This is so real, I was really excited to get into the Bell Jar after hearing so much hype, but especially as a WoC I was so taken aback by the blatant and LOUD racism. The lack of discussion or even acknowledgment around it was even more surprising
The cult around the Bell Jar feels re-contextualized me now as it has me just mildly perturbed, like this intellectual fan club around this piece is designated as a space for people not like me
And listen, it’s not like I’m not used to racism, but I’m just not used to this many people being okay with it and idolizing such a work
i totally agree. i was so excited as well, finally someone who i could relate to. god was i so deeply wrong. and you’re so right, we aren’t meant for her cultish space, but the beauty is i do believe there are so many pieces depicting mental illness and the person of color experience well, i just haven’t found my ONE yet, if that makes sense. i’ve been recommended toni morrison’s novels, i actually started sula months ago but put it down again 🫣 maybe this is the moment i pick it back up.
thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽
Yea I'm very mindful of what I read due to the pervasive racism that is ingrained in the overwhelming majority of white people regardless of gender, sexuality, or ability. I think that two things can be true at once. White women relate to her mental illness while also finding the racism to be relatable or humorous. Many of these thoughts they probably had or they've thought racist things without actively thinking "let me be racist." I am used to racism and people being okay with it and idolizing it. It's very normalized and pops up randomly in books, especially in books pre 1990s. And I don't give them an out and play the "it was a different time game." They knew better.
Honestly, fair enough. I thought the book was too mediocre to see past the racism. Like you said, you can enjoy something while acknowledging its flaws, but for me it was just too much.
I'll never understand white women's deep unmoving defense of that book. A girl on tiktok (whose Asian btw) basically said the same thing and all the depressed white women flooded her comments with "It was a different time" and "Sometimes you have to ignore that stuff to enjoy good art". To me, the "art" is ruined once the slurs come out. Its ok to like the bell jar but to recommend it to POC without so much as a warning, shows how little some people actually care. Like they just don't understand the weight of racism.
woah i have not seen that tik tok, but i can’t say im surprised with all the self proclaimed (white) “thought daughters” that really only care about the aesthetic of being a writer and not being a good one. i totally agree the art is just not good once we start using slurs, no matter the time period racism is ugly, deplorable, and a deliberate choice on their behalf. to engage with such content and think “this is so me” is sooooo telling as well. thanks for reading!! 🫶🏽
I wouldn't even say they don't understand the weight of racism. I would say they don't care and can't relate to feeling alienated due to their race. They often have a myopic view on the world and almost only read white books.
I get u exactly!!! I understand it's a classic but people fail to acknowledge the privilege that is to be able to ignore these types of racist remarks so easily because they are not the audience it affects. You picked up the book to feel seen but then just disappointed. Not only is it more isolating, but at the point it makes you feel left out that you aren't able to connect the way others (white women) can so easily do.
yes!!!! exactly that! i was so disappointed. after seeing the cult following i just had to understand why. i don’t think i get it still, being shut out by the protagonist was too much. and i feel that likely these were the feelings of plath as well. love u thank u for reading and commenting <3
Yea a lot of books by white women are for white women despite not having "Whites only" on the cover. I can read a book and quickly tell what audience it was written for. It definitely sucks because black women don't write books and just randomly insert racism. And we do deserve to be seen. Luckily, there's less gatekeeping today and more black women authors are getting published or publishing their work themselves. We can always make our own classics vs looking to the white mainstream.
i never really knew anything about Sylvia Plath, but when I learned how horribly racist she/her characters were, I couldn’t bring myself to ever read any of things. It doesn’t matter if it’s a stellar work, it’s the 60s. It’s not 1700s where you’ve never seen someone black before in your life, it’s the 1960s. There were PLENTY of people who weren’t racist. The era isn’t an excuse, really. We can acknowledge her skill as a writer, but we don’t need to keep books like these “classics.” There is so respect in a work when they’re racist, and I’m not sorry.
thank you!!! there were so many people who weren’t racist. it’s something learned, deliberate, and ultimately a choice. let’s start exploring other books about mental illness PLEASE. thanks so much for reading!! 🫶🏽
I don't respect racist books. The era isn't an excuse I agree but I don't care if its the 1700s either. Not knowing a black person still doesn't excuse racism to me. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was ongoing. She knew better and chose not to be better. We can make our own classics and the white mainstream can't determine what's "good enough."
