These journals contain what Plath wrote from 1950 to 1962. Even if Hughes destroyed those journals, this book is a genuine treasury. Read moreĪs journals go, this is a very open one even so, this version, erupted slightly before Ted Hughes' death in 1998, does not contain much after 1961, which is sad. This is a book which asks more questions than it answers and I must soon try a biography of Sylvia to see whether someone else's perspective gives a better light on the lady's history, which is rarely mentioned in this book. She believed that Ted's lead in the writing stakes would prevent competition but, it is apparent that Sylvia did take her rejections very personally. It definitely was not a good idea for Sylvia to live with a successful poet. Oft times, it seems Sylvia doesn't either. Ted seems to be the only one to consistently get the benefit of the doubt and, even there, he is sometimes bemused by an air of disapproval for which he has no explanation. Sylvia is, almost without exception, hard on the people she meets. Journals and diaries are difficult because, if one notes down one's thoughts almost without review, they can seem harsh to the reader who has time to reflect. I can still appreciate how difficult the relationship must have been for Ted Hughes. The terrible thing is, that I have lived with a lady like this: just when you decide that she is utterly impossible, she does something so kind that it takes your breath away.Sylvia seems to have been well aware of her faults and was, undoubtedly her own hardest critic.
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