The Bell Jar

[KaeMartyndale]

Has anyone read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath? I'm currently half way through it, and I'm going through it like candy. Mmm...

I really like the way it is written. And, sadly, so far, I can really relate. haha...

Did anyone else love this book?

[clarebear]

Yes yes yes! I love the Bell Jar. Sylvia Plath is my god

[sweetos]

i heard the author eventually killed herself. i don't know if it's right after she finished the book or a few years after. bell jar is on my to-read list but it kinda seems depressing when i read the reviews.

[KaeMartyndale]

i heard the author eventually killed herself. i don't know if it's right after she finished the book or a few years after.

Sylvia Plath committed suicide a few weeks after the publication of the Bell Jar. She had just been separated from her husband, and poet, Ted Hughes.

Granted, I'm only half way through, but I haven't found it depressing at all, yet. So, I'll let you know how it goes!

[CollegeReader]

I read it a few years ago and for whatever reason (can't really remember now), it was really hard for me to get through. I had to force myself to finish it and couldn't seem to connect, but I know a lot of people really love it so maybe I will have to give it a second try sometime

[SeoulChild]

Y'know, I think The Bell Jar is a great book because most people really want to empathize with Plath's characterization...but at the same time I feel that the main character is kinda...self-indulgent maybe?? She reminds me of Winona Ryder's character in Girl, Interrupted. Great movie, but she ends up admitting that she was drowning in the 60s/herself/angelina jolie , not complete insanity lol...

I'm not trying to say that just because you have everything you need to survive, you have an obligation to be sane. I just think that this book deals with a girl who couldn't cope with a whiff of failure. You can definitely see parallels to Plath in the main character...so maybe her genius really was a dark voice, but I think you could make a stronger point in arguing that she was more afraid of the possibility of failure...I guess lol!!

[KaeMartyndale]

I guess you could call depression self-indulgence. I guess it would definitely look like it from the outside, anyway. But, as an individual who has personally battled the dark demon, I think that its truly one of those things that you can't fully understand until you've been there. The swirling thoughts, the hopelessness, the black-hole of depression. So, as much as I have never been suicidal, I can totally understand why Plath would think about committing suicide after her husband cheated on her (especially since she had been depressed and suicidal previously in her life). Its a break down in everything that you've based your life upon and trusted!

But - as I said, I'm only half-way through the book, and when I am finished I will give a more thorough account of what I thought of the story / main character.

[SeoulChild]

I'm sorry! I didn't mean to characterize depression as self indulgence....I guess to me, the main character bases her actions based on a claim to insanity, more than depression. That's just a personal interpretation though. I've honestly never been clinically depressed, but I have a lot of experience with mentally-induced psychosis and not necessarily all-narcotics related. So I guess to me...depression and insanity are really different. Even if the textbooks lump them in the same group! I really hope I didn't come off as calloused towards depression though...I definitely sympathize. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book though!

[Tracey Neal]

I wasn't really sure if I wanted to respond to this or not. Sylvia Plath is a writer I have much admiration for. I've read this book (more) than once. And yes it is a (breaker) in so many aspects what she endured. Sylvia was tragically beautiful. Her life was weaved so deeply into her husband's, I just don't think she could get her arms around it (the affair). Some of us tend to (slow) dance through the abyss, linger. I think this is where Sylvia had her last dance.

[KaeMartyndale]

So I guess to me...depression and insanity are really different. Even if the textbooks lump them in the same group! I really hope I didn't come off as calloused towards depression though...I definitely sympathize. I hope you enjoy the rest of the book though!

Oh, I didn't think you were calloused at all! And, I do see your point of which depression and "insanity" can be classified as different, however they do both fall under the umbrella of "mental illness". And, I am definitely glad that I have never experienced psychosis, because I believe that it would be terrifying, and I definitely sympathize with you there (and I hope you are doing okay).

I definitely empathize with Plath. She experienced mental illness in a time where shock therapy was still the norm, and prior to modern day (usually effective) psychotropic medications. I can't imagine what my experience with depression would have been without a competent psychiatrist and SSRIs! And, in addition, it is also rumoured that Plath may have actually suffered from Bipolar Disorder, rather than just merely major depression, which may explain some psychosis which occurred (as it is fairly common in BP, I believe).

[Spoons]

It is one of the only books that i have read that i have truly hated. I found the second half much better than the first but overall, i just hated it.
It got recommended to me so many times so i gave it a try and had to force myself to finish it.

[KaeMartyndale]

I just finished the book. And, I loved every moment of it!

[HeraSee]

Sylvia Plath never ceases to amaze me. A lot of poets have a hard time with quality prose, but Sylvia Plath really shines in the Bell Jar.

The book is loosely based on her own life and gives you a taste of her own self image. She discusses the Bell Jar in her collected journals, another necessary read for any Sylvia Plath enthusiasts.

She did have quite a sad life, but it seems that the Bell Jar shines with hope. And, yes, she put her head in the oven and killed herself shortly after finishing the book.

It seems that Ted Hughes (her husband) held the copyright for a lot of her work and was refusing to allow certain pieces to be published until his death. Needless to say, Sylvia Plath was not too happy with this.

I remember hearing that he died recently; I wonder if she has any new work coming out.

[KaeMartyndale]

Yeah, the Bell Jar did end with hope, and I wasn't really expecting it. But, it was refreshing.

[Hamlet]

Yes yes yes! I love the Bell Jar. Sylvia Plath is my god

ilmao! you sound like my mom's friend!! i really enjoy just about anything from sylvia plath, 'the bell jar' was really good. i felt really bad for her, her husband was unfaithful, she had to endure that plus depression,and raise her two children, i thought she was pretty.
its really sad how she chose to end her life. some people just can't get through a heartache, now days they have all types of meds for depression,
too bad they weren't made available to someone with such talent as sylvia.