A Comparative Analysis of Trauma & Suicide in Woolf and Plath's Works

This essay delves into the profound exploration of depression, trauma, and suicide in the writings of Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, two significant figures in literary modernism. It analyzes how both authors, drawing from their personal struggles with mental illness and societal pressures, utilized confessional narratives and stream-of-consciousness techniques to portray their chaotic and trauma-filled lives. The essay examines specific works such as Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" and "The Waves," highlighting the characters' experiences with PTSD, suicidal thoughts, and the impact of societal norms on mental health. It further discusses Plath's confessional poetry and its raw depiction of personal suffering. The analysis emphasizes the authors' ability to transform their pain into powerful literary expressions, offering insights into the complexities of mental illness and the search for self-expression in a restrictive world. The essay concludes by underscoring the enduring relevance of Woolf and Plath's works in understanding the human condition and the power of literature as a medium for healing and social commentary.

The imagery of Depression,
trauma, and suicide in Virginia
Woolf's and Sylvia Plaths'
Writings

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
The imagery of depression, trauma, and suicide in Virginia Woolf's writing.............................3
Sylvia Plath and her imagery of depression, trauma, and suicide...............................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath were two vital contributors to literary modernism who
inspired several generations of feminists with their bold choices of writings. These writers
pioneered confessional narratives to portray their chaotic and trauma-based lives. The lives of
both these authors were dislocated and reflected hyper-realistic experiences of their lives. The
most blatant similarities between these authors were their struggles with mental illness. It is safe
to mention that both women wrote against fascism. Woolf suffered from bipolar disorder
following the death of her mother. Likewise, Plath led a depressing life as a result of her troubled
marriage. Their writings signify that both these authors used their literary skills as a tool to
express themselves. Plath was a pioneer for confessional style of poetry however, on the other
hand, Woolf wrote her novels with a unique stream of consciousness. This dissertation will
highlight the Imagery of Depression, trauma, and suicide in Virginia Woolf's and Sylvia Plath's
writings. This discussion will include various texts produced by these authors along with the
problems faced by them as a result of which they chose to embrace death. Imagery is represented
as a visual symbol that helps in evoking other senses of impressions and literary work. It is the
creative thinking of images that are used along with key concerns for image framing. Depression
is a common and serious mental illness which causes persistent feelings of sadness and loss of
interest in work. Depression also affects the physical health of individuals. Trauma is an
emotional response to a terrible event that has taken place in the life of an individual. It is caused
by the due occurrence of a terrible event like an accident, rape, or natural disaster. It is the shock
that occurs following a serious event (Briggs, 20). Suicide is a form of death where an individual
harms or injures oneself. It is the intent or action which is done to death. Suicide is an act of self-
harm leading to death.
The imagery of depression, trauma, and suicide in Virginia Woolf's writing
It has been seen and analysed that the Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English writer who
was considered as one of the most important modernist during the times of the 20th-century
authors. The writings of Virginia Woolf portrayed financial and intellectual freedom. There was
also mention of the relationship between women and society in general. The author’s style of
writing is poetic which enabled her to create a legacy for women writers. One of her most
famous writing includes Mrs. Dalloway. This novel by Virginia Woolf gives details of different