THANK YOU. I never see the racism discussed when I see people bring up the bell jar. I read this book when I was in my 20s and depressed. I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to be my "depression anthem", a book to find comfort in, but what I actually could've used is a story about depression/mental health told from the perspective of a black woman.
i too wanted this book to be my depression anthem as you said. it basically was for so many other people, i had to relate! so so so wrong in many ways lol. thank you so much for reading 🫶🏽
Not to mention Fatphobic as well? Girl isn’t the easiest to love IMO made me change my opinion on Plath… awesome poetry, ??? Person? But ig she was a product of her time… not that it excuses any of the problematic aspects of the novel
holy shit really?! i couldn’t get through much of the book but i had no idea about fatphobia too! god it’s really telling the people who praise the bell jar how they feel about minorities and fat people, even at the most unconscious level there’s something at play for someone to relate to her like this…ugh how frustrating. thank you for your insight rachel i appreciate it so so much 🫶🏽
Thanks sm for ur insights! I think The Bell Jar is good in terms of mental health representation, esp in a time when it was stigmatised; but I can’t ignore all its problematic aspects as well :,)
Good to know I can stop feeling vaguely bad about having skipped reading this when it was assigned in my college English class. Plath is held up as this “OG feminist” but the little I was able to read of hers was boring and self-indulgent in a way I couldn’t get into.
feel that donavan! she’s the most skippable when looking at english curriculums. it’s not worth putting students through such a thing lol. thanks for reading 🫶🏽
sylvia was a deeply hateful person. there's a poem where she speaks a lot of ill about her lesbian friends who are happy together. like just because your husband is a fucking piece of shit, you don't get a pass to call lesbians slurs.
i do like her writing, although the bell jar was too mediocre- i find her poems quite riveting and well written, i relate to her struggles & aspirations, but god, she was a detestable woman by herself and no black & white beach or feeding a fawn pictures will erase that from my mind.
holy shit that’s disgusting i didn’t know that about her poems…the projection is fucking real!!! good writing or not, you’re so right she’s a hateful wench. thank you for your insights mili <3
agreed! recently read a similar post about Tarrtt’s The Goldfinch. i think both these books can still be appreciated but it’s just odd that no one acknowledges the racism?
I'm glad I read your essay because I was going to read it at some point, but now I don't think I could get through it. Not only because of the racism but also because I know Sylvia killed herself, and it just makes it feel so futile. I love her poem "Daddy" but...idk.
I hate seeing Bell jar defenders, because yeah it is good (mainly just the fig tree analogy lmao) but nobody talks about the racism? did everyone just ignore it??
ok thank you because between this and her calling her white friend a "negress" within the first few pages, I barely made a dent before I returned it to the library LMAO. Like why did no one mention this?????
not ms ester being racist and depressed at the same time. pick a struggle babe
This is so real, I was really excited to get into the Bell Jar after hearing so much hype, but especially as a WoC I was so taken aback by the blatant and LOUD racism. The lack of discussion or even acknowledgment around it was even more surprising
The cult around the Bell Jar feels re-contextualized me now as it has me just mildly perturbed, like this intellectual fan club around this piece is designated as a space for people not like me
And listen, it’s not like I’m not used to racism, but I’m just not used to this many people being okay with it and idolizing such a work
i totally agree. i was so excited as well, finally someone who i could relate to. god was i so deeply wrong. and you’re so right, we aren’t meant for her cultish space, but the beauty is i do believe there are so many pieces depicting mental illness and the person of color experience well, i just haven’t found my ONE yet, if that makes sense. i’ve been recommended toni morrison’s novels, i actually started sula months ago but put it down again 🫣 maybe this is the moment i pick it back up.
thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽
Yea I'm very mindful of what I read due to the pervasive racism that is ingrained in the overwhelming majority of white people regardless of gender, sexuality, or ability. I think that two things can be true at once. White women relate to her mental illness while also finding the racism to be relatable or humorous. Many of these thoughts they probably had or they've thought racist things without actively thinking "let me be racist." I am used to racism and people being okay with it and idolizing it. It's very normalized and pops up randomly in books, especially in books pre 1990s. And I don't give them an out and play the "it was a different time game." They knew better.
Honestly, fair enough. I thought the book was too mediocre to see past the racism. Like you said, you can enjoy something while acknowledging its flaws, but for me it was just too much.
I'll never understand white women's deep unmoving defense of that book. A girl on tiktok (whose Asian btw) basically said the same thing and all the depressed white women flooded her comments with "It was a different time" and "Sometimes you have to ignore that stuff to enjoy good art". To me, the "art" is ruined once the slurs come out. Its ok to like the bell jar but to recommend it to POC without so much as a warning, shows how little some people actually care. Like they just don't understand the weight of racism.
woah i have not seen that tik tok, but i can’t say im surprised with all the self proclaimed (white) “thought daughters” that really only care about the aesthetic of being a writer and not being a good one. i totally agree the art is just not good once we start using slurs, no matter the time period racism is ugly, deplorable, and a deliberate choice on their behalf. to engage with such content and think “this is so me” is sooooo telling as well. thanks for reading!! 🫶🏽
I wouldn't even say they don't understand the weight of racism. I would say they don't care and can't relate to feeling alienated due to their race. They often have a myopic view on the world and almost only read white books.
