Dream(e)scapes of identity: Aesthetics of authenticity in Sylvia Plath's surrealist visions

Abstract Sylvia Plath's 1956–63 poetry is marked by an oneiric quality that vividly captures the fluid identities of her characters. This surreal atmosphere is expressed through metaphysical imagery, rich symbolism, and disorienting juxtapositions, which reflect the characters' internal turmoil and fragmented sense of self. Central to Plath's poetic exploration is the notion of existential anxiety, as articulated by the early Heidegger, and bad faith, as expressed by Sartre. Plath's characters grapple with the tension between their fluid selves and the static roles imposed upon them by the Heideggerian everyday world, striving to achieve a sense of authentic existence amidst pervasive anxiety. The fluctuating perceptions of identity in Plath's poetry are represented in two distinct ways. The I/eye either destabilizes the poetic world to mirror the characters' fluid identities or clings to solid surroundings, often with stone imagery, for reassurance. Both modes of representation illustrate the characters' struggle for authenticity and their grappling with bad faith. Plath's work, thus, becomes a poignant commentary on the quest for an authentic self in the face of existential anxiety, using surrealist elements to transcend the everyday world and underscore the profound dissonance between appearance and reality, as well as the perpetual search for meaning and stability.