Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark

Anything to evade the life not lived, the poem not written, the love not realized.

Red Comet

The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath

Heather Clark

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I've always been fascinated by Sylvia Plath. I think that stems from the fact that we both grew up in Wellesley, MA. Her connection to Wellesley High School is legendary because it was there that the head of the English Department recognized her early talent. Years later, when living in Saratoga Springs, NY, we were just steps from Yaddo, the artists community where Plath penned some of her earliest works - so I've always been curious to know more about her life because so much of her story is caught up in speculation.  Clark devotes a significant part of this book describing Plath’s early years, family life, relationship with her parents and her school experiences so that the reader really has an understanding of Plath as a person.

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Red Comet is remarkable in scope. I cannot imagine the amount of time that went into researching this birth to death biography that reads more like a thriller than nonfiction. Clark's writing is descriptive and insightful, allowing us to get to know the real Plath via her letters and Clark's research.  Often just hearing the word “biography” makes us think of a dry text, and yet Red Comet is a page turner.

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And what is revealed between these pages is that Plath's life was a perfect storm. She was one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century, but born in an era when she was absolutely expected to take a back seat to her husband's writing career. Her husband, Ted Hughes, was one of England’s most well known poets and together they were a literary tour de force.  By all accounts Plath was a loving and doting mother but she struggled all her life with depression that went unchecked after the birth of her second child, while she was living in England far from the Dr who treated her as a young woman.  Clark does a fantastic job at illustrating the arc of Plath’s mental illness, from childhood through to her death.  She recognized it in herself and sought treatment, but the age in which she lived medical science had not yet undergone the massive changes in psychiatric health care and she was victim to some archaic methods of treatment that never yielded lasting results.

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This book is ultimately very sad because the tragedy of her suicide was so senseless. As I heard Plath's voice via her letters, writing about trying to be a good mother and yet not lose her career and herself in the midst of childrearing, it’s hard to believe this is still an issue for women today. I did not expect to find resonance on that level between these pages and yet it clearly played a huge role in her downward spiral.

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Red Comet is a literary force because Clark's writing is so strong and casts aside the rumors and speculations that have surrounded Plath. I'm so glad I took my time with this book.  It’s very dark, so often setting it aside was necessary, but bit by bit I chipped away. I highly recommend it to anyone who also wants to understand one of our most lauded authors and I would say it’s the most comprehensive biography I’ve ever read.