Sylvia Plath parallels her own life in the poem, "Daddy"". Plath suffers from a mental and emotional complication known as the "Electra Complex"". This disorder causes a child to be extremely fond of one parent and can cause personality complications in the future if not resolved. Her father died while she was still just a young girl, which kept her from identifying any of his faults. Mary Lynn Broe states that, " the poem tries to make a point, but never makes a progression."" (355). Her mental anguish hasn't improved by the end of the poem. This proves that she does not want to give up the memory of her father emotionally. Her obsession with him, caused by the complex, is relentless and seems to get stronger as she gets older.
All young girls are expected to love their fathers, but Sylvia Plath was 'in love' with her father. He died while she was young so she never saw any faults in him. In her mind, he was the perfect model of a male. Lynda K. Bundtzen, a teacher at Williams College, states, "Her father died while she thought he was God"" (356). Plath innocently held the idea that her father could never do evil because she never witnessed it personally. At the end of the poem she seems to give up totally on trying to get over him, "Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I'm through."" (Plath l. 80, 353). She doesn't establish any ground in trying to vent her troublesome obsession with her father; instead she stays in the same place mentally and gives up.
Since Plath viewed her father as the perfect male being, she chose a husband exactly like him states Bundtzen, "she marries a man in his [daddy's] image."" (357). Plath openly admits the fact that she looked for a man exactly like her father as well, "I made a model of you, A man in black with a Meinkampf look."" (Plath l. 65, 352). She found a man just like him. She also states, " The vampire who said he was you And drank my blood for a year"" (Plath l.