The Causes of Sylvia Plath’s Depression When reading any works by Sylvia Plath, it is very easy to focus on the depression of her writing. However, it is very important to understand why she wrote most her works about depression. Plath based her works off of her own life experiences. Her most commonly known book, The Bell Jar, is thought to be an autobiography Plath wrote based off her own life. Letters she wrote to her mother prove the similarities between Plath’s own life and the life of the main character in the The Bell Jar. The major theme in both books is depression, however, it is easy to see the events that led Plath to her thoughts of depression and suicide. Her lack of confidence and the role of feminism played major parts throughout
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She always felt as if she could not decide how she would want to live the rest of her life. When asked by Jay Cee, her boss in New York, what she wanted to do after she graduated, Esther was shocked by the answer in which she gave to her. “ ‘I don 't really know, ' I heard myself say. I felt deep shock, hearing myself say that, because the minute I said it, I knew it was true” (The Bell Jar 32). Anyone who struggles with deciding what they want to do with their life struggle mentally with their thoughts because they feel as if they are unable to fulfill their happiness in life. They also feel as if they aren’t good enough to do anything. Sylvia Plath felt this way most of her life, where she battled her thoughts of failure and uncertainty. Furthermore, this made Plath feel as if she was worthless and unable to satisfy herself and the others around her. She began to lose herself esteem and struggled with completing her work. “Never, it seems to me, has work worn me out so much…I can’t think, I can just perform mechanical acts. So no more going out for me” (Letters Home 90). Her struggle to perform even the simplest things caused Plath to become even more depressed. This depression followed her for most of her life. She felt trapped, with nowhere to go because she was afraid of …show more content…
However, whenever she tried, she always found a reason to stop. Plath has Esther not commit suicide to guide readers along the journey of her life. She battled with the thoughts of suicide and also tried many times, however she never had enough strength to indeed do it. Evidently, since Plath’s life was full of dismay, she used her own life incidents when writing her novel The Bell Jar. “Because Plath’s own life story, including her suicide, is so famous, it is almost impossible not to read The Bell Jar as a purely autobiographical novel” (Crowley). In The Bell Jar, Esther has her own personal breakdown. “As she runs from one event to the next-from photoshoot to meeting to lunches to dates to dances-Esther experiences a gradual mental collapse” (Hobby). The specific scenario that Esther went through is closely related to experiences that Plath went through. “After her return from New York City, Esther 's growing recognition of the mutual exclusivity of her goals drives her into a deeper and deeper depression. Paralleling Plath 's own experience at Mademoiselle, the guest editorship at Ladies Day was supposed to have been the high point in Esther 's budding career…”
She always felt as if she could not decide how she would want to live the rest of her life. When asked by Jay Cee, her boss in New York, what she wanted to do after she graduated, Esther was shocked by the answer in which she gave to her. “ ‘I don 't really know, ' I heard myself say. I felt deep shock, hearing myself say that, because the minute I said it, I knew it was true” (The Bell Jar 32). Anyone who struggles with deciding what they want to do with their life struggle mentally with their thoughts because they feel as if they are unable to fulfill their happiness in life. They also feel as if they aren’t good enough to do anything. Sylvia Plath felt this way most of her life, where she battled her thoughts of failure and uncertainty. Furthermore, this made Plath feel as if she was worthless and unable to satisfy herself and the others around her. She began to lose herself esteem and struggled with completing her work. “Never, it seems to me, has work worn me out so much…I can’t think, I can just perform mechanical acts. So no more going out for me” (Letters Home 90). Her struggle to perform even the simplest things caused Plath to become even more depressed. This depression followed her for most of her life. She felt trapped, with nowhere to go because she was afraid of …show more content…
However, whenever she tried, she always found a reason to stop. Plath has Esther not commit suicide to guide readers along the journey of her life. She battled with the thoughts of suicide and also tried many times, however she never had enough strength to indeed do it. Evidently, since Plath’s life was full of dismay, she used her own life incidents when writing her novel The Bell Jar. “Because Plath’s own life story, including her suicide, is so famous, it is almost impossible not to read The Bell Jar as a purely autobiographical novel” (Crowley). In The Bell Jar, Esther has her own personal breakdown. “As she runs from one event to the next-from photoshoot to meeting to lunches to dates to dances-Esther experiences a gradual mental collapse” (Hobby). The specific scenario that Esther went through is closely related to experiences that Plath went through. “After her return from New York City, Esther 's growing recognition of the mutual exclusivity of her goals drives her into a deeper and deeper depression. Paralleling Plath 's own experience at Mademoiselle, the guest editorship at Ladies Day was supposed to have been the high point in Esther 's budding career…”