Sylvia Plath is an icon of Feminism. The troubled poet used her writing to challenge, not only the patriarchal world of poetry, but also the confines of the female domestic sphere. With her 50th anniversary on the horizon, publishing giants Faber celebrated Plath’s legacy in style: with a “chick-lit” makeover of her iconic work “The Bell Jar”. Bethany Stuart discusses the consequences of this design direction, and considers what Plath would have made of the new cover…
Faber celebrate Plath’s anniversary with a “chick-lit” makeover
Sylvia Plath has always been to me a literary figure that stood out for being exceedingly, and often painfully, honest through her work, the autobiographical elements clear as both her poetry and The Bell Jar highlight her personal struggles for identity. I therefore tried to find some hidden meaning in the image used for Faber’s 50th Anniversary edition, certain that the publisher would have appropriately marked the occasion – and maybe there is something in it that I’m missing. However, it is hard to look beyond the painted face of a cover girl whose sexualised reflection suggests little more of the novel than an adherence to stereotypes and an entirely superficial narrative centred on the trivialities of a socialite, aided by the sickeningly bubbly blurb – “in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther’s life begins to slide out of control.”
The novel’s supposed re-branding as a “chick-lit”, placed next to the likes of the 50 Shades saga, seems utterly disrespectful to such a significant writer, whose work allowed the reader to see the most intimate of emotional and psychological struggles.
Plath’s original cover is a world away from Faber’s new design
I hope that the phrase “never judge a book by its cover” will come into play here, as I put my faith in those familiar with Plath to continue her legacy and spread the word to those who may be misguided by the cover. Indeed, the thought that her works should end up on the shelves of those who cannot fully appreciate her work, their expectations having been lowered by its rebranding, is a very distressing one.
The backlash it has received by both the literary community and fans of Plath is encouraging, showing that we will not allow such an influential writer to be reconfigured for the benefit of profit margins. Neither will we accept, as Fatema Ahmed states, the “treat[ment] of fiction by women as a genre”* in itself.
Arguably, Faber was merely trying to reach a new audience with Plath’s work, however as we are all aware of the power of advertising and marketing and the instantaneous judgements we draw from book covers (though no-one dares admit it!) their move was a foolish one and, sadly, leads me to conclude that rather than a celebration of Plath’s work, this edition was thought up by someone in a boardroom who wanted to ride on the coat-tails of the “chick-lit” trend.
By Bethany Stuart
Ed. by Georgina Holland – Exeposé Online Books Editor
Alasdair Wood reflects on Egypt two years after its revolution and looks at where the country is now.
Two years after the revolution that overthrew the Mubarak regime, Egypt is more divided than ever, or so all the media tells us. People were divided on the new constitution, but the predicted bloodbath or civil conflict never took place. On the constitution there was a clear divide between Islamists (including the Muslim Brotherhood and hardline Salafists) in favour of the constitution, and liberals, secularists and Christians against. However, many others were also not satisfied with the constitution, but voted in favour purely in the hope of bringing back stability. Politics is increasingly polarised, with President Morsi becoming a character that you either passionately love or hate.
The people who hate Morsi the most are Egypt’s Christian minority who make up about five-ten per cent of the population. They loathe him with a passion, with one Christian friend telling me she hates Morsi more than Mubarak. Seemingly it only takes a few years to forget Mubarak’s horrific decision to wipe out all pigs in Egypt, in response to the swine flu epidemic (despite the fact swine flu was spread by humans). This decision devastated the lives of many poor Christians in Egypt. The fact is the Brotherhood as of yet have done nothing to threaten the Christians, and have spent most of their efforts on trying to reassure them, with many Christians continuing comfortable lives, as they make up a large percentage of the middle classes.
Photo credits to S.A.A.D. photography
One reason for the protests against the constitution not getting out of control may be that the constitution wasn’t the evil Islamic masterpiece, our media suggest. The article of Sharia, is crucially no different to under Mubarak and states the law “is made on the principles of Sharia”, but adds an article that the Al-Azhar Mosque (the highest Islamic authority in the country) should be consulted on matters of Sharia law. However, it crucially states that Christians and Jews should be subject to personal and religious laws of their own and not of Sharia. For example Christians could not be subject to any laws about dress, alcohol or marriage.
Of course, all is not well for the Christian minority. Women face extra hassle for not wearing the Hijaab, there have been isolated cases of Christians being accused of blasphemy, and the most shocking cases against the Christians are of being forced to convert to Islam, including girls being kidnapped and forced into marriage. However, the vast majority of Muslims are moderate. A case of a Salafist warning people not to wish their Christian neighbours a “Happy Christmas” may have made headlines across the world, but was widely ignored by ordinary Egyptians. My Muslim neighbours presented me with a Christmas present, the Grand Mufti (leading cleric in country) met the Coptic Pope to wish him Christmas greetings, and some street cleaners gave me and some Egyptian friends the biggest smile and “Happy Christmas” on leaving a church on Christmas Day. In a religious society, I’m often asked about my religion, and on hearing I’m a Christian, Muslims will respond, “We are all brothers”. While graffiti across Cairo also shows the Egyptian flag altered, with a Christian flag and Islamic Crescent placed together. Islam and Christianity have coexisted here for the most part ever since the Arab Invasion in 641, which is something quite shocking coming from a country that has history drenched in the blood of religious intolerance.
The real problem of the constitution is its lack of ambition. The worst aspect of all is its failure to have an article setting out gender equality. Roles of women and men are completely different here, and women are widely expected to stay at home to cook and clean, especially if they are married. All young women in Egypt suffer from sexual harassment on the streets, whether covered or uncovered. One Egyptian friend told me that when she takes a microbus she puts her bag on one seat and pays for two seats, because she, “had bad experiences of old men on microbuses.” It’s all rather sickening, but Egyptian women know how to stand up for themselves. On facing harassment they will most often scream, shout and lash out at the perpetrator. In Egypt, people won’t walk on by when seeing this but will intervene to try and deal with the situation.
Photo credits to sierragoddess
Despite these problems I feel optimistic about Egypt. The revolutionary spirit is still very much alive here. Under the Mubarak regime people didn’t talk about politics, but today the streets, markets, coffee houses, and public transport are alive with people actively debating politics with each other. Egyptians love to argue, but contrary to popular opinion they don’t always resort to violence. In fact, the political atmosphere is generally mature. Politics may seem polarised but when you see businesses happily displaying posters showing their alignment, it’s evident that people are tolerant enough to accept each other’s political differences. I can’t imagine any businesses in the south eastern rural heartlands that would risk displaying a Labour poster, or a business in the North of England risking the display of a Conservative party poster. There are isolated cases of political violence in Egypt and our media all too often forget the wider picture.
This negative picture has helped to cripple Egypt’s tourism, particularly in Luxor, Aswan and Cairo, throwing Egypt into a deeper economic crisis, in which the Egyptian Pound is now tumbling and Egypt is left to go begging to the IMF. It’s certainly a difficult time, and could prove to be a disaster for the ruling Brotherhood as the poor (the Brotherhood’s biggest support base) will suffer the most, while the opposition have become increasingly organised and united since the protests against the new constitution. Egypt has a difficult road ahead, but the taste of freedom people felt in Tahrir in 2011 and people’s continual tolerance and political maturity means there is now no going back.
exeposedev 