Sarah's Book Post #2

Sarah Jory

Book Post #2

Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar

For one of my products I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.  It is an autobiographical book about her early life up until her early twenties.  Sylvia wrote this book about “Esther” but really it is just a story of her own personal life.  Plath’s novel was not published until after her early death at age 30.  I did not know what to expect when I opened the book a few weeks ago because none of my friends have ever read it and it does not have rave reviews.  Now I know why.  Sylvia Plath battled with mental disorders such as depression and paranoia.  Reading about someone’s life, in their own words, who struggles with such disorders can be a tad concerning.  

Plath describes huge, life events with understatement and indifference.  I would be reading about one of her suicide attempts and before I knew it she was trying to kill herself.  Every event in Plath’s tale is described with the same lack-luster, cold, uninvolved vocabulary.  Her words made me feel depressed.  Most people read books to make them feel better or feel some type of emotion because that is what books do, they invite us in to places we are not familiar with and give us a bird’s eye view of the situation.  Sylvia’s life was sad and uninviting but very powerful to read about.  I know empathize with those who go through depression.  I read Plath’s own retelling of her life.  It is sad to think that is how she truly felt about it.  

Plath has the opportunity of a lifetime presented to her at a very young age.  She interned for a magazine in New York City.  In her own words, Plath says that every girl would kill to get such a job opportunity.  But she honestly did not care that she was given this chance.  Sylvia described it as a negative experience.  I know personally, that getting to work in New York City would absolutely exhilarate me.  My heart hurt reading about a young girl who got that chance but was so depressed that she could not even enjoy it.  I felt just some of Plath’s life of sadness and it made me aware of how awful she must have felt.  No one around her understood her depression and she felt trapped (in a “bell jar”).  

I am empathetic to her personal life and writing now.  The depth of her poems and pieces literature comes from a troubled life.  Reading this book made me understand how hard life can be for some people.