...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
So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about as numb as a slave in a totalitarian state.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the sense of feeling trapped and numb in the roles of marriage and parenthood.
Sylvia Plath's quote highlights the emotional turmoil and sense of loss of autonomy that can come with the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. It suggests that these roles can create a mindset where individuals feel controlled, leading to a numb existence rather than a fulfilling life, likening it to the oppression felt under a totalitarian regime.
Themes
MarriageParenthoodNumbnessAutonomyOppression
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the challenges of balancing parenthood and personal identity in a support group.
More from Sylvia Plath
All quotes →The 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.
Sylvia PlathRead
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.
Sylvia PlathRead
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?
Sylvia PlathRead
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
Similar quotes
A good marriage is where both people feel like they're getting the better end of the deal.
Anne LamottRead
Content isn't king. If I sent you to a desert island and gave you the choice of taking your friends or your movies, you'd choose your friends -- if you chose the movies, we'd call you a sociopath. Conversation is king. Content is just something to talk about.
Cory DoctorowRead
Sanity and clarity are more important for me and I'm willing to give up a lot of shimmer for it. I'm willing to have more boring friends, who are sane.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
I will no longer allow anyone to manipulate my mind and control my life in the name of love.
Miguel Angel RuizRead
Ah men, why do you want all this attention? I can write poems for myself, make love to a doorknob if absolutely necessary. What do you have to offer me I can't find otherwise except humiliation? Which I no longer need.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Anybody who doesn't make you feel good, kick them to the curb. And the earlier you start in your life, the better.
Amy PoehlerRead