“Crystal Gazer”: A Different Kind of Globe
Revisions to Plath’s poem “Crystal Gazer” were discussed in Hughes’ October 1956 letters, but Plath’s calendar notes reveal that she wrote 24 lines (probably the first four stanzas) on June 3, 1956 and worked on it through the next few days. On the 6th, she noted that she had barely begun reading Aristotle when she […]
“Spinster”: Unlovable Imperialism
Pictured: French police attack Algerian protesters in Paris, 1956 The image of the spinster was a popular one in the movies during the 1940s and ‘50s, and the character was often pictured pining over a dead soldier boyfriend whose picture was on the mantel. In 1942, Bette Davis had starred as spinster Charlotte Vale in the film […]