"In Plaster": Dual Selves and the Construction of Identity Anonymous 12th Grade

Regardless of what role Sylvia Plath was playing at any given time--student, poet, teacher, wife--her feverish perfectionism was a constant factor. During her tumultuous years at Smith College, her concern over the defects she perceived in her character led her to commence a process that would fascinate future readers and biographers alike--the journey to create her own identity and curate a perfect self. However, despite having a clear idea of her intended destination, she found herself unable to do more than mask the reality of her personality with a veneer of perfection. An honest assimilation of her constructed identity still eluded her. Nowhere is this theme more clearly represented in her poetry than in "In Plaster," in which she assumes the role of the "old yellow" self desperately trying to reconcile her dependence on the "new absolutely white person" with her fear of being usurped by a stronger and more perfect personality.

When the poem begins, the yellow self is certain that her newer counterpart is superior, and rebels against her. However, both halves begin to warm up to the other, realizing that the latter cannot exist without the former, and the former can grow stronger with the latter's help. However, as the new...