aspects of the life of Clarissa Dalloway. Mrs. Dalloway is a complex story through which the
writer is trying to depict her struggles. It has been seen that the story tends to travels from
backward and forwards in time that is helpful and vital in constructing of a better image of
Clarissa's Life. Mrs. Dalloway expresses the reality of England post World War I. The structure
of the novel highlights the texture of the characters which are similar to the author's personal life.
The main protagonist of the story is Clarissa Dalloway who is described as a vivacious woman
who cares a lot about other people and is particularly self-reflective (Beer, 2019). The story
unfolds with Clarissa Dalloway going around London in the morning and preparing for hosting a
party that evening which signifies her motive to make preparations to make her house look
beautiful and her guests happy. Her physical movement around the city favours the production of
different thoughts in her mind. The author has been a direct access to Clarissa's rich inner life in
spite of which she suffers from numerous incursions from her past. Clarissa had married a
reliable man named Richard Dalloway, instead of enigmatic Peter Walsh. These descriptions by
the author gives the readers fragmentary insights of the protagonist's past life. The physical
portrait of her character is minimalistic. However, she is defined by the elasticity of her thoughts.
Another character in the story is Septimus Warren Smith, a First World War veteran suffering
from the trauma of the war, now commonly known as PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). It
has been seen and analysed that the Mrs Dalloway was an English writer who reflects about the
facts and situation that takes place on one day in June 1923 to properly show case and reflect
about the imaginary of the death, depression and trauma, she has reflected in her work that how
the First World War continued to affect the those who had lived through it even after the five
years after it ended. Beside this, the David Bradshaw also tend to explores the novel's
commemoration of the dead as well as also tend to reflects about the evocations of trauma and
mourning in her writing.
Septimus also tend to suffers from PTSD because of which he tends to hallucinates about
his friend who died in the war. Thus. The character of Septimus is tend to reflect and describe as
a shell-locked war veteran and an individual who did not believe in god or even a doctor that is
because of the fact that he is suffering from the high level of the trauma. Further, the level of the
dilemma and trauma was so high that he even refused to consult a doctor for treatment of his
illness. This was followed by his hospitalization in an involuntary hospital. Septimus is portrayed
as Clarissa's male counterpart as he experiences sight and auditory hallucinations. His

experiences at way have been known to permanently scar his mind as he starts getting flashbacks
of the horrors of war. Later, Septimus commits suicide by jumping out of the window as a means
to preserve his soul from the doctor while he was in the asylum. Clarissa is informed about his
suicide at her party. However, she starts developing feelings of dissatisfaction within herself and
thereby, withdraws herself from the party to consider the death of Septimus in privacy (Allen,
34). This situation is seen as an unifying imagery where on one hand, Clarissa's prepares for
hosting a party and, on the other, Septimus drifts towards suicide. These situations are
acknowledged for bringing out “balance”. The main characters of the novel are Clarissa
Dalloway and Septimus Smith. The heroine of the novel struggles with constantly trying to
maintain her internal balance with the external environment. Her external world revolves around
glittering surfaces, fine fashion, parties, and high society however, internally she is filled with
self-loath and pity for herself. Woolf criticizes medical discourses by identifying the aspects of
Septimus' decline and suicide. It has been also seen that the Woolf also tend to goes beyond and
makes a comment on the treatment of trauma as it has been seen that because of the trauma the
character in the novel commits suicide.
During the 20th century, mentally ill patients were stereotyped to be social outcasts. The
author's struggles were strongly related to her family background where she was sexually
molested, because of which she developed symptoms of bipolar disorder, functional impairment,
further explaining her suicidal behaviours. There are similarities in the personal struggles of the
author and Septimus' character. Woolf committed suicide by throwing herself out of the window,
which failed, after which she committed suicide by drowning herself after the publication of the
novel Mrs. Dalloway (Woolf, 63). Modernist writer, Tony E. Jackson points out that certain
literary authors such as Virginia Woolf have used her narrative writings as a medium to express
their trauma (Crossland, 2018). Jackson writes- “concerning plotting, we will find that a work
such as Mrs. Dalloway reveals the desire of the plot in a very specific way, a way that will also
begin to bring out the problematic status of the artist in modernism”. The author has succeeded
in putting together pieces of information about her life through this novel. The protagonist in
Mrs. Dalloway is filled with repression faced by the male-dominated society. Clarissa is
constantly filled with emotions that she is trying to hold in for conforming to the social standards
of English Society (Woolf, 2021).

