The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I thought for sure that I had read The Bell Jar as a requirement for one of my college English courses.  I know I have read Sylvia Plath's poetry and studied her short and  tragic life.  But the title and summary of this book seemd so familiar to me that I was positive I had read it.  So as any English major has been trained to do, I researched and analyzed the situation.  I pulled out my 3,000 page, Fifth Edition Norton Anthology:  American Literature textbook that I have been hanging on to for the past 10 years for such the occasion.  (My professors would be so proud).  (I am such a nerd!)  Coincidentally, the very first page that I happened to flip to in the anthology was a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman entitled The Yellow Wall-Paper.  Of course.  I was confusing two women with similar situations and the same unfortunate ending.

Even after a quick investigation into my questions regarding Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar, it was not my intention to pick up this book during a recent trip to the library.  However, it "jumped" out at me while I was perusing the aisles for another title; and for whatever reason, it spoke to me.  And oddly enough, I discovered another extraordinary coincidence.  Upon reading the biographical information provided at the back of the book, I realized that I checked this book out of the library on the 48th anniversary of Plath's death ~ February 11.

It is no secret that Sylvia Plath led a severely depressed life which she chose to end on her own terms in London in 1963.  The Bell Jar is fictional. However, it is largely based on Plath's own life, making this an emotionally draining and confounding experience for the reader.  At first I had trouble following the story and understanding its purpose.  But as it progressed, I understood that its purpose is just as jagged and uncertain as the mind of someone dealing with mental illness.  It is important to keep social views, women's roles in society, and society's views on mental illness within context (as I sometimes forget while flip-flopping between books) because the story reveals Plath's struggles to define herself and to find a place both socially and professionally among her peers during the 1950s.  It's amazing to think that procedures such as the lobotomy and electroshock therapy were thought to "cure" illnesses such as depression, bi-polar disorder, or schizophrenia.  We've come a long way.  And it makes me wonder whether Plath would have come as far had modern science advanced more quickly in this field.

Because I could really use it, I am off to read something a little more light-hearted this time. . .