Sylvia Plath & Suicide

[Hailey Michelle]

Some of my peers/instructors dislike some of Plath's work/poetry because they think it "glamorizes" suicide (especially given the way she died). I'm a huge fan of her work (& currently halfway through her unabridged journals) and I think this is sort of an unfair judgement to make. Robert Lowell wrote in the introduction to Ariel: ""This poetry and life are not a career; they tell that life, even when disciplined, is simply not worth it." Any other Plath fans? What do you all think?

[crain]

Plath captures the intensity of suicide in The Bell Jar, and reading it helps one examine her own psyche. I doubt that a mature, emotionally stable reader would find suicide to be glamorized in this work. Yes, it is realistic, and yes, it allures the reader into its bizarre darkness. But ultimately, most choose (and the emphasis is choose, as act of will) to avoid anything close to repeating Esther's fate.

[Low Shin-Ji]

Sylvia Plath's quite explicitly talks about it in Daddy. She clearly does not shy away from it and I have to say that I probably have to read more of her work to understand what you mean by glamorising suicide. However, in Daddy, her attempted suicide is talked about so much more purposefully and whimsically at the same time. It was as if she was determined to fight back but helpless at the same time. What I think, her poems really give to the readers, is raw insight into the workings of the mind. As crain mentioned, for those mature and emotionally stable, her work would add well towards a deeper understanding of the human experience.

[DATo]

Halley,

If you have instructors who feel Plath is "glamorizing" suicide I think you would do well to look for new instructors for they clearly lack the acumen and insight to be teaching Plath's work. You should ask your instructor if by this reasoning war stories are a glamorization of war, or if narratives by serial killers are a glamorization of serial killing. Seriously, I cannot fathom how some teachers are allowed to teach in the first place. We constantly complain about the deteriorating levels of accomplishment of our students ... is it any wonder when in SOME cases the teachers themselves need to go back to school? Please feel free to quote me to your instructor.

[Duende Knocking]

Halley,

If you have instructors who feel Plath is "glamorizing" suicide I think you would do well to look for new instructors for they clearly lack the acumen and insight to be teaching Plath's work. You should ask your instructor if by this reasoning war stories are a glamorization of war, or if narratives by serial killers are a glamorization of serial killing....

This, definitely.

I have definitely seen glamorization of suicide an depression (usually on websites dominated by teenagers, sorry to say), but Plath is doing no such thing. There is a world of difference between addressing a serious and painful topic in an honest manner, and glamorizing/romanticizing it (generally in a dishonest and clueless manner!) Plath confronts the horrors of depression, mental illness, and suicide, without sugar-coating them in any way.

[teacher_jane1]

Plath's work is more about mental illness and the experience one can have of feeling both helpless and incredibly responsible at the same time. Suicide being glamourized doesn't look like that. It seems to be that someone who is considering suicide could read Plath and find a narrative explaining their experience and validating their consideration, but that doesn't reflect on the work itself. Simply because something is used for evil doesn't make it evil itself.

[darlawonders21]

I think creative people in general suffer sometimes from depression more than people who aren't creative... To hold the burden and weight of an untold story inside you can drive a person mad... Many writers, like Sylvia Path, have committed suicide and I think it's linked to the amount of energy going through a creative person. As writers it's either get story out or go crazy...

[The First Pancake]

Suicide is glamourous? Do they think the death of a person suffering from mental illness is funny? I think that is in poor taste to suggest that someone who committed suicide only did it for the-- what, Posthumous glory? Professors should know better than to minimize mental illness and write off someone's personal pain as imaginary. That is not only incorrect, but irresponsible coming from modern educators.

I think Plath's work is important, just as it is important to explore views and emotions beyond one's own limited experiences and capacities. For anyone who has felt crazy and then read their feelings validated in another, it is a comfort. She lived in a different time when there was a much more extreme stigma associated with depression than there is today. Not many voices were brave enough to be so honest. I really can't accept that in a time when invisible illness was so taboo that someone would expect to be romanticized in suicide, as though the act was premeditated solely for that end. Crazy.

[em_77]

Sylvia Plath was an amazing writer and poet. Her novel The Bell Jar directly represents her own views of life and the prospects as well as the downfalls of suicide. Many see her glorifying aspects of suicide. She is however only expressing her views which should be respected.

[keyana_taylor]

I agree with you, I think it's unfair also. I feel like she was expressing how she felt and even in The Bell Jar you can see how her mental stability and her depression was always up and down like a roller coaster. It is after all her journal. Something that most people think is private and never expect to be sold in millions of bookstores around the world. She was just living her life the best way she could and expressing it exactly how she felt. I also feel like people that don't read a lot always come up with crazy ideas about books and what the other is doing or not doing. When you read alot, you can take the story for what it is and understand the meaning the author is trying to put out. Just like with 50 Shades of Grey. Everyone I know focuses on all the sex and the crazy things they do, but there's more to the story than that. As a reader that doesn't shock me because I'm use to it. I actually follow the story line of what the characters are feeling emotionally aside from the acts they take part in. I think the same can be said about Sylvia Plath. Aside from her suicide, it's really a book displaying the struggle of dealing with depression and how coping is a job in itself.

[Rebelpoet]

I think if you suffered the way she did, you would glamorize it because it's all you know and eventually it feels kind of cool. You have to roll with it.

[K_A_T]

As a writer Plath picked depression as an over-arching conflict experienced by every character in The Bell Jar. It's not just Esther who is dealing with deep sadness, but everyone else as well. The reader can make a list of obvious clues that she is everything but happy, but it's not so clear with the other characters because a) it's from Ester's point of view and b) they also don't deal with it the same way the protagonist does. I heard somewhere that depression is like the common cold; everyone catches it but everyone get's better on their own time. There are people who can't treat their own sickness and no matter how many vitamin C supplements or doctor visits they have they just can't stop coughing and sometimes all they want is for it to stop. In The Bell Jar it's not so much as glamorizing (making whatever appear attractive) depression/suicide but it's the different ways her characters display, withhold, and tackle their ailments.

[palilogy]

I adore Plath.
I guess there are many ways to read her work though, with the focus on her death or on her life.

[katsarcane]

Plath wrote in a realistic way. She took words and turned them into the music of literature. She wasn't afraid to speak of her suffering. I believe that to her writing was an outlet to let the world know that even though she was a writer she was still a person. She still felt things, she still felt pain. Her success didn't alleviate the stress or pain she had within her, but that's what made her her.

[nooregano]

I think it's best not to shy away from the darkness that hides in ourselves and others, but there's a fine line between acknowledging it and feeding it.