Another piece of poetry, written by Virginia Woolf is “The Waves”. It is believed that
this poem is based on real-life characters of Woolf's life including her friends and family. The
poem depicts the aspects and concerns that frame the poetic rhythm of life. This poem consists of
six friends Bernard, Neville, Louis, Jinny, Susan, and Rhoda who represent a constant stream of
sense impressions. All the six friends Bernard, Neville, Louis, Jinny, Susan, and Rhoda were
going through different emotions which explained their different behaviors (Kopley, 2021).
Beside this, the writing also helped in the leading of the understanding about the concerns and
aspects which are related to the behavioral signs and symptoms of all six people. There is the
portrayal of the development of trauma in these six individuals because of the so-called British
English Society. The root cause of oppression of minorities is the uneven system of power which
exposes how gender-based traumas are related to the sexuality of an individual. There is a
depiction of facets of life that the individuals have lived along with the trauma caused by the
death of their beloved friend Percival. This poem signifies the continuity of life and the ability to
cope with the death of a loved one. Death is portrayed as the end stage of life whereas life, on the
other hand, is deeply related to facing trauma, anxiety, and depression. The trauma of losing a
loved one severely affected the author because of which profound emotional reactions affect her
daily life. This loss can be well-related with fatigue, depression and suicidal thoughts. The
problem is that most people fail to see and observe depression in their loved ones. The author, in
her personal life, had severe issues regarding her mental health which are expressed in the
poem's context. Similar to her writings, Woolf had also fallen into depression and also
mentioned that different aspects of society led to the worsening of her condition (Woolf, 1900).
These aspects included toxic masculinity and male chauvinism.
The writing style of the author thoroughly depicted her thought process in a realistic way
along with an internal monologue. The analysis and identification of societal pressures and
norms affected the lives of individuals which differs from their living patterns. The author's
language of unresolved trauma reflected her suffering which allowed her to become a survivor
from a victim (Bašić,2021). It has been also suggested and identified from the texts how
depression, trauma, and suicide points are incorporated into the storyline along with its imagery.
The author, throughout her life, was prone to various nervous breakdowns which motivated her
to express herself through her characters. During the 20th century, mental illness was
misdiagnosed and vaguely defined, therefore, patients were prone to becoming disillusioned

(Malhotra, 45). The author's mental stability was disrupted as she had a difficult time coping
with her life situations. The author's depression was triggered by a variety of tragic events
because of which the author isolated herself from the outside world and entered the world of
fiction for trying to cope with her troubled self (Wicht, 2022).
«while the sea darkens and brightens beneath him, and the waves which threaten to break, but
only gently split their surface, roll and conceal and encrust as they just turn over the weeds with
pearl» (Woolf, 2003, p. 61)
The author suffered from different mood fluctuations throughout the day because of which she
became weary of her overall presence in her daily life. These mood swings were perfectly
depicted in Clarissa's character as she was depicted as moody. The author's suicide was portrayed
through Clarissa's and Septimus' characters along with the inner and outer turmoil which she
faced in her marriage.
Sylvia Plath and her imagery of depression, trauma, and suicide
Sylvia Plath was one of the best-known American poets and novelists, best known for her
sense of alienation and self-destruction (Ferretter, 2010). Their writings consisted of mentioned
various aspects of depression and trauma, with which a lot of readers resonated in the 20th
century. The famous novel “Bell jar” by Sylvia Plath attracted numerous people as the texts that
have been described in the novel triggered the human mind along with the dynamic development
of mental illness (Martins, 2020). “The Lady and Lazarus” poem by Sylvia was a perfect
representation of inner deterioration and loneliness. Sylvia was a confessional poet and shared
her personal and private thoughts in “The Lady and Lazarus”. The biggest irony was the fact that
the author was herself diagnosed with chronic depression (Manic-depressive) and attempted
suicide (Groover, 2019). The texts from her writings showcase the imagery of her constant
struggle with depression and trauma. The central theme of the poem was death and destruction.
“Lady and Lazarus” was a form of confessional poetry where the author shared her real-life
experiences. The burden of failed suicide attempt and the discovery of a new self was the main
focus of the novel. there is constant mention of suicide which was the end stage of suffering as
portrayed by the author (Wang, 25).Further, it has been seen and find out that the within the
writing of the “A Journey Into the Dark Psyche of Sylvia Plath : Image of Trauma and Death in

