"My mother's face floated to mind, a pale,…" — Sylvia Plath

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Meaning

This reads as a moment of guilt that has not settled into self-pity. The speaker sees her mother’s presence as both accusing and forgiving, and the line points to the painful split between what the family endured and what the speaker feels she caused. It lands in any situation where love survives hurt, and where apology is complicated by the fact that some damage cannot be undone.

When It Was Said

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Who It Was Said To

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Historical Context

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Source

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Original Language & Translation

Originally said in English.

Did They Really Say It?

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About Sylvia Plath

American poet and author

Sylvia Plath was an American poet and author. She helped shape confessional poetry and is best known for work that brought private experience into sharp literary focus. Her books include The Colossus and Other Poems, Ariel, and The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel published shortly before her death. Her Collected Poems appeared in 1981 with previously unpublished work, and that collection won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1982, awarded to her posthumously.