Initiation

“Initiation” shares its title with the second phase of the “Hero’s Journey” as laid out by literary scholar Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Drawing on the theories of psychoanalyst Carl Jung and stories from around the world, Campbell outlined a basic narrative pattern in which the protagonist literally or figuratively leaves home, experiences various escalating dangers, vanquishes them, and returns changed. Campbell published his theory in 1949—virtually contemporaneously with Plath’s story—so it is unlikely the reference was intentional. Nevertheless, “Initiation” follows the basic framework Campbell proposed, paying particular attention to the trials its protagonist must undergo.

The most obvious of those trials are of course those the sorority itself poses as part of hazing; this is, ostensibly, the “initiation” the title refers to. The hazing rituals are not random tasks designed to demoralize initiates, however. As the requirement that the girls not wear makeup or style their hair makes clear, the hazing process aims to embarrass initiates by placing them at odds with societal expectations—particularly the Societal Pressure to Perform Femininity in Set Ways. This might seem unorthodox given that the sorority itself clearly privileges conformity; it rejects Tracy specifically because she is “too different.” However, this is precisely the point. The hazing rituals seek to make initiates painfully aware of what being an outsider feels like so that they will be loyal sorority sisters, grateful for the privileges that membership affords them (including a head start on securing the societally sanctioned path for women: a husband, home, and children).

Millicent’s initial desperation to fit in makes her an ideal candidate. It is unclear whether Millicent was ever as “plain” and “shy” as she believes herself to have been, but it is the belief itself that matters, making her eager and enthusiastic as initiation week begins. Although Millicent has a friend, Tracy, whose fashion choices prove one can retain one’s independence while forming meaningful connections, Millicent sees conflict between Societal Acceptance Versus Independence. She assures Tracy that their friendship will endure even after she joins the sorority, but this faith seems to stem from Millicent’s private certainty that Tracy will ultimately follow the same path: “Tracy would change also, entering eventually into the magic circle” (240).

Nevertheless, Louise’s explanation of why Tracy did not make the cut discomforts Millicent, providing an early indication that there are limits to what she will sacrifice for acceptance. Bev’s highhanded treatment of Millicent has a similar effect in that it reveals the cruelty that can underpin the enforcement of conformity. However, it is the conversation on the bus that proves decisive in shifting Millicent’s attitudes toward Fitting in Versus Standing Out. The passengers Millicent polls all seem to deduce what’s going on, and Millicent takes comfort in their smiles and encouragement, but the “little man” is unique in his response. The utter unexpectedness of his story about the heather birds makes Millicent laugh and thus becomes a moment of connection, proving that one can be oneself and still relate meaningfully and deeply to others. Relatedly, the seeming absurdity of the response exposes and pokes fun at the absurdity of the sorority’s rituals; the episode suggests that even highly homogenous groups may be bound together by idiosyncrasy rather than conformity.

Millicent’s more significant “initiation” is therefore not into the sorority (whose invitation she declines anyway) but into this realization about the place of the individual in society. Millicent herself realizes this as she waits in the basement:

Millicent knew that she had come triumphant through the trial of fire, the searing period of the ego which could end in two kinds of victory for her. The easiest of which would be her coronation as a princess, labeling her conclusively as one of the select flock.

The other victory would be much harder, but she knew that it was what she wanted. […] [S]he had learned there were other ways of getting into the great hall, blazing with lights, of people and of life (247).

Rather than compromise who she is, Millicent resolves to seek connection by being open and honest with others. She also decides to explain her rationale to the sorority itself, although the story ends before she actually does so. While facing the sorority sisters could be the “other victory” the above passage references, it seems likelier that that victory refers broadly to the kind of life Millicent has chosen to lead. This suggests an explanation for why the story ends where it does, and for its final line: “[S]he knew that her own private initiation had just begun” (248). The initiation referenced here is not an act but a process—an ongoing commitment to independence and authenticity—so Millicent’s journey is ultimately open-ended.