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…
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.
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
* Quote taken from the Independent.
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