After 'The Bell Jar,' Life Went On

June 23, 2003 5:48 PM

After 'The Bell Jar,' Life Went On. Sylvia Plath immortalized the guest editor program at Mademoiselle Magazine in her famed book, "The Bell Jar." A photo of the 20 young guest editors was taken back in 1953, and they were all lined up in a star -- with Plath, unsurprisingly, at the top. Plath killed herself in 1971, but the other women in her program reunited recently, to discuss their experiences, how they've changed, and their famous classmate. A fascinating read for anyone who's read "The Bell Jar." (NY Times reg required)
posted by GaelFC (24 comments total)

Small correction: Plath killed herself in 1963, not 1971. The fact that I knew that tells you something about the kind of mooney, artsy college student I was.
posted by JanetLand at 5:50 PM on June 23, 2003

Whoops, you're right. I thought that seemed late!
posted by GaelFC at 5:53 PM on June 23, 2003

I have such a soft spot for that book (as I note on my about me page - self link -). I cannot believe gwyneth is playing sylvia though. I'm glad they're making movies about virginia and frida and now sylvia, but I really really wish there were different casting directors.
posted by mdn at 6:06 PM on June 23, 2003

Wow, how interesting. I was just planning to read The Bell Jar. Thanks for the link to this insightful article.

And mdn, I don't know if you would agree, but I could see Selma Blair as Plath before I could see Gwyneth in the role. Selma seems to embody that whole "mood" in all of her roles.
posted by lnicole at 6:28 PM on June 23, 2003

Crappy subbing on the story, which is a pity. The 'DOOMED: Sylvia Plath' hed for the photo just plays into the myth of the tormented poetess, something that I suspect Plath herself would have detested, given that her poetry seems void of such histrionics. And there's the line from one of the women -- 'I thought Sylvia Plath was perfectly normal, which goes to show you where I am' -- which again makes me roll my eyes. As if Plath was abnormal?
posted by riviera at 6:40 PM on June 23, 2003

Thanks GaelFC, interesting read! I was interesting to learn how many luminaries were among the guest editors...a retrospective of this program would make an interesting book.

I hadn't really thought of Sylvia Plath in some time and yesterday, I was talking to a friend who is trying to reconcile with an authoritarian father who is dying of cancer. Even in this scenario, all her old wounds were reopened, and I sent her Plath's Daddy which I love. (I fortunately had a very nice Daddy.) It surprised me to have another emergence of Plath in my life two days in a row! Thanks for the post.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:49 PM on June 23, 2003

MJJ, every time I read that poem I can hear it musically-quite discordant but has a great beat...

I wonder why so many of our great poets were/are unbalanced and/or suicidal?
posted by konolia at 7:04 PM on June 23, 2003

As if Plath was abnormal?

Yes, she was. Talent of her caliber is not at all normal.
posted by kindall at 7:38 PM on June 23, 2003

And there's the line from one of the women -- 'I thought Sylvia Plath was perfectly normal, which goes to show you where I am' -- which again makes me roll my eyes. As if Plath was abnormal?

I thought this woman was expressing camaraderie for Plath, not wincing at some memory of naiveté for failing to spot an oddball. (Maybe I'm the naive one.)
posted by delapohl at 7:39 PM on June 23, 2003

oh my god they're making a bell jar movie.

/me sticks head in oven.
posted by Satapher at 8:05 PM on June 23, 2003

I was just telling somebody the other day about "Sylvia Plath" Brand oven cleaner...
posted by alumshubby at 8:07 PM on June 23, 2003

The 'DOOMED: Sylvia Plath' hed for the photo just plays into the myth of the tormented poetess, something that I suspect Plath herself would have detested, given that her poetry seems void of such histrionics.

Erhm, don't you think there's just a tad bit of drama in how over-the-top "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" are? Not that all her poems are like that, but still...

The other day, a writer friend of mine declared that The Bell Jar is "high school reading." It's a shame that it's rather fashionable within some literary circles to dismiss Plath offhand. I thought that Ariel had some real moments in it.

alumshubby: Do I find that oven cleaner in the same aisle as the Frank O'Hara traffic cone?
posted by DaShiv at 8:46 PM on June 23, 2003

Doomed Gothic high school girls' love of Plath's poetry has diminished her in the eyes of some...but I love her work. Creepy and fabulous. Works its way under the skin, like great art can.

I am astonished to hear that Mademoiselle used to be a literary magazine!!! Capote? Thomas? !!!

BTW, that crack about "Sylvia Plath Brand oven cleaner"...I'm a big fan of sick humor...but humor is supposed to be "funny."
posted by kozad at 8:54 PM on June 23, 2003

Finding Plath on my own was just another in the long list of books that were much, much better than their similiar counterparts that I read during high school.

