wannabes" oeuvre.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting (and at times distressing) biographical snapshot of Sylvia Plath's time at Smith College, as remembered by her roommate. My problem with the book is that Strade's 'Afterword' is almost as long as Steiner's memoir, and doesn't contribute anything particularly perceptive.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steiner's memoir is an interesting look at a slim slice of her life that hasn't been addressed in other publications that I read.

[Stephanie Bonde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting account of a summer spent with Sylvia Plath. It was an enjoyable read, and this memoir highlights Plath's mercurial nature.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Hunter Steiner was Sylvia Plath's roommate for a year or so in college. She describes her experiences with this brilliant, complex yet disturbed and vulnerable young woman.