her Poetry” The Sylvia Plath tend to effectively explore the fact that the how frequent the images
of death, trauma and suicide tend to occur as she presented that how a traumatized woman is
driven to madness by a domineering of her father and an unfaithful husband. Along with this, the
also reflects and present about the fact that how these of the unfaithful husband and domineering
father led to her suicide at the age of the thirty-one (A Journey Into the Dark Psyche of Sylvia
Plath : Image of Trauma and Death in her Poetry, 2021).
The storyline of the writings is based on the failed suicide attempts which led to the
discovery of a new self after feeling like a burden in her life (Berman, 50). The thoughts of
suicide and death develop as a result of torture faced by the author in various stages of her life.
The author evaluates the number of times she tries to attempt suicide after getting frustrated from
her failures. In each attempt, the author fails and has to bear the burden of living her life. Thus,
the views of the author can be witnessed in the context of attempting suicide. Persistent chronic
depression and episodes of trauma result in suicidal thoughts as the author feels like she cannot
sustain her life. Suicide is attempted after a certain period when the author's ability to handle
drastic situations vanishes (Flasch, 123). When a person fails in their suicide attempt, the
courage to do it again is no longer present. In this poem, the author stated that “dying is an art
form, a skill and the speaker is extremely good at this.” Therefore, this depicts that the author
portrays death as an art form and not everyone can attempt it successfully. Suicide can
successfully be attempted with courage, which comes from facing different hurdles of life.
However, this courage vanishes if a suicidal attempt fails. Therefore, the protagonist will attempt
it again after a certain period when enough courage has been gathered (Moosavinia, 146).
In this poem, Sylvia addresses the doctor as an enemy as a doctor gives life back to a person.
Following Sylvia, a person is freed from their sorrows after death, making it a peaceful process.
However, life on the other hand is filled with sorrows and pain. The significance of death and
destruction in “lady and Lazarus” clearly expresses the various stages of life which are filled
with sorrows and the peacefulness of death (De Gay, 2022). The author in this poem attempts
suicide as this will result in making her free from the pain and the people who save individuals
from dying. Death is mentioned as a path to happiness liberating people from all the pains of
their lives and those who rescue the person from dying are against the happiness of that person.
This means death and suicide are determinants of happiness that makes a person free from their
worries and depression (Clark, 187). The author has tangled her real-life experiences in this as

she has attempted to kill herself. Another theme of the poem is aligned with gender and
oppression which shows how females are dominated by the male society. The author is repressed
by the expectations of society and fails to live independently to fulfill the expectations of what
society expects her to be. Her role as a mother and a dotting wife is much more appreciated than
an independent woman. The author has expressed her desire to live freely without wanting to be
portrayed as an object who compliments her husband (Woolf, 2022).
Another piece of poetry, “The Mirror” depicts different themes of suffering and its
connection with art. The author has portrayed the mirror as a reflection of how women are
expected to look a certain way to be desirable. These unwanted rules of expectations are created
by men who see women as objects of desire (Miśkowiec, 2022). According to the author, the
way she saw herself in the mirror was disgustful and pathetic as she did not fit into the standards
of beauty (Hakeem, 1974). The views of the author in the context of suicide are entitled to
suffering and art. Suffering is determined as a performance for the audience, which here
represents the male-dominated society. Sylvia mentions that suicide is a form of suffering that
she is best at. Thus, it depicts her experience that she has suffered many things and tried to
attempt suicide (Bowlby, 2022). Hence, the imagery of suicide by Sylvia in her writings shows
that this art cannot be performed by everyone and requires an extreme level of courage to
perform this action. A classic novel “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia path was published in January 1963
(Homoncik, 2020). This novel depicts the story of a young woman’s mental state and her
eventual recovery. The story revolves around a girl named Esther who had dreams of becoming a
poet. This novel is a critical reflection of the author's extraordinary sense of insistence which
made the readers aware of the troubled mindset of the protagonist. The author mostly wrote
confessional forms of poetry because of her psyche and disrupted mental state (Adkins, 2021).
The private experiences of the author are addressed in this novel in an autobiographical
manner. The life of the protagonist is similar to that of the author. This confessional
autobiography, describes the decline of Esther, suffering from depressive episodes and suicidal
thoughts (Meyers, 101). The protagonist was separated from her family following the occurrence
of these depressive episodes, where she was treated with electroconvulsive therapy. One of the
primary forms of metaphor used in “The Bell Jar” was feelings of confinement and entrapment
faced by Esther. The negative thoughts surrounding the past and present life of the main
character significantly contributed to her depression (Gristwood, 2018). There are instances

