(Heads up: this is a trigger warning for depression and suicide).
I go to a university with a highly-ranked English program
and an even-higher ratio of women to men. Thus, I’ve heard quite a lot about
our friend Sylvia Plath from the conversations I’ve listened in on in the past
few years.
The Bell Jar wasn’t
on the to-read list for me until very recently. Until I went to college, I very
rarely read any books in the modernism/contemporary genres, unless they were
YA/middle-grade books. It was probably because I thought reading novels from
the White Male Canon would make me seem smarter—but in any case, I finally got
to The Bell Jar, and here we are.
 |
| This is my edition , which I love. |
First off, I should not have read this during Christmas. I
actually took a break from it, because there was no way I could consider the significant
lessons in the novel with the sing-songy, deck-the-halls mood I was in.
Finally, once everything settled down, I was able to focus
on what Plath was doing in the novel. She does an excellent job portraying the
events that led to Esther, the protagonist, becoming encompassed in the bell
jar (her metaphor for depression). I really, really hate it when people analyze
novels based on the authors’ biographies (a topic for another post), especially
female authors, but I think in this case it is safe to say that Plath was able
to incorporate some of her own feelings and experiences into the novel, giving
it an authentic touch that I don’t think anyone who hasn’t experienced
depression would be able to.
What really struck me was different characters’ reactions to
Esther’s condition. Her mother, for instance, reacted as many people do: she
refused to accept that depression was a real condition and expected Esther to “change
her mind” about how she felt. Mrs.
Tomolillo was shocked, embarrassed, and nauseated when Esther told her about
her suicide attempt, and even began telling people about it, reminding me of
those people who treat depression and suicide like a scandal, or some sort of
shock-value story.
The most ridiculous reaction for me, though, was Buddy’s. He
says, “Do you think there’s something in me that drives women crazy? …I mean… I dated Joan, and then you, and first
you… went, and then Joan…”
Are you kidding me?! Leave
it to the twenty-year-old boy to make Esther’s depression into his own problem.
Esther also points out his use of the word “crazy” here, which I’ll leave up to
you to determine the meaning of (ignore my gross grammar. I'm on break. Deal with it).
All in all, I loved this book. I wish that other novels,
especially YA novels, were able to be this frank about disorders; it’s
important not only for the general public to be aware of this stuff, but also in
that if someone (especially a kid/young adult) were able to recognize themselves,
they could get the help they needed.
I need a rating system. Out of five? Out of ten? Ten would
make me feel better, but Goodreads is out of five, so I’ll go with that for
now. 5/5
Onto Girl Online.
(If you want to add me on Goodreads, here's the link.)
