THE ILLUSION OF DEATH AS A RELEASE AT BELL JAR, BY SYLVIA PLATH

• Main Author: Daniela Maria Nazaré da Silva Candido
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná 2014-11-01
• Series: Travessias
• Subjects: autobiografia; sylvia plath; literatura; suicídio
• Online Access: http://e-revista.unioeste.br/index.php/travessias/article/view/10009

This article aims to show how the novel The Bell Jar, the American writer Sylvia Plath, dialogue with the theories of the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Known as pessimistic, the expert says that suicide is not the solution to escape life, which for him is synonymous with pain and suffering. In the narrative of Plath, his main character, Esther, tells his own story. As the events with the protagonist often coincide with the experiences of the writer, the novel acquired autobiographic feature. For Schopenhauer is possible to see the dark side of the human being when he has to write an autobiography because it highlights just what would be worthy to be hidden, like jealousy, hate, anger, trauma, sadness. The character Esther then reveals her deepest feelings. Due to his depressive state, she tries to suicide a few times, on the third attempt, is found unconscious, drugged by pills and it is admitted to a psychiatric hospital. The ideas of Esther / Sylvia coincide with those of Schopenhauer in many ways. Like him, she finds life a burden. The name of the novel itself suggests their sense of being trapped, suffocated, as if something forced her to stay alive, even life being unbearable. However, their way of escape is death, which for Schopenhauer would be an illusion. For him, when a being dies, everything goes, the desire to live remains and the sun still shines.