...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
I thought it sounded just like the sort of drug a man would invent. Here was a woman in terrible pain, obviously feeling every bit of it or she wouldn't groan like that, and she would go straight home and start another baby, because the drug would make her forget how bad the pain had been, when all the time, in some secret part of her, that long, blind, doorless and windowless corridor or pain was waiting to open up and shut her in again.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the complexity of pain and the temporary relief that distractions can provide.
In this quote, Sylvia Plath comments on the nature of pain experienced by women, particularly in the context of childbirth. She suggests that while certain remedies or distractions may offer temporary relief, they ultimately do not erase the underlying suffering, which can resurface at any moment, highlighting the cyclical nature of pain and memory in the lives of individuals, especially women facing societal expectations.
Themes
PainReliefMemorySufferingWomen
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the challenges women face in childbirth at a community health seminar.
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.
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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.
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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?
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I keep wanting to crawl back into the womb.
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Sylvia PlathRead
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