Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/25289
Title: Beyond the self : Sylvia Plath and gender in the 1950s and 1960s
Authors: Pollacco, Julia
Keywords: Plath, Sylvia, 1932-1963 -- Criticism and interpretation
Confession in literature
Women and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Feminism in literature
Issue Date: 2017
Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to show that although Sylvia Plath’s works are inspired by her personal life, they cannot be classified as solely confessional. Plath does have a few personal works with regards to gender, mainly pertaining to the theme of the Electra Complex. However, by referring to the social setting that Plath was writing in during the 1950s and 1960s in America, the dissertation aims to show that the reality Plath writes about regarding the theme of gender is not solely her own reality, but the reality of many American women living during the same time period. This is done by discussing Plath’s writing through works such as Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. Several issues of gender are brought up through Plath’s work that reflect the social environment she was writing in, such as marriage, domesticity, the female body, purity, and fertility. By studying Plath’s works in relation to the larger scheme of gender in America, the dissertation will cover how Plath’s work goes beyond the confessional mode to share the story of the American woman at the time.
Description: B.A.(HONS)ENGLISH
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/25289
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - FacArt - 2017
Dissertations - FacArtEng - 2017

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