Two original typescript drafts for the story ‘The Green Rock,’ totaling 23 pages, 8.5 x 11, dated 1949, one of them extensively hand-corrected throughout by Plath. One draft is eleven pages long and is corrected throughout in ink and pencil, with substantial revisions including various additions and the elimination of many lines and words. Some of the lengthier corrections made in Plath’s hand include: “Susan’s eyes misted. Remember? Of course she did”; “where they used to play together, a corner of the garden”; “Susan recalled”; “After Susan had scooped”; “a delightful idea came to her”; “Welcoming her suggestion”; “The two children stood there for a while, mute, uncomprehending. At last Susan said”; and “‘Come on, David,’ Susan said at last, sadly. ‘Let’s go back.’” The other draft is twelve pages (two labeled as page “5”), and has just a couple editorial changes. In overall fine condition, with rusty paperclip impressions to the top of the first pages. Previously sold by Sotheby’s as part of the Sylvia Plath estate in 1982; sold again by Sotheby’s in 2014.
Plath’s story follows the fourteen-year-old Susan and her younger brother David as they journey to a rock they used to play on, nostalgically reminiscing on childhood memories along the way. She revisited the green rock and similar themes in her 1956 poem ‘Dream with Clam-Diggers.’ Overall, this typescript draft offers fantastic insight into Plath’s development as a young writer.
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