The Sorrowful Reason America Most Influential Writer Of The 50s Took Her Own Life
She loved writing more than life itself
She was, without a doubt, one of the most influential American writers during the 50s. Marked as one of the few key individuals in confessional poetry and short story, and was known for her most popular published works, The Colossus and Other Poems (1960), and Ariel (1965). Even with all these redolent fruits of labor that surrounded her life, Plath committed suicide, a heart-wrenching newsbreak that shook writing society.
Sylvia’s early life
Sylvia Plath, the writer in question, had a very educated father, Otto Plath. He was a professor of biology and an entomologist at Boston University. Otto, who was from Grabow, Germany, married Aurelia Plath, and a few years after that union they gave birth to Slyvia on October 27, 1932.
Sylvia did excellent at Smith College, a quite popular private institution for women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts. Plus she outsmarted most of her colleagues, evident enough from documentaries made by her tutors and peers after her death. In fact, she was awarded the position of guest editor at Mademiselle magazine after her third year at Smith. Even though her experience at the job negates her hope, events that took place during her time there served well as inspiration for her novel, The Bell Jar.
Rejections and depression
Sylvia was often depressed. Some said that the rejections she received from institutions and firms made her life miserable. Well, I believe rejection is for everyone and that Sylvia was the kind of person that didn’t withstand challenges.
Sylvia’s obsession with writers that were far beyond her league added to her miserable life. In documentation by one of the few men she dated, Sylvia was very disappointed and furious when her boss, an editor, arranged a meeting with Dylan Thomas and secluded her. Also according to him, “She loves Dylan more than life itself”
Furthermore, her obsession with Dylan grew every minute she realized that it would be very unlikely to meet him without an official arrangement. And unless her boss does that meeting thing again, she’s not going to meet him. Hence, she decided to run things on her own. Sylvia lodged at Chelsea hotel, a stone’s throw away from Dylan’s office, hoping she would bump into him. But that didn’t happen. In short, she ended up staying there for two days.
A few weeks later, she was denied a chance to participate in a Harvard writing seminar. This, plus other events around that point in her life pushed her to taste suicide for the first time. She slashed her legs, but not too deep to bleed to death. She attempted many other suicide attempts in 1953. For instance, on August 24, 1953, she crawled under the porch and took her mother’s sleeping pills, willing to overdose herself.
Following this series of death desires, her family knew that they had to do something before Sylvia embarks on a journey of no return. Even though this was wildly against the wish of the writer, no one in their right mind would allow the girl to continue the path she had chosen. So, she spent a total of boring six months in a psychiatric institution, away from her writing career, away from her deep desires.
The Comeback
Her period in psychiatric care paid off for a while. There was a drastic decrease in the negative aspect of her life. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration that Sylvia’s mental recovery was spotted by many as proof that mental health institutions truthfully perform the magic they say they have. Consequently, she focused more on her personal development, and in January 1955, she submitted The Magic Mirror, a thesis based on the study of the Double in Two of Dostoyevsky’s novels. With flying colors, in June of that same year, she graduated from Smith and became a very productive member of the Phi Beta academic honor society.
Sylvia was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge in one of the school’s women-only colleges. There, she met other fine writers like Dorothea Krook who were much better than her. Like this, she learned more about the art and published many of her poems in the University’s student newspaper. Then it was safe and confident to say that Sylvia’s life was finally facing a promising direction.
Sylvia was always willing to mix up with her kind. That was also the reason she got married to Ted Hughes, her fellow English poet. They met on an occasion, where they relate about a lot of things mostly in the profession. And within a few months, the union moved from mere writing pals to daters and ultimately to marriage. And that’s where the problem started. She mistakes mere friendship for love. To me, she probably thought that marrying and creating a life with a fellow colleague in writing wouldn’t be a bad idea. But that pretty much explains why she heads back into depression.
Well, the couple moved to the United States after just a year of their marriage in June 1956. In the US, she took a job as a teacher at Smith College, where she once attended herself. She was thoroughly engaged that it became nearly impossible to write a few lines of a poem a day. The couple decided to move again, now to Boston after just another year in the US.
The Relapse
They wanted so hard to have a baby, but each time something seems to be staying, it vanishes. She had two miscarriages in 1961. And the latest one, Sylvia wrote to her therapist that Hughes lay punches on her two days before the incident. As someone who loved to be creative with writing, she used many of these sad unforgiving incidents in most of her poems published while she still draws air.
A year after that, the couple tried again, and luckily this time they were blessed with Nicholas, but they had moved again, to Court Green in Devon. Living together peacefully with their son, things began to change. Sylvia, consumed with the care of the baby, but still actively writing, Hughes, now keeping babes for nighttime.
At an apartment they rented at Charcot Square, they met Assia Wevill, who would be a useful tool in shattering the couples’ union. It took less than a week for Hughe to fall in love with Assia, and less than another week to begin an extramarital relationship with her. Well, Assia was way more beautiful than Sylvia, but for me — for a devoted husband — I believe beauty should not be a thing. When Sylvia first found out, she purposely had a car accident, an incident she described as one of her suicide attempts. And In July 1962, six years after the marriage, Hughes and Sylvia had to go their separate ways. Thanks to Assia.
Along with the chills that covered the western world in 1963 — too cold for many to stay outdoor — Sylvia depression was back. For her, it was always cuddling pillows in bed and thinking about all the things she had faced lifelong. She doesn’t seem to be bothered with anything else but her kids, not even her writings but tried vehemently to complete some of her works.
Not so many people knew what she was going through. One of her friends said she managed to appear fine at work even though the nine months old depression had taken away 20 pounds from her. At this stage, the children were at great risk. It was time for another medical care but now she was older and a mother, you clearly can’t force her into a mental health facility as her mother did in 1953.
Her general practitioner, James Horder, who checks up on her every day of her last few months, opted for a live-in nurse. He says, “She truly needed help with herself and the kids” Before the nurse resumed work in February 1963, Sylvia had left a note for her neighbor, Thomas, which read, “Call Dr. Horder” And when they were finally able to force open the door of the kitchen, they found her upper body thrust in the oven. She finally got it, her decade-old desire to die.