Bell Jar vs Catcher in the Rye
Invisible Man(ellison) vs The Jungle(sinclair)
1984 vs Brave New World

but damn was I happy to find them...
posted by cohappy at 11:27 PM on June 23, 2003

Are they still making the film? I've heard about it on and off for the last year or so. They're supposed to be doing some of the filming up the road from me, and whenever the subject comes up, everybody talks about becoming a film star, then has one of those Plath or Hughes arguments that only seem to occur in the UK. In case you're wondering, the argument goes something along the lines of ...

Plath.

Hughes.

PLATH

HUGHES.

etc, ad infinitum.
A bit like Metafilter I suppose.
posted by seanyboy at 2:46 AM on June 24, 2003

MetaFilter: etc, ad infinitum.

(Gwynneth Paltrow as Sylvia Plath?! How... "Hollywood" of them... Then again, Paltrow strikes me as the kind of girl who'd become enamored of Plath as a mooney, artsy teenager...)
posted by JollyWanker at 5:45 AM on June 24, 2003

They did make a movie of The Bell Jar, which I remember watching for about 5 minutes and deciding it didn't feel like the book and all and giving up.
posted by JanetLand at 6:25 AM on June 24, 2003

MetaFilter: etc, ad infinitum.

That is a keeper. First one of the "new taglines" suggested that I thought was at all apropos in a long time.
posted by Ynoxas at 6:38 AM on June 24, 2003

DaShiv...yes, and the "Joan of Arc" brand marshmallows.
posted by alumshubby at 8:28 AM on June 24, 2003

I had read the NYT article in the paper and enjoyed the reminder although the article was more shallow than I'd like. I wanted to know lots lots more about the other women that were interviewed. The dream of going to New York City after college was certainly common in the 50's and early 60's and I found the article nostalgic.

However, speaking as someone whose mother (still alive at age 90 despite swallowing all that aspirin 40 years ago) has bipolar disorder, I don't find mental illness either funny or something to admire and definitely not something I wish to emulate. It is well-known that many creative people are also mentally ill. I highly recommend Kay Redfield Jamison's books, including An Unquiet Mind.
posted by Sixtieslibber at 8:39 AM on June 24, 2003

The other day, a writer friend of mine declared that The Bell Jar is "high school reading."

I'd probably agree, but I'm not sure that diminishes it. I think if you read it during that period in your life, it's more likely to feel really deep and important, whereas if you come across it later in life, you've already kinda gotten over the whole isn't-life-terrble-and-dramatic thing. I read it (by accident - I had no idea what it was about) in 7th grade and felt like it opened up everything for me. I had no idea people ever expressed such intense emotional stuff to the world... but I've never re-read it, fearing that I may find it cliche or melodramatic or just less than mind-blowing now. I just stick to the poetry.

There are plenty of creative people who aren't bipolar, and plenty of bipolars who aren't creative. There may be a correlation, but I don't know that we need to romanticize serious mental disorders. On the other hand, I imagine anyone who gives much time to considering the human condition, that is, any artist or intellectual, probably experiences at least bouts of depression and also upswings. But that shouldn't be equated with real mania, I don't think.
posted by mdn at 8:56 AM on June 24, 2003

I was recently thinking about Sylvia Plath because one of my favorite female singers recently released a song (page links to downloadable mp3) based on one of Plath's poems.
posted by Lafe at 8:57 AM on June 24, 2003

I had read the NYT article in the paper and enjoyed the reminder although the article was more shallow than I'd like.

Well, what do you expect? This came out of the Fashion/Style section (as opposed to the Books section).

Having recently read The Bell Jar (at long last), I would have been more curious to know how Plath's suicide and her resultant star status (no pun intended) affected the careers of these interns, particularly if they were chosen from 1,500 applicants and all of them desired to get into publishing. Sort of like being overshadowed by some Joyce guy who lives next door and keeps self-publishing his highly syntactic offerings. The article also mentioned that Diane Johnson was also part of this group (and conspicuously absent in the reunion).

For those who want to understand how bipolar disorder affects artistic temperament, I highly recommend Kay Jamison's Touched with Fire, which studies van Gogh, Woolf and others. Jamison, who is a psychiatrist, also published a brave memoir called An Unquiet Mind, in which she confessed how she tried to deal with life and her career while suffering from manic depression.
posted by ed at 9:37 AM on June 24, 2003

Sylvia Plath Brand oven cleaner

Virginia Woolf Brand industrial strength pocket protectors?

Ah, I got nothin'...
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 10:46 AM on June 24, 2003