Dying is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I've a call.
Sylvia Plath, an American Poet and author, wrote the Bell Jar in 1963 under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas". It was not until many years later that her family published the semi-autobigraphical novel under her true name. The peculiar circumstances surrounding the publication of the novel parallel the uncertainty of Sylvia herself and her death. Just like Esther in the Bell Jar, Sylvia suffered from mental illness after the loss of her father. Even though both were award- winning writers, receiving scholarships to Smith college and various other programs, depression took the better of them as they attempted suicide. At the end of the novel, Esther is treated and returns to normal life. However, Sylvia successfully committed suicide in 1963. The exact timeline of the book's writing, publication and her untimely death are controversial and unknown to this day. Regardless, she is regarded as a modern literary great who contributed a great deal in her short lifetime to literature.