Sylvia Plath: The Woman and the Work

by Edward Butscher (Editor)

This book brings together a unique collection of personal documents and critical essays to help to illuminate both the legend that Sylvia Plath became and the reality behind its inception. Edward Butscher's introduction combines a thoughtful consideration of Sylvia's life and art with a fascinating account of the difficulties involved in trying to resurrect the "real woman" from the ashes scattered in her wake after her suicide in the 31st year.

Genres: Biography

242 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I studied some of Plath's poetry in collage, I wouldn't say I'm a die-hard fan but I really liked the rawness and the uniqueness in her poetry. And understanding her metaphors drove me mad sometimes :) This is a good starting point into the fascinating life and art of Sylvia Plath specially for beginners like myself.

Butscher's edition is one of the earliest recording of Plath's life, which I guess, makes this edition unique. This consists a unique collection of personal documents and critical essays from some of her closest acquaintances.

The book has two two sections: Sylvia Plath-the woman and Sylvia Plath- the work. The first section has chapters written by friends of Plath like Gordon Lameyer, a friend and a boyfriend who knew her during her nervous breakdown, suicide attempt and during her recovery; to Elizabeth Sigmund and Clarissa Roche who knew her and helped her during her final days. Some are more understanding towards her than others.

The second part of the book focused on Plath's work with critical essays on her poetry books and The Bell Jar. The Bell Jar chapter was VERY interesting but I skipped because I wanted to read the book. If you have her collected poems next to you, you'll find this very helpful as the critics refer to the poems are very resourceful. Some chapters in this section speak too much of psychoanalytic hocus-pocus slamming allover her which bored me, because they were over doing it, so I skipped some but overall it's a good book.

The only annoying comment I didn't like was the frequent reference paranoid schizophrenia which is so wrong because we now know that it was extreme bipolar depression that profoundly affected her work and ultimately led to her suicide.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at the woman written by people who actually knew her and essays on her work by others.
To have such an outward joy for life and yet to be suffering so deeply underneath is very sad.