Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

I love the work of Sylvia Plath, I think she is one of the better of the contemporary poets, as I tend to have a preference for the Romantics and Victorian Era poetry. I will admit that I myself was first intrigued by Plath upon watching the movie Sylvia, and Plath's life and the circumstances of her death it cannot be denied have garnered a cult like following in the work of Plath.

After watching the movie, the first thing I did was look up a couple books of her poetry in the library at my school, and I was instantly drawn to her work.

So I have been wanting to read this book for a while now both because I enjoy Plath's work as well as because the book is at least partially autobiographical, and thus far I am really enjoying it. I love the style in which it is written, and I find it interesting reading about the experiences of women in that Era of time.

I've been desperate to read this one, but I've yet to come across a copy...ho hum!

The Bell Jar is one of my favorite books ever! I have loved Sylvia Plath since I was a child. I read this book a couple of years ago and I would really like to read it again. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Such a great book.

I love this book. Despite the slow descent into deep depression, I found that this book resonated strongly with me. There is just such a fine line between mental health and mental disorder.

Or more like mental health and mental disorder are just social constructs, with the perceived normality being largely cultural. What one society might consider mad is quite normal for another. Mental illness is complex and scarily subjective.

Amanda wrote: "Or more like mental health and mental disorder are just social constructs, with the perceived normality being largely cultural. What one society might consider mad is quite normal for another. Me..."

Of course, that is true. But an inability to function within society is a disorder, subjective or not. Certainly, a desire to choose death over continued existence is an indication of disorder. It is simply unnatural to thwart the biological desire for survival. No matter what society one lives in, suicidal tendencies are an indication of mental unbalance or extreme conditions under which the individual does not feel that they can survive.

When a person is left to their own unique ways, whether they are in line with the society they live in or not, they can function effectively.

Absolutely. To be suicidal is not normal and these people need support, but I would't say there was a fine line between a healthy person and a suicidal person.

The attention brought to it with this book is important, though. It really gets into her mind to give her perspective to an outside world that might not understand her. I've dealt with situational depression for a period, so the listlessness I definitely understand, but the thinking through various means of suicide was heartbreaking.

Gutenberg.ca has it for free download:
http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/plaths-bel...

interesting how society (reflected interestingly in the posts above) decides that suicide is not normal and therefore indicates a mental imbalance.

This definition of sanity is simply a societal construct and thus completely subjective, as Plath clearly communicates in The Bell Jar.