...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
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?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the complexity of individual identity and the different roles one plays in life.
In this quote, Sylvia Plath expresses the multifaceted nature of a person's identity, particularly in the context of relationships. The imagery of laughter and tears conveys the confusion and emotional depth of being perceived differently by various people, highlighting the often fragmented experience of being simultaneously viewed in diverse ways. It underscores the conflict between how one sees oneself and how one is seen by others, illuminating the intricacies of human relationships and the layers of identity that shape our interactions.
Themes
IdentityRelationshipsEmotionComplexityPerception
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on identity in a psychology class.
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
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
I am still so naïve; I know pretty much what I like and dislike; but please, don’t ask me who I am. A passionate, fragmentary girl, maybe?
Sylvia PlathRead
Similar quotes
Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
Men have always been gentlemen to me - responsible people with healthy attitudes.
Aretha FranklinRead
If anything happens to me, tell every woman I've ever gone with I was talking about her at the end. That way, they'll have to reevaluate me.
Albert BrooksRead
Above all we need, particularly as children, the reassuring presence of a visible community, an intimate group that enfolds us with understanding and love, and that becomes an object of our spontaneous loyalty, as a criterion and point of reference for the rest of the human race.
Lewis MumfordRead
You can't organize people if you don't love them. And however hard it can be to love the racist you come in contact with; doing so is the first obligation of a white antiracist.
Tim WiseRead
I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing.
Oscar WildeRead