This Day in History: 25 February 2020
25 February 1956
64 years ago, today, Sylvia Plath met her future husband, Ted Hughes, at a party in Cambridge. The two fell in love at first sight and married one another four months later. Plath was born in 1932, to an autocratic German father, who taught biology, and knew very much about bumblebees. Unfortunately, he died at home after a persistent illness that left the family penniless. Sylvia's mother therefore worked as a teacher and raised her two children alone. At school, Sylvia was an outstanding student, who won a scholarship to Smith, published her first short story, and won a summer job as a temporary managing editor.
However, once the job ended, Sylvia experienced a nervous breakdown, and as a result, tried to commit suicide. She was hospitalised, but returned to school to finish her senior year, and won a Fulbright to England, leading her to go to Cambridge after graduation, where she met Hughes. The two lived in Boston, but returned to England in 1959, where Plath had her first child. They bought a house in Devon and had a second child 3 years after their first, the same year that Plath discovered her husband was having an affair. He left his family, causing Plath to struggle with her emotional turmoil and depression. She then moved to London, where she wrote her only novel, 'The Bell Jar', a semi-autobiographical account of her life. Due to her sick children, frozen pipes, and a severe case of depression, Sylvia Plath took her own life in February 1963, at age 30.
Want to find out more about the night that Plath met Hughes? Click here for more details.
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