It is obvious from her poetry, from The Bell Jar, and from her other writings that Sylvia Plath was an exceptionally intelligent and sensitive girl and woman. How was it, then, that as an individual she never found a comfortable, comforting, and nurturing place for herself in the world?
When we look at her childhood, we see that Plath's father encouraged her precociousness and that Plath's mother made great efforts to see that her daughter would be successful in society. She certainly came from a family that encouraged and rewarded her achievements and made it clear that discipline was one of the keys to success.
Was the ill-fated, short life of Plath really grounded in her father's untimely death when she was barely eight years old? She writes of this loss again and again, but never does she seem to be able to give up grief, or perhaps give into grief so that she can go on. Her grandfather, a seemingly kind person who gave her attention and companionship, never was able to fill the void left by her father. Yet Plath's father does not seem to have been so exceptional, especially as a father. At first, he was even disappointed that Sylvia was a girl, and he was not, initially, even interested very much in fatherhood. But Plath apparently made herself so charming that he was won over.
Much of the superficial character of Plath seems based, especially from a reading of The Bell Jar, on appearing intelligent, being witty and "with-it." Esther, and also Plath herself, it seems, wanted to be the bright girl whose accomplishments would be the envy of everyone. What this led Plath to was a certain kind of youthful narcissism that we find ultimately distasteful, a narcissism that probably did not help the poet Sylvia in her attempts to mature. For example, in 1958, Plath wrote a poem called "I Want, I Want," and we are struck with the idea that Plath wanted much from life and that she wanted it quickiy.