where the author has portrayed dealing with issues related to feminism and the quest for
searching her own identity amidst all the chaos surrounding her life. This story was a coping
mechanism for expressing her vulnerable side to the world which she was unable to do in real
life. This was the main reason behind the author's struggles with an oppressive environment and
approaching madness. One of the passages from her writing which depicts her struggles with
self-doubt is as follows:
“…What is my life for and what am I going to do with it? I don’t know and I’m afraid. I can
never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I
can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want it? I want to live and feel all the
shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experiences possible in life. And I am
limited.”
These phenomenas of the author's life are portrayed in the form of the protagonist of the
novel, Esther. In this imagery, the author's depression and manic behaviors were a result of her
turbulent relationship with her husband, parents and her unique fascination with death . The
author has clearly shown her imagery of trauma and depression in the form of Esther in “The
Bell Jar” (Clarke, 300). The psychotic depression in Esther's character was an interpretation of
the author's “rite of passage” trajectory. The personal progress of the character is hampered as
she develops manic behavior as a result of the highly competitive male-dominated world
(Fullagar, 2018).
Esther's failed relationships dislocated her identity and led to the development of regressive
anxieties which resulted in her first suicide attempt (Schneeberger, 560). Thus, it can be stated
that according to the author's imagination, betrayal by loved ones also leads to depression and
manic episodes (De Villiers, 10). It also caused trauma triggers in the mindset of the author. The
maternal relationships in the author's life made her feel suffocated and made her feel torn
because of the burden put on her to act like a woman by contemporary society which was
depicted in the poem “Daddy” which portrays the unhealthy relationship of the author with her
father (Secreast, 70). There were persistent feelings of helplessness and vulnerability in the
author's childhood. A largely negative and emotionally distant mother made the protagonist
develop a hateful relationship with her mother (James, 1). The absence of a stable emotional
foundation was one prime reason for her depression which was followed by a series of self-
harming situations. In the poem “Daddy”, Plath depicted her trauma in the context of her father

and her ongoing struggles to free herself from her Nazi father. Daddy is a patricidal poem, which
opens with the following statement: ““You do not do, you do not do”.
“Such a dark funnel, my father!
I see your voice Black and leafy, as in my childhood,
A yew hedge of orders, Gothic and barbarous, pure German”
This deeply complex poem inflicts the legacy of violence and oppression that was depicted
how the speaker perceived her father (Miśkowiec, 2022). The author has traced her German
family roots where she was a victim of Nazi gas chamber, there is mention of the speaker
“enjoying the torture” The implication of this poem is based on the use of repressive rules and
violence against women who are seen as the weaker gender. The only method to fight these
norms of patriarchy as imposed by men includes recognizing and exposing many shapeshifting
forms of gender discrimination (Brush, 70). Thus, it has been seen and reviewed that based on
the above example it has been reviewed the Most of the poems of Plath are concerned with her
own life, and this is why by reading her poems, the reader becomes familiar with her private life,
which was full of trauma, depression, anxiety. Further, it has been also seen and find out that the
Plath is considered a confessional poet because she revealed her private life experiences in
poems like, “Daddy”, “Lady Lazarus”, “Elm”, “Electra on AzaleaPlath”, “A Birthday Present”,
and many more which is reflecting that how creative was she in shaping the poetry by her
madness, mental illness and her turbulent relationships to effectively present and reflect about
the trauma and death (Cam, 1987).
CONCLUSION
From the above essay it can be concluded that the imagery of depression and trauma was
best presented by these modernist writers, both personally and professionally (Severcool, 2019).
The depiction of repression as faced by women in the 20th century was portrayed as a
confessional form of literature. Both these authors suffered from depression and were terminally
ill which was followed by their suicide (Fadlilah, 2021). However, these feminist writers
certainly made an enormous impact on the lives of women in those times when female
independence was repressed in the most vivid ways (Nemeth, 190). There were multiple written
texts that demonstrated multiple range of emotions faced by these authors to an extent where
both these influential personalities resorted to suicide as a means to end their sufferings. Further,
it has been also concluded that the writing of Sylvia Plath also tends to reflects about the

Persistent chronic depression as well as focuses on the episodes of trauma that resulted in the
form of the suicidal. Further, it has been also summarised and concluded that the thoughts of the
Sylvia Plath feel like she cannot sustain her life therefore suicide is attempted after a certain
period when the author's ability to handle drastic situations vanishes (Plath and Dharker, 2004).
The autobiographical similarities of these writers sensitively approached their most magnificent
selves in the form of their writings along with their extraordinary literary gifts. Despite all the
hardships that these writers faced, they were two of the most revered authors that produced
acclaimed and popular novels and poems (Carter, 2021).