Reflections of 1950s Gender Roles and Mental Health Treatments in the Works of Sylvia Plath

master's thesis

• Author: Sandra Hađija
• Mentor: Krunoslav Mikulan (mentor)
• Committee member: Vladimir Legac (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Predrag Oreški (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Krunoslav Mikulan (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Teacher Education; Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-09-17, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology

Abstract

This thesis deals with specific aspects concerning Sylvia Plath’s literary oeuvre. Her legacy is portrayed through some recurring themes that find their way into her poems and works of fiction. There are two main sources of her overall inspiration – her experiences with mental illness and its cruel treatments, and particularly, rather restrictive gender roles which presented women in the 1950s as housewives rather than career-oriented personas. All of her works encompass either one or even both of these occurrences.
The first part of the thesis focuses on Sylvia Plath’s biography and legacy, some specific techniques that formed her writing style and writers who heavily influenced it. The second part concentrates on themes that repeatedly occur throughout Plath’s poems and fiction. These themes include mental illness treatments, sacrifices caused by childbirth and motherhood, feeling entrapped and separated from self and the world, experiencing childhood without father and others which carefully represent Plath’s emotional states.
Plath chose to write in order to control her destructive behaviour and her lifelong depression. Her poems and The Bell Jar helped shape other women writers’ works too. She enabled them to finally express their innermost feelings, especially anger and rage, in their works. This kind of writing was considered a taboo in the 1950s. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how Plath profoundly influenced American and British literature. Her works show raw emotions and real life experiences. Consequently, readers recognize themselves in her works and feel less alone in their private sufferings.

Abstract (croatian)

Ovaj rad se bavi određenim aspektima književnog opusa Sylvije Plath. Njezina djela se prikazuju kroz ponavljajuće teme koje pronalaze svoj put u njezinim pjesmama i prozi. Dva su glavna izvora njene inspiracije – iskustva s mentalnom bolesti i njezinim okrutnim liječenjem te specifične, nadasve ograničavajuće, rodne uloge koje prikazuju žene 1950-ih kao domaćice, a ne kao osobe fokusirane na karijeru. Sva njena djela obuhvaćaju ili jedan ili čak oba slučaja.
Prvi dio rada fokusira se na biografiju i nasljeđe Sylvije Plath, na specifične tehnike pisanja koje su formirale njen stil te na pisce koji su na njega utjecali. Drugi dio teksta u prvi plan stavlja teme koje se ponavljaju u njenim pjesmama i prozi. Neke od tih tema su: liječenje mentalnih bolesti, žrtve kroz koje žena prolazi tijekom poroda i majčinstva, osjećaj zarobljenosti i podijeljenosti sebe i odvojenosti sa svijetom, djetinjstvo bez oca i sl. Ove teme pažljivo prikazuju emocionalna stanja u kojima se Plath nalazila.
Kako bi što više kontrolirala svoja destruktivna ponašanja i depresiju, Plath je odabrala pisati. Njezine pjesme i roman The Bell Jar su pomogli oblikovati djela drugih ženskih spisateljica. Plath im je omogućila da napokon u svojim djelima izraze njihove najdublje osjećaje, a posebito ljutnju i bijes. Ovakav način pisanja je bio zabranjen sredinom dvadesetog stoljeća. Cilj ovog rada jest prikazati način na koji je Plath duboko utjecala na američku i britansku književnost. Njezina djela pokazuju sirove emocije zajedno s iskustvima iz stvarnoga života. Na taj način čitatelji mogu prepoznati sami sebe te se mogu osjećati manje usamljenima u svojim patnjama.

• Keywords: Sylvia Plath; The Bell Jar; mental health; mental health treatment; gender roles
• Keywords (croatian): Sylvia Plath; The Bell Jar; mentalno zdravlje; liječenje mentalnih bolesti; rodne uloge
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:147:848185
• Study programme: Title: Integrated undergraduated university study with english language and german language; specializations in: English language, Deutsche sprache; Course: English language; Study programme type: university; Study level: integrated undergraduate and graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja (magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2022-07-08 10:24:58