Sylvia's Path

To many, Dandelions symbolize childhood playfulness, carefree summers on a field and school holidays spent just grazing around tall grasses, blowing little Dandelion-lets off the stalk, watching them...

fl o a t
f lo at .. . ..

away, carried off by some mysterious forces of wind to God-knows-where.

Dandelions carry a heavier meaning for me. When i was thinking of a subject for the Evil Plants Series, I really wanted to use a flower or plant which did not give off an "evil" vibe or feeling straight off the bat. I wanted something unexpected, and once i saw a picture of a Dandelion, I knew it was going to make the series.

In every "evil", i wanted it to have a central theme. Sylvia's Path, was going to be Depression.

Sylvia Plath was and is a very well known poet. She passed away by putting her head into a gas oven, thus ending her life at the age of 30. She was said to be suffering from Bipolar Depression.

Dandelions. Fragile, light yet strangely strong and tenacious, with a root system which would make any weeder cry in despair at a field of them.

Depression, in whatever type or form, can be just like a Dandelion. It takes hold of a person's life, seeping into and invading every inch of one's existence. When depression is allowed to run rampant, just like the last stage of a Dandelion's life, it makes a person so vulnerable, so fragile, that a mere gust of wind ends it's life.

Leaving a very unattractive, dying stalk head.

In other words, Death.

Depression makes many people in the world today, take their life. I am sad to say, that Sylvia Plath, legendary writer known for her haunting poems, decided to take the path which ultimately sealed her fate prematurely.

Nicholas Hughes, Sylvia Plath's son, ended his life as well in 2009 after fighting with Depression.

Although her work lives on in the present and will continue to be a prize in literature for many years to come, the work which will never exist from her potential has been taken along with her, never seeing the sheen of new paper or the scratch of an ink pen.

Just like the way the wind carries the Dandelion's seeds to far reaching places, so are the tragedies of death.

To end with the quote from her poem, Lady Lazarus,

"Dying is an art, like everything else, I do it exceptionally well."



Drawing done by Clara.

References:

I took a beautiful picture of Sylvia Plath working on her typewriter, I imagined her to be typing out the very words of Lady Lazarus - http://mural.uv.es/paupilo/4thindiv.html

Dandelion pictures were sourced from Google. All images are artistic interpretations of mine.
Quote is from Lady Lazarus, written by Sylvia Plath.

Critique (polite and constructive) and comments are very much appreciated.

xxoo,
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