Society’s view of suicide is
contradictory in that it remains largely taboo but at the same time it is a
topic of fascination for many people. This is especially true in terms of
attempted, and failed, suicide. It is difficult to know how to react to someone
who tried to take their own life, and is alive to tell about it. People often tout near-death experiences as
proof of miracles or divine intervention, but there are different connotations
when the near-death in question was a suicide. There are many reports of people
being happy and relieved at being given a second chance, but in the poem “Lady
Lazarus,” by Sylvia Plath, the speaker describes the pain of surviving when you
didn’t want to. First, she describes her feeling of being presented as a
spectacle; “The peanut-crunching crowd/ Shoves in to see/ Them unwrap me hand
and foot/ The big strip tease” (Plath). Given this image, the reader can
surmise that there was little concern for the speaker’s feelings or emotional
state. Had the speaker just survived an accident or illness, a sense of
excitement or spectacle from others may have been more appropriate, but instead
this goes to show the lack of social awareness and tact when it comes to
suicide. In the wake of her attempted suicide, the speaker in the poem feels
patronized by all of the people who suddenly took interest in her and exposed
because of the attention they gave her. There is also a sense of superficiality
in people’s attention; where there is amusement and incredulity there is a lack
of true concern. The speaker goes on to relate her feelings to the mass
killings during the holocaust. Due to the magnitude of the holocaust, it is
fair to say that there was little concern for each person as an individual;
they were merely parts of a bigger whole. The references to “Herr Doktor,” and
“Herr Enemy,” allude to the Nazi doctors who performed tests on their subjects
in concentration camps (Plath). Again, this suggests that the speaker in the
poem feels as though she as a person means very little to those around her.
This raises the question of what is more substantial: the mind or the body, the
spirit or the physical. From the
reactions of those around her, the speaker believes that her value to them
comes from the entertainment that she provides them. She is not respected as an
individual nor is she treated as a person in need of help. Plath attempts to
show the constraint that is necessary in dealing with suicide and the isolation
that one can feel after having survived it. It is a matter that deserves
awareness as well as more thought on a personal level.
Plath, Sylvia. “Lady Lazarus.” Ariel. 1966. Print.
The issue of attempted and failed suicide is a very prominent concern in our modern world, as it has occurred I think more times than we are aware. It is certainly an issue placed on a pedestal, something that humanity would regard as a miracle or even as being saved. However, what we often fail to consider is the opinion of the same individual that attempted suicide in the first place. Although there certainly are the outliers that disagree, the majority of the human race tends to fear death and what will come after life. However, it is interesting and important to note that the individuals that attempt suicide, such as Lady Lazarus, have a desire to be on the other side of life, or at least not in the living life itself. Sylvia Plath uses the Holocaust to support this argument, a monumental and horrific event in history that can never be justified; but why she used this significant piece of history to depict one individual is incredibly important to recognize. I definitely agree with your statement that the Holocaust should not only be looked at as a mass murder; rather, it can be viewed as the murder of individuals, of fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. With disregard to murder, death is a natural and common occurring part of life and this piece of yours left me wondering why we fear it so much. Indeed the act of suicide is terrible and heart wrenching, an unnatural act that defies nature; but why do we so fear a death of natural cause?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maria in her statement that Plath is trying to argue that pain is entertaining to humans. Plath also uses allusions to express her vulnerability. The speaker had been utterly ignored until before this suicide attempt and now she was branded as a walking miracle. She felt as though wherever she went she was the center of attention; attention that she had never desired, attention that she loathed, attention that filled her to the brim with anxiety, attention that drove her to the edge of extinction so many times before. “my skin/Bright as a Nazi lampshade” (Plath 5). A Nazi lampshade was the idea of a lamp shade made out of human skin. The speaker feels transparent and as if everyone knows her story and is staring at her for this exact reason. She feels as though she is similar to this lampshade. The way the light shines through the flesh lampshade is similar to how her deepest darkest secrets shine through her own flesh, making it even easier for everyone else to see her pain. People became so obsessed with her depression and attempted suicide that it made her feel more vulnerable and weak than ever before. Everyone knew her story because it was talked about all over town, for some reason human beings find suffering to be a better talking point than the weather. Everybody wants to be a part of a tragedy, everyone wants to know the person involved, and everyone wants to know every gritty detail of the tragedy and circumstances.
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