Who knows what brilliance they could have performed had their stars not been extinguished. In life, their lives were often turbulent and riddled with pain. The works they created outlined their genius. It is often said that artists are usually touched by a bit of madness. This is what makes them exceptional. I don't believe that. They are exceptional because they have been touched with a gift. Regardless of the circumstance of their deaths, their works have now been immortalized, and they live on through their genius.
Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)
Despite suffering from manic depression, Plath had managed to succeed with her writing. Even at an early age she showed potential, publishing her first poem at 8. She was an exceptional student, going to Smith College on a scholarship. During her time at college, she wrote over 400 poems. Her life was not always as a perfect as she portrayed. She nearly succeeded in killing herself by taking sleeping pills while working as an editor at Mademoiselle. This experience would be culminated into one of her most famous works, The Bell Jar. While married to poet Ted Hughes, their relationship was marred with rife and pain. His subsequent affair with Assia Wevill would cause them to separate. During the separation, she would start writing her poems for Ariel. Although she had moved into a flat that once belonged to William Yeats, and considered it a good omen, Sylvia took her own life in 1963. As her children slept, she placed towels underneath their doors, while she placed her head in an oven, and turned the gas on. In 1982, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize post-humously. Although she suffered internally, her brilliance will live on forever. Had she lived, who knows what further achievements she could have accomplished.
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
He is probably one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He was a novelist, a journalist, and short-story writer. He served time in the First World War as a volunteer for the ambulance unit in the Italian Army. His life experience often mirrored his works, such as A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. His works earned him a Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize in Literature. Later in his life, he would be marred with bouts of depression, which resulted in stints in institutions. In his later years, his bouts with depression and alcoholism would consume him, driving him to take his life with a shotgun. Controversy surrounds the idea that he suffered from a form of diabetes (haemochromatosis), which causes depression. Considering that many immediate family members committed suicide as well, the theory is becoming more than speculative. His influence still lives on, with many of his works having become classics in literature.
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
She was considered a leader in feminist works, paving the way for examining a woman's role and her struggles. It is said that she suffered from bi-polar disorder, which often left her in a state of convalescence. However, she was often considered by her peers to be witty and highly intelligent. One of her more popular pieces, Orlando, is somewhat autobiographical, and is considered an important piece in women's writing. She was one of the leaders in the literary movement of modernism, and her way of writing using a technique called stream of consciousness, was unlike any other. By allowing the reader to gain access to a character's thought and associations allowed for a more appealing approach to reading. Unfortunately, her genius would be ended after suffering a nervous breakdown. After writing a last note to her husband, she placed rocks in her overcoat, and walked into the River Ouse near her home. The pain she had suffered from her depression and illness had become so unbearable, that she no longer believed herself capable of continuing on.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)
Highly intelligent and self-educated, she earned a living designing greeting cards. She suffered from bouts of depression, which became worse after the birth of her daughter. Rather than feeling the joy and awe of being a mother, whenever she held her child, she was beset with pain. She was introduced to a controversial technique called the Rest Cure Treatment, whereby she had to isolate herself from family and stay in complete bed rest for a month. Rather than getting well, she progressively got worse. This led her to write a semi-autobiographical story, The Yellow Wallpaper, which addressed the issues of post-partum depression. In 1888, she divorced her husband, something unheard of in the 19th century. She became active in organizing social reform movements, and began publishing poems. Later in her life, Gilman would be diagnosed with breast cancer. Rather than succumb to the ravages and pain of the illness, she took her life by inhaling chloroform. During her life, she wrote more than 200 short stories, and became an influential humanist in the cause of woman's suffrage during her time.
Richard Brautigan (1935-1984)
His life was fraught with pain and misery. He was the product of abuse and poverty. There were times he and his family went without food. In his early 20's, he threw a rock at a police station window. Apparently he did it because he believed he'd get sent to prison and receive a good meal. Instead, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he received electroshock therapy, and was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. His works often imitated his life, as in So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away. He was thrust into fame with his novel, Trout Fishing in America. His life was indicative of his feelings. Battling depression, schizophrenia, and alcoholism, Brautigan would battle thoughts of suicide for years. Eventually, he would succumb to his own unhappiness and take his life with a shotgun. His unique style of writing with black comedy and satire, has classified him as being a cult hero.
