...we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail among sacred islands of the mad till death shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.
Sylvia PlathRead
I feel, am mad as any writer must in one way be; why not make it real? I am too close to the bourgeois society of suburbia: too close to people I know I must sever my self from them, or be a part of their world: this half and half compromise is intolerable.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle between personal identity and societal expectations.
In this quote, Sylvia Plath illustrates the internal conflict of a writer who feels trapped by the expectations and norms of bourgeois society. She expresses a desire to break free from these constraints, suggesting that a true artistic expression must come from an authentic separation from the familiar, as remaining entangled in societal norms creates a painful compromise that stifles creativity and individuality.
Themes
IdentitySocietyArtCreativityIndividuality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the challenges of artistic integrity when faced with societal pressures.
More from Sylvia Plath
All quotes βThe hardest thing, I think, is to live richly in the present, without letting it be tainted & spoiled out of fear for the future or regret for a badly-managed past.
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It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative--which ever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.
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You walked in, laughing, tears welling confused, mingling in your throat. How can you be so many women to so many people, oh you strange girl?
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I keep wanting to crawl back into the womb.
Sylvia PlathRead
It's the living, the eating, the sleeping that everyone needs. Ideas don't matter so much after all. My three best friends are Catholic. I can't see their beliefs, but I can see the things they love to do on earth. When you come right down to it, I do believe in the freedom of the individual.
Sylvia PlathRead
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