Books Quote by Sylvia Plath
““I decided I would put off the novel until I had gone to Europe and had a lover, and that I would never learn a word of shorthand. If I never learned shorthand I would never have to use it. I thought I would spend the summer reading "Finnegan's Wake" and writing my thesis. Then I would be way ahead when college started at the end of September, and able to enjoy my last year instead of swotting away with no make up and stringy hair, on a diet of Benzedrine, the way most of the seniors taking honors did, until they finished their thesis. Then I thought I might put off college for a year and apprentice myself to a pottery maker. Or work my way to Germany and be a waitress, until I was bilingual. Then plan after plan started leaping through my head, like a family of scatty rabbits. I saw the years of my life spaced along a road in the form of telephone poles, threaded together by the wires. I counted one, two, three… nineteen telephone poles dangled in space, and try as I would, I couldn't see a single pole beyond the nineteenth.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Bell Jar (unfinished) by Sylvia Plath, 1963
Procrastination and idealized plans can mask fear; confronting reality reveals the limits of endless postponement.
In simple terms: Avoiding tasks hides deeper anxieties.
Key Takeaway
Face tasks now, not later.
Themes
procrastination
fear
future planning
Mood
anxious
introspective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- academic work
- career decisions
- creative writing
- travel plans
Key Concepts
psychology
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- What are you postponing?
- How does fear shape your plans?
A Different Perspective
Idealizing delay can lead to missed opportunities.
