Is Reducing Sylvia Plath & Virginia Woolf’s Legacy To Their Suicide Fair?

Lana Del Ray is a living, glorified personification of female angst, one who with her ethereal darkness is a sparkling idol for millennials these days. Like Lana whose art is defined by the theme of sadness, Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf find their canonical work overshadowed by their suicide. 

The narratives woven around their death seem to be the living legacy, according to their work a secondary status. Vice magazine, in 2013, released a series of photographs under the theme, “Last Words”, wherein they depicted seven literary women of the twentieth century who had committed or attempted suicide. You see Sylvia Plath in a supplicating posture before the oven, while historian Iris Chang contemplates the muzzle of a firearm pressed against her lips, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman clasps a cloth saturated with chloroform to her countenance. Each is adorned in spirited retro blouses and flowing, romantic gowns, naturally.

Called “ghoulish”, and “shameful”, Vice had to take down the post, amid controversies. Drawings, paintings, and photographs of dead young women have been romanticised and aestheticised for centuries. So, why are we so obsessed with female suicides? Why do we choose to be blinded by the suicide-driven narrative? What are its consequences? What do we lose? Where did we lose?

Plath saw Woolf as her foremother and was heavily drawn towards her work. This also meant that she had to confront the realities of Woolf’s complicated, troubled life. Yet, she chose to focus on the literary prowess of Woolf and move beyond her death, yet somehow we are fixated with their suicides that have confined our imagination. 

The Reductivism of Suicide

What suicide-driven narratives do is overshadow the literary accomplishments that these brilliant women achieved in their lifetime? It’s one of those times when patriarchy subtly manifests itself, denying women their rightful place in history. Taking away the literary prowess of the words Woolf and Plath displayed, such narratives deny us our literary foremothers. We lose the privilege of getting inspired by our foremothers.

Reductionist in nature, the narrative essentially creates a warped view of the person they revolve around. This sullies the very essence of their work by simplifying the nuanced themes these authors wrote extensively about. Woolf and Plath, both through their work, have echoed themes of feminism, mental health, and depression. This severely affects the analysis of the writing. Not only is the intention of the author misjudged but also their credibility as authors is devalued.

Woolf in Moments of Being said, “It is or will become a revelation of some order; it is a token of some real thing behind appearances; and I make it real by putting it into words. It is only by putting it into words that I make it whole; this wholeness means that it has lost its power to hurt me; it gives me, perhaps because by doing so I take away the pain, a great delight to put the severed parts together”.

Not only are these narratives reductionist in nature, but they also cripple the authors to exercise literary freedom and choke their imagination. It deprives them of the chance to enjoy their writing as a cathartic exercise. Woolf had found that by dedicating herself to the project of documenting her life and its impressions, she could turn those threatening experiences and emotions into art. End of the day, tragedy breeds art. It’s not simply a romantic idea, we, in our personal life, use art as an outlet to express ourselves. If somebody kept reducing our existence to a piece of paper scribbled with words, what would we feel but betrayal? You would wanna scream, “There is more to me than this. I am more than my misery.” How can we deny this to our foremothers who were fighting a battle against the patriarchy so we would live a better life, free and alive?

Personally, I have loved Plath’s literature. She comes out as an unapologetic woman who dared to write in times when women had no voice. She was intelligent and honest. She wasn’t ready to be caged by the walls of patriarchy and spoke unabashedly from experience and reflection. Despite knowing what her misunderstood foremother had been through, she still chose to express her unpleasant emotions, unfiltered. But sadly, the patriarchal cacophony deafened a courageous, fearless woman with their elemental approach. 

The fixation on the deaths of individuals often eclipses the profound contributions they made during their lives. By concentrating disproportionately on the tragic circumstances of their suicides, society risks diminishing the significance of their life's work and the valuable insights they bring to the forefront. This fixation on suicide not only perpetuates a narrow narrative but also obscures the multifaceted aspects of their creativity, intellect, and advocacy.

Perpetuates Sensationalism and Stigmatisation

Repercussions of fixating on suicide include perpetuating stigma surrounding mental health issues, reinforcing sensationalism, and potentially glamorizing self-destructive behaviour. By placing undue emphasis on the end rather than the entirety of their lives, we lose the opportunity to fully appreciate their accomplishments, unique perspectives, and the societal impact of their contributions.

Moreover, this fixation may discourage open conversations about mental health, potentially deterring individuals from seeking help or discussing their struggles openly. It is essential to shift the focus towards a more comprehensive understanding of these individuals, acknowledging their complexities and appreciating the richness of their legacies beyond the shadows cast by their tragic endings.

The reductivism of suicide is best illustrated in the words of Margaret Higonnet in her article, “Frames of Female Suicide”. Talking about the power of such narratives, she says, “Paradoxically, a suicide punctuates a particular life story and provokes further stories. Because suicide defies our understanding and eludes the social order, narratives of suicide are sites of social reconstruction. The act provokes a multiplication of interpretative approaches”.

It has been ages since the legacy of Woolf and Plath has been tarnished. Let’s not deny the respect they deserve in their death, like the way we did when they were alive. Let them be real and their thoughts naked. Let them be.

Views expressed are the author's own.