Sylvia Plath’s 'The Bell Jar' is being made into a *yawn* film

April HalleyJun 21st, 2007 - 05:25:46

While i'm not anticipating the film. I have to say that the reasons given here are moronic. The Bell Jar IS considered a great novel by many, and not solely melodramatic young people who fetishize suicide. To infere that is simply to reinforce a stupid old (keyword :old) stereotype. Also ridculous is the notion presented that Sylvia Plath made killing yourself cool. If one where to look at literature and culture throughout history i'm sure they'd find that death was romanticised long before 1963.Still such things are irrelevant, the merit of a story should only be based on it's quality. In a proper column stating that this much loved classic is below satisfactory would be followed by opinions as to why the writing itself is lacking. It's my suggestion that the columist re-read the novel.

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Jessica Schneider (M&C)Jun 24th, 2007 - 00:35:01

No one considers TBJ to be a great novel. (Only Joyce Carol Oates but she's a bad writer). Even Plath herself dismissed it as a silly thing she did for money. Reasons for failure: poor dialogue, wooden characters, cliched melodrama, racial stereotyping, the list goes on. Seeing that this is primarily a news post and not a review, (although one is free to offer up opinions to get responses, which has worked) a detailed list of the book's failings is hardly necessary. And yes, many young women have tried to emulate Plath via her 'cult' status- the whole suicide/emo thing. To say that SP has not made suicide 'cool' to them in some way or other is simply untrue. Were that not the case, we wouldn't be discussing it.

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ZackJul 3rd, 2008 - 14:46:02

I have to say that The Bell Jar is one of the greatest books of the twentieth century. Its striking language and storyline have made it OK to talk about mental illness, and, far from making suicide cool, it has made it possible for people who struggle with depression to talk about it openly. I must also comment on this review by saying that it seems to be written by someone OLD because no one from younger generations would look at this book as romaniticizing suicide. It is a harrowing account of a young woman's struggle with the pressures put upon her and compounded by her pathological depression. Anyone who has read this book could tell you that the events leading to the suicide attempt and the events after are heart-wrenching and terrifying. Although it is doubtful that film could capture the intense psychological aspects of the book I will still see this film.

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RoseJan 4th, 2009 - 03:51:41

I read the book for the first time as an adult...I think Plath did a great job delving into the subject of mental breakdown and illness...I think her journey into this darkness speaks to ANYONE who has dealt with mental illness, not just teenage girls

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