BigDreamer~did somebody mention my name? . I like much of the writing here. Especially your quote from above. The trouble with The Bell Jar is that Sylvia never intended it to become great literature, and somehow (due to the huge legend of the tragic author perhaps?) the novel has ended up becoming a minor classic, and is studied far and wide now in so many high schools and universities, etc.

It is quite autobiographical. Nearly everything she describes in the book she actually experienced herself. But she distorted truth for literary effect, and changed all the names to protect the innocent and guilty big time. I think the book is all the more touching when you realize Sylvia basically wanted to write something quite sensational that would bring in a ton of money, and then the book got a very cold welcome after it was published in England (where it was first published in 1963~she used the pseudonym Victoria Lucas). The bestseller she hoped to write was not meant to be. Until after her tragic death at the age of 31. Then after Ariel was published a bit later on, and became as much of a bestseller as a book of poetry can possibly achieve~somebody revealed that Victoria Lucas was indeed Sylvia Plath! So suddenly everybody wanted to read the nearly forgotten novel big time.

When the United States heard about the sudden success of The Bell Jar in England~the book was finally published in America (around 1971?), and would soon become a bestseller here. And poor Sylvia never knew a thing about it. All her dreams of becoming a famous poet and novelist would come true~but quite posthumously. The poor woman didn't even have her own telephone in that cold and damp flat in England where she ended her life much too soon. The whole Sylvia Plath story is sad and remarkable in ways we will never fully understand. She was clearly a very beautiful and awesome genius. But was so afraid of other people that she always felt the need to put on some kind of "mask" when she had to be around other folks.

Yet most of her poetry (and even The Bell Jar) is about becoming real and genuine, and letting go of all our artificial selves. She still breaks my heart. No other poet has moved me as much as she has. I think the poor girl was literally panic stricken most of her life. But she slowly mastered her craft, somehow put on a brave face, stepped out into the big bad world, and literally became the second most famous American poet~second only to Emily Dickinson! Now how did she do all that, huh? Especially given her fragile mental state so much of the time. She was a beautiful enigma. One that will go on haunting us forever:

"To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby~the world itself is the bad dream."

~Sylvia Plath

P.S. You are a very fine writer. I like much of what you have done here. I must say it really made my day to discover a JU blogger had actually written something about The Bell Jar! Very nicely done. Now if only Anne will turn up? But she's been rather scarce lately, huh? She was going to write something about Sylvia Plath also~but I don't think that has happened yet. Keep on blogging big time!

~MadPoet