Sylvia Plath poetry

Sylvia Plath and Marcia Brown met upon their arrival at Haven House in the fall of 1950, their first year at Smith. Different as they were in stature, habits, temperament, and talents, they became very close and decided to find work near each other the following summer and to room together during their sophomore year back at Smith. During the summer of 1951 they both found work as "mother's helpers" on Boston's north shore. Sylvia's poem "The Babysitters" recalls some of the adventures and adversities of that experience; many years later, Plath used Marcia as the model for Jody in her novel, The Bell Jar.