The Bell Jar

"Teeth like tombstones," I said, "Do you see nothing eerie in that?" She shook her head. I wondered, had she read the book. With a shy look, she said, "I liked Esther:" I was impressed. But why had she not picked up upon the rest, the atmosphere of sick decay, the dark ceiling without a star? Sometimes we impose our thoughts upon the young. Why should not she see the whole book as an exciting story? Nothing gory. Not a bit depressed. She'd rather missed the message. But who's to say? The facts of Ms Plath's life are too well known pared to the white of bone: And this girl had shown how life Is so much happier, without the cruel knife, the sad domestic strife.