In Focus : Sylvia Path

Written byNatalia VázquezPhotography by

Hey there!

So, it?s been a while since we last got to share a space, but I really wanted to talk about a few things that have been on my mind lately.

As far as profiling goes, I?ve been reading up and studying someone who?s not within my usual realm of modern-day artists; a writer, who despite the difficulties of the social era she moved in, was progressive enough to make me refute the fact that she lived in a time a lot prior to mine.

Before I even knew about her, I remember her constantly being quoted on Instagram captions and being praised by online writers- this was enough to spark my curiosity, and in no time, I found a few things about her worth sharing.

Born in Boston in 1932, Sylvia Plath grew up with her father Otto, her mother Aurelia, and her brother Warren. She showed an apt for writing and competence for art throughout her early days and even used to keep a journal.

As time progressed, she found herself with an opportunity to attend Smith College and later, Cambridge University, which not long after, turned her into the majorly acclaimed writer she is today.

Specifically referring to this book, I was a bit reluctant to read it because of how little I knew about her and her style. I?d mostly read praise and good reviews online, yet the obscure comments prevailed, only adding to my vacillation.

The Bell Jar tells the story of Esther, a young writer trying to succeed within her career path; she is described as a responsible and hyper-aware college student with big ambitions.

I?d consider Plath?s writing style almost cynical, just like the pace the story moves in at first before continuing on full speed. At the very beginning, you are met with Esther?s unique thought process- a recurring stream of bold opinions about the people she interacts with or the food she gets to taste- although you can tell she is a bit of an outcast, always watching things from the front row seat, curious about how they work, and hesitant to participate.

For a moment, Plath might even have you trusting Esther?s sanity more so than the people that surround her, as she usually proves to reason her way out of one self-destructive situation after the other.

I found that the two major twists that juggle with the plot in the book, confuse the idea that you?ve already built about the story and simultaneously clears up any foreshadowing you might have done beforehand, leaving you astonished and eager to continue:

1. The moment you register that Esther has actually lost her grip on reality and is living in an altered conception of what only she perceives as ?true?; When you realize that it?s not just a phase that?ll last a chapter or two, but an authentic emotional breakdown that has been building up since you first got introduced

2. Nearing the end of the book, unaware of how it might end, anxious about the small amount of pages left for you to read, and still noticing no drastic change in her attitude. It isn?t until Esther verbally confirms her mental stability, that you can finally become tranquil and proud of said character, because you?ve watched her surpass the motions within her own mind.

Even though the ending is relatively ?happy?, what makes this novel so eye-opening is the real factors that overtake the fiction aspects, almost identically mimicking her own experiences; the combination between imagination and verisimilitude really expands the emotions flowing throughout the storyline.

I can only imagine, that while reading the book was a turmoil itself, writing it must have been a personal cataclysm.

Although Sylvia went through a numerous amount of personal struggles with her mental health, the open essence typically displayed in her work sparks a dialogue that was not usually tackled in 1963 when the novel was published; yet, the fact that it can surpass an epoch of such little empathy for subjects of this nature and into modern conversations shows that there?s still so much to talk about and improve.

Until next time,

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