Womanhood in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry | Sylvia Plath’s Feminism

Discover the powerful themes of womanhood and feminist ideologies in Sylvia Plath's poetry. From "The Bell Jar" to "Daddy," Plath's works offer thought-provoking perspectives on the challenges and complexities faced by women. In this video, we'll delve into Plath's feminist beliefs and how they are reflected in her poetry. A must-watch for any literature lover!

Sylvia Plath is one of those writers, who have preferred womanhood in every field of life even in her poetry, which is called Sylvia Plath’s feminism. She considers women equal to men. She has raised her voice against male domination. Sylvia always thinks that society is depriving women of their legal and ethical rights. Society should give women the same status as it gives to males. Being a woman, she considers it her responsibility to fight for women’s rights. She talks about the miseries of the females but does not provide any solution. Thus, she is not a reformer but a protester. She only raises questions.

Sylvia Plath is a woman, whose life was too hard; harder than any other poet. She was physically abused. Whether she was a victim of circumstances or not, is not important. The thing, which she considers important, is that male domination should be ended. Many of her poems deal with the problems and sufferings of women. The helplessness of women and womanhood remains a topic of discussion in Sylvia Plath’s poetry. Lots of poems have been written by her on the miseries of women which are famous due to Sylvia Plath’s feminism. Let’s discuss them one by one.

“Widow” reveals Womanhood in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry

“Widow” is a poem, in which she talks about grieves, sorrows and sufferings of a widow after the death of her husband. This poem is autobiographical yet at the same time universal. She has seen her mother experiencing pain just after the death of Otto Plath. Her father left his wife and daughter alone in the world; both were females and in that society, as per assertion of Sylvia Plath, it is difficult for females to spend even a single peaceful day because of male dominance. Thus, in this poem, she describes the troubles of every widow. She says that a widow struggles her whole life. The grief of her husband’s death is not temporary. It is permanent and can affect her whole life. Her children can also feel it.

The poet has not experienced this pain yet she has seen the struggle of her mother. Her mother’s mourning compelled her to compose this poem on the subject of a widow’s miseries. We know that it is not only the life of a widow, which becomes miserable but also the life of her children. Furthermore, her past memories haunt her. She cannot forget the happy days of her life which she spent with her husband. She becomes helpless and has no other choice except to try every day to get rid of memories. In this way, a widow suffers twice. First, on the death of her husband and second, on struggling to forget memories. Thus, the miseries of a widow increase day by day which is definitely painful.

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