“Her dead body wears the smile of accomplishment”: The Morbid Influences of 20th Century Poet Sylvia Plath
“A girl calls and asks, "Does it hurt very much to die?" "Well, sweetheart," I tell her, "yes, but it hurts a lot more to keep living,” says a character in a Chuck Palahnuik novel. When faced with a dark life and an assumingly bleak future, one may resort to death, as it is perceived as being better than being alive. Sylvia Plath was one of these people, with her problems and troubled life not only resulting in her suicide, but in influencing the majority of her work. Sylvia Plath’s poetry often deals with dark themes, which is a reflection on her troubled relationship with her father, the suppression of women, and her own experiences with depression.
Plath’s turbulent relationship with her parents as a young woman had influence on the morbid themes in her poems. As a child, Sylvia Plath lived under the regime of her mother and “a strict father.. [with] authoritarian attitudes” (Sylvia Plath, Poets.org). Young Sylvia felt almost like a prisoner in her own home, free of the enjoyment usually associated with childhood. Living under the dictatorship of her father, which is a dark experience for a child, left an imprint on her for her later life. However, when Plath was eight, she was released from her father’s death grip “abruptly when [he] died in 1940” (Sylvia Plath, The Poetry Foundation). Plath was suddenly hit with a feeling of freedom, something she had been longing for eight years. This freedom let Plath loosen herself a bit more and allowed more creativity in her life, such as writing. Due to their turbulent relationship, Sylvia was then left with long-lasting “feelings of betrayal when he died” (Poetry Foundation). After her burst of freedom, Plath also returned back to dark feelings, since her metaphorical king had left her. This morbid feeling then was reflected in her writing, letting her work have a distinct style. The negative aspects of Plath’s relationship with her father affected her poetry and contributed to her crippling depression as an adult.
During her lifetime, Sylvia Plath dealt with the suppression of women as well as extremely severe manic depression, which had definite effects on her works. Feminist fans of Plath often agree that her suicide is very plausibly “a repudiation of the expectations placed upon women in the early 1960’s” (Sylvia Plath, The Poetry Foundation). Plath’s suicide was tragic, but was also an important cry against the expectations of the women of her time. These unfair expectations added more gloom to Plath’s life and work, even possibly resulting in her death. After working for Mademoiselle as a guest editor in New York, which inspired parts of her acclaimed novel The Bell Jar, Plath “tried to kill herself by taking sleeping pills” (Sylvia Plath, Biography). Working for this women’s magazine, Plath got an insight on the true sexism that was being perpetuated during her time. These realizations were so unacceptable to her that she was willing to commit suicide in order to escape them.Plath died at the age of 31, after leaving a note to her neighbor and “commit[ing] suicide with her gas oven” (Sylvia Plath, Poets.org). Plath was a deeply depressed woman, and her hopeless view of life resulted in her tragic death. Since in her time, there were no truly effective medicines for depression, Plath felt the need to escape from her dreary life. The social expectations of her gender and the effects of her depression influenced Plath and was largely reflected in her work.
Plath’s relationship with her father, the pressure put on women in the 60’s, and her depression and desire to die are all addressed in various poems she penned. In her poem “Daddy” Plath says she “[has] lived like a foot” (2) and ends the poem with the line “daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through” (80). These comments are in reference to her authoritarian father, who she lived under the control of in her early years.The disgust she had for him and the tortuous days she lived are evident in this work. Plath’s poem “Mirror” is told from the perspective of a mirror, in which this object says that to a woman “[the mirror] is important to her” (15) and approaches the mirror “day after day, like a terrible fish” (18). This poem is in reference to the expectations put on women in the 60’s, and how they made women obsesses over how they look.Plath shows that society has made women want to please a mirror with their looks than they want to please themselves. In her poem “Edge”, Plath says that a deceased woman “is perfected” (1) and that her body “wears a smile of accomplishment” (2). This work is obvious commentary on Plath’s long-lasting battle with depression, which eventually killed her. Plath believes that if she were to die, she would then be a perfect woman, free of the depressing life she has been living. All of the influences of both Plath’s early and later life all tied in to her works as an adult.
Though Sylvia Plath’s life was particularly dark, these terrible occurrences during her life played a large role in her works of poetry. The negative influences in a person’s life can either break them, or make them stronger as an individual, yet Sylvia experienced both of these results. However, if one desires to die more than they do to live, the situation can become extremely dire.
