24. From the age of 14, Plath was ‘obsessed with boys’ and dated ‘hundreds’ during her student years
Plath studied hard at Smith College. But, as well as her love of literature, she also pursued one of her other great passions while a student: Boys. Ever since the age of 14, she had recorded her obsessions with the opposite sex in her diaries. On some occasions, she complained that her sexual frustration – she was “sick with longing” – hindered her studies and creative work. By her own accounts, she dated ‘hundreds’ of boys before and during her college years. However, Plath also regularly worried that she would be seen as “fast” and get a bad reputation.
