Upon first read of Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" I get the feel of a very disturbed woman who has faced numerous hardships in her life. Either an orphan or homeless wanderer, she has been shackled to her father's memory and forever confined to the emptiness that he left within her; which she tries to fill with suicide and men who resemble her father. In the beginning it only seems to be a mild anger towards her father for leaving her, but the end, "They are dancing and stamping on you...Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through." (Clifford and Schilb, 265), suggests that her anger is actually animosity for something unknown he may have done. However after reading a little background on Path I learned that she grew up middle-class and educated. Her father died when she was eight and her deep resentment for her father really has no base. Rather than her father committing some kind of harmful act towards her, his death alone is what seems to have sparked her feelings towards him. Her suicide attempt, "At twenty I tried to die" (265), may only be a cry for the attention she lacks from her father. She titles the poem "Daddy", rather than father or dad, suggesting a diction of endearment, however her poem suggests such anger and rage. And now, after reading her background the mere loss of her father is what effected her so deeply that she cannot overcome it. Unfortunately it seems she may never. The background really gives a different perspective of Path's situation. She is just a woman painfully missing her daddy.
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I agree with you. Plath seemed to have never emotionally overcame the death of her father and it started driving her crazy. I think her anger toward her father was really anger toward herself for not being able to let go of her father. Her depression was so great that it caused her to want to take her life. Her life is really sad and disturbing.
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