Works Cited:
"Sylvia Plath." Biography. A+E Networks, 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.biography.com/people/sylvia-plath9442550?page=2>.
"Sylvia Plath." The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sylvia-plath>.
"Sylvia Plath." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. q.
<http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11>.
Plath’s turbulent relationship with her parents as a young woman had influence on the morbid themes in her poems. As a child, Sylvia Plath lived under the regime of her mother and “a strict father.. [with] authoritarian attitudes” (Sylvia Plath, Poets.org). Young Sylvia felt almost like a prisoner in her own home, free of the enjoyment usually associated with childhood. Living under the dictatorship of her father, which is a dark experience for a child, left an imprint on her for her later life. However, when Plath was eight, she was released from her father’s death grip “abruptly when [he] died in 1940” (Sylvia Plath, The Poetry Foundation). Plath was suddenly hit with a feeling of freedom, something she had been longing for eight years. This freedom let Plath loosen herself a bit more and allowed more creativity in her life, such as writing. Due to their turbulent relationship, Sylvia was then left with long-lasting “feelings of betrayal when he died” (Poetry Foundation). After her burst of freedom, Plath also returned back to dark feelings, since her metaphorical king had left her. This morbid feeling then was reflected in her writing, letting her work have a distinct style. The negative aspects of Plath’s relationship with her father affected her poetry and contributed to her crippling depression as an adult.
During her lifetime, Sylvia Plath dealt with the suppression of women as well as extremely severe manic depression, which had definite effects on her works. Feminist fans of Plath often agree that her suicide is very plausibly “a repudiation of the expectations placed upon women in the early 1960’s” (Sylvia Plath, The Poetry Foundation). Plath’s suicide was tragic, but was also an important cry against the expectations of the women of her time. These unfair expectations added more gloom to Plath’s life and work, even possibly resulting in her death. After working for Mademoiselle as a guest editor in New York, which inspired parts of her acclaimed novel The Bell Jar, Plath “tried to kill herself by taking sleeping pills” (Sylvia Plath, Biography). Working for this women’s magazine, Plath got an insight on the true sexism that was being perpetuated during her time. These realizations were so unacceptable to her that she was willing to commit suicide in order to escape them.Plath died at the age of 31, after leaving a note to her neighbor and “commit[ing] suicide with her gas oven” (Sylvia Plath, Poets.org). Plath was a deeply depressed woman, and her hopeless view of life resulted in her tragic death. Since in her time, there were no truly effective medicines for depression, Plath felt the need to escape from her dreary life. The social expectations of her gender and the effects of her depression influenced Plath and was largely reflected in her work.
Plath’s relationship with her father, the pressure put on women in the 60’s, and her depression and desire to die are all addressed in various poems she penned. In her poem “Daddy” Plath says she “[has] lived like a foot” (2) and ends the poem with the line “daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through” (80). These comments are in reference to her authoritarian father, who she lived under the control of in her early years.The disgust she had for him and the tortuous days she lived are evident in this work. Plath’s poem “Mirror” is told from the perspective of a mirror, in which this object says that to a woman “[the mirror] is important to her” (15) and approaches the mirror “day after day, like a terrible fish” (18). This poem is in reference to the expectations put on women in the 60’s, and how they made women obsesses over how they look.Plath shows that society has made women want to please a mirror with their looks than they want to please themselves. In her poem “Edge”, Plath says that a deceased woman “is perfected” (1) and that her body “wears a smile of accomplishment” (2). This work is obvious commentary on Plath’s long-lasting battle with depression, which eventually killed her. Plath believes that if she were to die, she would then be a perfect woman, free of the depressing life she has been living. All of the influences of both Plath’s early and later life all tied in to her works as an adult.
Though Sylvia Plath’s life was particularly dark, these terrible occurrences during her life played a large role in her works of poetry. The negative influences in a person’s life can either break them, or make them stronger as an individual, yet Sylvia experienced both of these results. However, if one desires to die more than they do to live, the situation can become extremely dire.
Works Cited:
"Sylvia Plath." Biography. A+E Networks, 2014. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.biography.com/people/sylvia-plath9442550?page=2>.
"Sylvia Plath." The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sylvia-plath>.
"Sylvia Plath." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. q.
<http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11>.