“From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked… but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.” In this passage from Sylvia Plath’s "The Bell Jar," a young woman imagines an uncertain future– and speaks to the universal fear of becoming paralyzed by the prospect of making the wrong choice.
„S vrha svake grane, poput krupne grimizne smokve, jedna od čudesnih budućnosti dozivala me i namigivala, no izabrati jednu značilo bi odreći se svih ostalih i dok sam sjedila ondje, ne mogavši odlučiti, smokve su se počele mežurati i crnjeti, i jedna po jedna rasprsnule su se o tlo pod mojim nogama.” U ovom odlomku iz „Staklenog zvona” Sylvije Plath mlada žena zamišlja neizvjesnu budućnost i dočarava univerzalni strah od paraliziranosti mogućnošću pogrešnog izbora.
Although she considered other careers, Plath chose the artist’s way. Poetry was her calling. Under her shrewd eye and pen, everyday objects became haunting images: a “new statue in a drafty museum,” a shadow in a mirror, a slab of soap. Fiercely intelligent, penetrating and witty, Plath was also diagnosed with clinical depression. She used poetry to explore her own states of mind in the most intimate terms, and her breathtaking perspectives on emotion, nature and art continue to captivate and resonate.
Iako je razmatrala druge karijere, Plath se odlučila za umjetnost. Poezija je bila njezin poziv. Njezino oštro oko i vješto pero pretvarali su svakodnevne predmete u upečatljive slike: „nova statua u muzeju punom propuha”, sjena u zrcalu, komad sapuna. Iznimno inteligentnoj, pronicljivoj i duhovitoj Plath dijagnosticirana je i klinička depresija. Uz pomoć poezije istraživala je stanja vlastitog duha na najintimniji način, a njezino impresivno shvaćanje emocija, prirode i umjetnosti i dalje fascinira i dopire do čitatelja.
In her first collection of poems, "The Colossus," she wrote of a feeling of nothingness: "white: it is a complexion of the mind.” At the same time, she found solace in nature, from “a blue mist” “dragging the lake,” to white flowers that “tower and topple,” to blue mussels “clumped like bulbs.”
U prvoj zbirci pjesama, „Kolosu”, pisala je o osjećaju ništavnosti: „bijelo: to je boja uma.” Istovremeno je pronalazila utjehu u prirodi: u „plavoj magli što se vuče preko jezera”, bijelim cvjetovima što se „uzdižu i padaju”, plavim dagnjama „poput grozda gomolja”.
After "The Colossus" she published "The Bell Jar," her only novel, which fictionalizes the time she spent working for Mademoiselle magazine in New York during college. The novel follows its heroine, Esther, as she slides into a severe depressive episode, but also includes wickedly funny and shrewd depictions of snobby fashion parties and dates with dull men.
Nakon „Kolosa” objavila je „Stakleno zvono”, svoj jedini roman, u kojem piše o vremenu koje je provela radeći za časopis „Mademoiselle” kao studentica u New Yorku. Roman prati protagonisticu Esther, koja tone u tešku depresiju, no sadržava i zlobno duhovite i pronicljive prikaze snobovskih mondenih zabava i izlazaka s dosadnim muškarcima.
Shortly after the publication of "The Bell Jar," Plath died by suicide at age 30. Two years later, the collection of poems she wrote in a burst of creative energy during the months before her death was published under the title "Ariel." Widely considered her masterpiece, Ariel exemplifies the honesty and imagination Plath harnessed to capture her pain.
Nedugo nakon što je objavila „Stakleno zvono”, tada 30-godišnja Plath počinila je samoubojstvo. Dvije godine kasnije, zbirka pjesama koje je napisala u naletu kreativne energije u mjesecima prije smrti objavljena je pod nazivom „Ariel”. Općenito smatrana njezinim remek-djelom, Ariel je primjer iskrenosti i mašte s pomoću kojih je Plath dočarala svoju bol.
In one of "Ariel's" most forceful poems, "Lady Lazarus," she explores her attempts to take her own life through Lazarus, the biblical figure who rose from the dead. She writes, “and I a smiling woman/ I am only thirty/ And like the cat I have nine times to die.” But the poem is also a testament to survival: “I rise with my red hair/ And I eat men like air.” This unflinching language has made Plath an important touchstone for countless other readers and writers who sought to break the silence surrounding issues of trauma, frustration, and sexuality.
U jednoj od najsnažnijih pjesama iz „Ariel”, „Ženski Lazar”, istražuje pokušaje oduzimanja vlastitog života preko Lazara, biblijskog lika koji je uskrsnuo od mrtvih. Plath piše: „a ja, žena sa smiješkom / tek mi je trideset / i baš kao mačku, čeka me devet smrti”. No ta je pjesma također svjedočanstvo preživljavanja: „Crvene kose, podižem se / I gutam muškarce kao zrak.” Zbog takva smionog jezika Plath je postala značajnim uzorom brojnim drugim čitateljima i piscima koji su nastojali prekinuti šutnju o problemima traume, frustracije i seksualnosti.
"Ariel" is also filled with moving meditations on heartbreak and creativity. The title poem begins “Stasis in darkness/ Then the substanceless blue/ Pour of tor and distances.” This sets the scene for a naked ride on horseback in the early morning— one of Plath’s most memorable expressions of the elation of creative freedom. But it is also full of foreboding imagery, such as “a child's cry” that “melts in the wall” and a “red/eye, the cauldron of morning.”
„Ariel” obiluje i dirljivim meditacijama o slomljenom srcu i kreativnosti. Naslovna pjesma započinje stihovima: „Zastoj u tami / Zatim bestjelesna plavet / grli humke i daljine.” Ta nas scena priprema za nagu ranojutarnju jahačicu – jedan od Plathinih najupečatljivijih izraza zanosa kreativne slobode. No pjesma obiluje i zloslutnim slikama, kao što je „dječji krik” koji se „rastapa u zidu” i „crveno/oko, kotao jutra”.
This darkness is echoed throughout the collection, which includes controversial references to the holocaust and the Kamikazes. Even the relics of seemingly happier times are described as crucifying the author: “My husband and child smiling out of the family photo; Their smiles catch onto my skin, little smiling hooks.”
Tama prožima cijelu zbirku, koja sadržava kontroverzne aluzije na holokaust i kamikaze. Čak su i tragovi naizgled sretnijih vremena opisani kao vrlo mučni za autoricu: „Moji suprug i dijete smiješe se s obiteljske fotografije;
Her domestic dissatisfaction and her husband’s mistreatment of her are constant themes in her later poetry. After her death, he inherited her estate, and has been accused of excluding some of her work from publication.
njihovi se osmijesi zabijaju u moju kožu, male nasmiješene kuke.” Nezadovoljstvo obiteljskim životom i suprugovo zlostavljanje stalne su teme njezine kasnije poezije. Nakon njezine smrti, on je naslijedio njezino imanje te je optužen da je spriječio objavu nekih njezinih djela.
Despite these possible omissions and her untimely death, what survives is one of the most extraordinary bodies of work by a twentieth century poet. While her work can be shocking in its rage and trauma, Plath casts her readers as witnesses– not only to the truth of her psychological life, but to her astounding ability to express what often remains inexpressible.
Unatoč tim možda neobjavljenim djelima i njezinoj preranoj smrti, ostaje nam jedan od najimpozantnijih korpusa poezije dvadesetog stoljeća. Iako njezino djelo ponekad šokira bijesom i traumom, Plath svojim čitateljima daje ulogu svjedoka – ne samo vjernog prikaza njezine psihe, već i njezine zapanjujuće sposobnosti da izrazi ono što je često neizrazivo.