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Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) was an American novelist and poet who died by suicide at the age of thirty. Much of Plath’s writing is highly autobiographical, which has led many interpreters to read her work in relation to her biography. The close relationship between poetry and biography is what gave rise, in the years immediately after her death, to Plath’s status as a feminist icon. Based on readings of her poetry in relation to her life experiences, feminist critics saw Plath as having been driven to suicidal madness by her patriarchal society. Specifically, they cited her authoritarian father, Otto Plath. They also cited her unfaithful husband, the poet Ted Hughes, as well as the unfair burden that motherhood placed on her, particularly after her divorce. “Mirror” encapsulates Plath’s frustrations with the patriarchal expectations of her time—namely, the sexist aversion people had toward women aging.

For more recent critics, however, Plath’s mental illness takes center stage. Plath’s struggle with bipolar disorder led her to attempt suicide at the age of twenty, in the aftermath of which she received electroshock therapy. The brutality of this experience provided the subject matter for Plath’s novel The Bell Jar (1963), as well as for her poem “Lady Lazarus” (1962). “Mirror” was published after Plath’s eventual death by suicide. Today, many readers and critics revere these works, among others, for their unflinching depiction of mental illness and despair.

Next section Historical Context: The Feminist Critique of Beauty Standards

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