I get u exactly!!! I understand it's a classic but people fail to acknowledge the privilege that is to be able to ignore these types of racist remarks so easily because they are not the audience it affects. You picked up the book to feel seen but then just disappointed. Not only is it more isolating, but at the point it makes you feel left out that you aren't able to connect the way others (white women) can so easily do.
yes!!!! exactly that! i was so disappointed. after seeing the cult following i just had to understand why. i don’t think i get it still, being shut out by the protagonist was too much. and i feel that likely these were the feelings of plath as well. love u thank u for reading and commenting <3
Yea a lot of books by white women are for white women despite not having "Whites only" on the cover. I can read a book and quickly tell what audience it was written for. It definitely sucks because black women don't write books and just randomly insert racism. And we do deserve to be seen. Luckily, there's less gatekeeping today and more black women authors are getting published or publishing their work themselves. We can always make our own classics vs looking to the white mainstream.
exactly this! i want to read black authors! i’ve been enjoying toni morrison as of recent.
i never really knew anything about Sylvia Plath, but when I learned how horribly racist she/her characters were, I couldn’t bring myself to ever read any of things. It doesn’t matter if it’s a stellar work, it’s the 60s. It’s not 1700s where you’ve never seen someone black before in your life, it’s the 1960s. There were PLENTY of people who weren’t racist. The era isn’t an excuse, really. We can acknowledge her skill as a writer, but we don’t need to keep books like these “classics.” There is so respect in a work when they’re racist, and I’m not sorry.
thank you!!! there were so many people who weren’t racist. it’s something learned, deliberate, and ultimately a choice. let’s start exploring other books about mental illness PLEASE. thanks so much for reading!! 🫶🏽
No respect * ong my autocorrect is testing me today
I don't respect racist books. The era isn't an excuse I agree but I don't care if its the 1700s either. Not knowing a black person still doesn't excuse racism to me. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was ongoing. She knew better and chose not to be better. We can make our own classics and the white mainstream can't determine what's "good enough."
like girl fuck that fig tree
THANK YOU. I never see the racism discussed when I see people bring up the bell jar. I read this book when I was in my 20s and depressed. I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to be my "depression anthem", a book to find comfort in, but what I actually could've used is a story about depression/mental health told from the perspective of a black woman.
i too wanted this book to be my depression anthem as you said. it basically was for so many other people, i had to relate! so so so wrong in many ways lol. thank you so much for reading 🫶🏽
Not to mention Fatphobic as well? Girl isn’t the easiest to love IMO made me change my opinion on Plath… awesome poetry, ??? Person? But ig she was a product of her time… not that it excuses any of the problematic aspects of the novel
holy shit really?! i couldn’t get through much of the book but i had no idea about fatphobia too! god it’s really telling the people who praise the bell jar how they feel about minorities and fat people, even at the most unconscious level there’s something at play for someone to relate to her like this…ugh how frustrating. thank you for your insight rachel i appreciate it so so much 🫶🏽
Thanks sm for ur insights! I think The Bell Jar is good in terms of mental health representation, esp in a time when it was stigmatised; but I can’t ignore all its problematic aspects as well :,)
Good to know I can stop feeling vaguely bad about having skipped reading this when it was assigned in my college English class. Plath is held up as this “OG feminist” but the little I was able to read of hers was boring and self-indulgent in a way I couldn’t get into.
feel that donavan! she’s the most skippable when looking at english curriculums. it’s not worth putting students through such a thing lol. thanks for reading 🫶🏽
i love love love plath but i totally disagree with her characterization as a progressive feminist
“shut up ho” has me crying 😭😭
sylvia was a deeply hateful person. there's a poem where she speaks a lot of ill about her lesbian friends who are happy together. like just because your husband is a fucking piece of shit, you don't get a pass to call lesbians slurs.
i do like her writing, although the bell jar was too mediocre- i find her poems quite riveting and well written, i relate to her struggles & aspirations, but god, she was a detestable woman by herself and no black & white beach or feeding a fawn pictures will erase that from my mind.
holy shit that’s disgusting i didn’t know that about her poems…the projection is fucking real!!! good writing or not, you’re so right she’s a hateful wench. thank you for your insights mili <3
agreed! recently read a similar post about Tarrtt’s The Goldfinch. i think both these books can still be appreciated but it’s just odd that no one acknowledges the racism?
https://open.substack.com/pub/trinakeepstrying/p/the-tartt-problem?r=4xeanu&utm_medium=ios
thanks for sharing mia! ill have to give this a read!
I'm glad I read your essay because I was going to read it at some point, but now I don't think I could get through it. Not only because of the racism but also because I know Sylvia killed herself, and it just makes it feel so futile. I love her poem "Daddy" but...idk.
wow that’s a great point about sylvia’s death as well..it’s so futile!! thank you for reading josee!! 🫶🏽🫶🏽
<3
I hate seeing Bell jar defenders, because yeah it is good (mainly just the fig tree analogy lmao) but nobody talks about the racism? did everyone just ignore it??
nooooobody wants to talk about racism that’s why i’m airing her ass out
ok thank you because between this and her calling her white friend a "negress" within the first few pages, I barely made a dent before I returned it to the library LMAO. Like why did no one mention this?????
my EXACT thoughts. this is the depressed writer people fuck with?!?? i’m scared
the depression cancels out the racism - of course! we should’ve known!! silly!!!!
my EXACT thoughts. this is the depressed writer people fuck with?!?? i’m scared