Women writers writing mental illness : a comparative study of Sylvia Plath and Susanna Kaysen

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of Plath's literary works and Kaysen's memoir Girl, Interrupted and their depiction of mental illness. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between madness and society's expectations of women, as portrayed in Plath's and Kaysen's literature. Plath is often depicted as being overshadowed by her famous husband and many critics have sought to read Plath's life into her work. Plath's writings are generally rendered as being self reflexive and this self-reflexivity could be an indication of how Plath's life was a continuous balance between two opposing forces: creation and demolition. More often than not, many of Plath's readers have interpreted her works by drawing a parallel between her life and her works. Kaysen is another female author who, like Plath, attempted suicide and had to undergo psychiatric treatment for depression. Both Plath and Kaysen mention in their works McLean mental hospital in Massachusetts as they were both themselves patients in this asylum. In her work Girl, Interrupted, Kaysen portrays mental illness by recounting the ailments and behaviour of young women suffering from personality disorders. Also, Kaysen depicts how slight the difference between 'madness' and 'sanity' can be. Kaysen's memoir was published in 1993 but it is set in the 1960s as Kaysen narrates her own experiences as a patient in McLean hospital in 1967. Similarly, Plath's novel The Bell Jar is set in the 1950s and was published under the pseudonym 'Victoria Lucas' in 1963. Hence, in this thesis, an attempt to draw a parallel between the two works by illustrating the differences and similarities in the different representations of women and madness in the 1950s and 60s shall be made. These two works are of significant interest as they both portray vividly a woman's struggle with depression and suicide in a male-dominated society.