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MUCH HAS BEEN written about the role of the father in the development of his growing son, both in literature and in psychoanalytic theory. The theme of son searching for the lost father is familiar to us from the earliest works of Western literature, such as Homer's Odyssey to the reshaping of this motif in modern works, like Joyce's Ulysses. Freud's emphasis on the patriarchal influence gives us a father as identificatory model exemplifying conscience, character and purpose to his male offspring. The importance of the father to the growing girl has been stressed more recently in theory and research (Biller, 1970), (Chassequet-Smirgel, 1970), (Fisher, 1972), (Forrest, 1966), (Grunberger, 1970), (Spiegel, 1966). It is only now that we can begin to understand the role he plays in his daughter's development.
Therefore, it is exciting and revealing to discover that three contemporary women poets have written moving and complex poems that give insight into the father's significance to his growing daughter. In their poetry, experiences specifically feminine can resound and illuminate. Thus, we may follow Freud's well known counsel to those who wish to know more about femininity, and turn to poetry, women's poetry, for enlightenment (Freud, 1932).
The three highly articluate and talented women who have written these poems, Diane Wakoski, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton, address images of absent fathers in tones of love, grief, and hatred. Each separate experience with fathering is described through the tension between actual and ideal; each absence poses a set of