u003cpu003eNever before published, this newly discovered story by literary legend Sylvia Plath stands on its own and is remarkable for its symbolic, allegorical approach to a young womans rebellion against convention and forceful taking control of her own life. u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eWritten while Sylvia Plath was a student at Smith College in 1952, Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom tells the story of a young womans fateful train journey.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eLips the color of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like guilt, and guilt, and guilt: these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eBut what is the ninth kingdom? she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. It is the kingdom of the frozen will, comes the reply. There is no going back.u003cbru003eu003cbru003eSylvia Plaths strange, dark tale of female agency and independence, written not long after she herself left home, grapples with mortality in motion.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003e u003c/pu003e
