the Fig Tree metaphor
happy 92nd, Sylvia Plath
Welcome or welcome back! In honor of the inspiration behind this substack, I’ve written a short essay analyzing Sylvia Plath’s infamous “Fig tree metaphor”. Sylvia’s 92nd birth date passed this October 27th, and I recently reached 300 subscribers :’) This piece is very special to me— I’ve been reading Plath for years, and have found incredible interest and relativity in her journal entries. I’ve visited her homes in London, and started collecting copies of her published works from different countries and in various languages. I’ll be analyzing the metaphor in and of itself, and in relation to Plath’s life.
Before I begin, I want to thank you for reading (and subscribing, if you do so)! I can’t fathom 300 people receiving this post to their inbox. The support that I’ve been receiving is healing beyond-belief. Substack has very quickly become a home for my thoughts, and I’m excited to grow alongside so many other amazing writers and readers. If any thoughts arise during or after your reading, I would love to hear your opinion and/ or chat about it in the comments! (messages are always open as well :’)
(TW: suicide)
Prelude
The “Fig Tree metaphor” is a well-known prose from Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar— her first, and only, full semi-autobiographical novel. The metaphor’s relatability and timelessness have shown to set it apart from other classical writing excerpts over the years. The novel follows Esther Greenwood, a 19-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a poet staying in New York City for an internship. After her summer activities, she returns home and falls into a deep depression, experiencing suicidal ideation. The analogy is presented about halfway through the book, and the latter half of the story follows her experience with the above. I’ll be breaking up the excerpt into two parts, with the second part describing Plath’s interaction with the fig tree, beginning at “I saw myself sitting in the…”. There will be a few subscripts (of the sort) in the writing, in which you can refer to the notes toward the end of the post!
I.
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked.”
Initially referring to the figs as green shows Esther’s current state of mind: not fully developed/ not ready; she describes the different figs of her possible futures as “fat, purple figs”, using simile to allude to their health, happiness, and ripeness, with beckoned and winked as supporting verbs personifying the fruit. While our narrator uses this to portray her state of mind, the same feelings extend to our author. It’s no secret that Sylvia Plath was unwell during the majority of her adult life. She began writing The Bell Jar in 1961 and published it in January of ’63; but less than a month later, Plath died by suicide. (a) In an interview, Plath also mentions how she is allured by “peculiar experiences” such as writing from a mental hospital, particularly their “taboo-ness”. In the same interview, 3 months before her death, Plath states “I believe one should be able to control and manipulate experiences, even the most terrifying like madness, being tortured, this sort of experience. One should be able to manipulate these experiences with an informed and intelligent mind… but certainly it shouldn’t be a kind of shut-box and sort of, mirror-looking narcissistic experience”. Like Greenwood, Plath had multiple suicide attempts. This quote terrifyingly foreshadows Plath’s final farewell from consciousness, which was by sticking her head in an oven. The consensus is that the oven was not on so she wasn’t dying by heat, but by asphyxiation from allowing the coal gas and carbon monoxide to slowly poison her. (b) This means of suicide allowed her to be in control, providing her the ability to manipulate the situation at any given moment as this wasn’t a “shut-box” route and required time. Some of her final work was this writing, and her ability to tap into the real feelings and actions of Esther Greenwood may have seemed too real to some— because it was.
“One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn’t quite make out.”
This excerpt is relatively self-explanatory. Our author begins with her current lifestyle (a husband, a happy home, and children), moves on to the figs that she feels are attainable, where she may not currently be or would like to be in life (famous poet, professor, editor), and slowly progresses into versions of herself that she can see herself as, perhaps in a different timeline (living in various countries, as impactful as various people, working various occupations). By stating there were more figs that she couldn’t make out, she emphasizes that her desire for more spans even her own mind. This is a very subtle line, and will not garner much attention, but it is one of two lines that I believe ties the entire piece together and provides the most feelings of comfort and relativity for the reader. With this line, Plath is able to connect to many people, particularly adolescents and young adults. As young adults, learning to make sense of the world around us is one of the hardest tasks on our to-do list-- but factoring in the discovery of oneself, that je ne sais quoi of the unknown, doesn’t even compare.
II.
“I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest…”
The first few words, “I saw myself”, insinuate a 3rd-person-POV and tell us that our narrator is having feelings of introspection, and this follows through the rest of the passage. Sitting in the crotch of the fig tree puts our character at the epicenter of, well, everything. This placement points to the deep burden that Greenwood feels, simply observing the possibilities. This is supported by the intensity of the following phrase “starving to death”. “Starving to death” is a metaphor used to express how her craving for life itself will only end with an empty stomach. Plath’s all-or-nothing mentality seeps through a bit here, when she says that choosing one means losing all the rest… if only someone had told her that she could have two figs (or ten). For the longer Esther observes her possibilities, the fig tree, like life itself, morphs from a symbol of endless possibilities into a dead-end. Her way of thinking shifts into one where the only way out is not through, but simply by.
For the reader: no, you don’t have to choose only one fig— yes, I’m sure.
“… and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
We see Greenwood exhibiting choice paralysis through the syntax “and, as I sat there, unable to decide,...”. Choice paralysis is the feeling of being overwhelmed due to having too many decisions to choose from. This is the second line that I see the most relativity associated with. Choice paralysis was first introduced as a concept in 1970, but I believe that the increase in technology and subsequent normalization of high event-rate environments in the recent years is only making this feeling more widespread. (c) When considering that there were “more figs [she] couldn’t quite make out”, our narrator has found herself, again, at the epicenter of everything— her life, her possibilities, her future. Additionally, the structure of the sentence and use of commas to signify pauses further support the experience of the narrator observing the possibilities, and letting the time pass. The figs starting to “wrinkle” and “go black” symbolize none other than the passage of time through personification of the fruit. The passage of time first depicted in the context of a fruit ripening “[going] black”, while also in the context of the human experience of getting older, as depicted by the word wrinkle. Lastly, the choice of wording “plopped” suggests a motive of pure intentions, as if the figs (life decisions) passing her by are blindly unaware of the paralysis they’re leaving her in. “Plopped to the ground at my feet” insinuates a slow interaction between her and the figs that are rotting away before her eyes— which, eventually, will be all of them.
The Fig Tree
These layers of symbolism Plath has created sit atop the foundation of the fig tree representing life itself. In life and literature, trees have long been used to represent life, development, and the connection between our reality and what is beyond. Plath’s use of a tree to deliver this metaphor is the perfect vehicle. It not only connects what she states explicitly, but serves as a bridge to the motives behind what she’s inferring. In line with this, we can also safely assume that the rotting of the tree alludes to the looming suicidal ideation in Greenwood’s (Plath’s) mind.
From the Fig Tree…
When I was creating my Substack, I wanted a name that represented both me and my writing. I am writing to you from the fig tree. I think it’s worth noting that I’m not writing from the *depressive* POV of the metaphor… but from the point of view of observing all of my interests and aspirations from a birds-eye perspective. This platform allows me to document and explore my interests in a safe space, while receiving unbiased comments and advice that may change my way of thinking. Substack encourages me to be open-minded and think from different perspectives otherwise not accessible. My goal with this Substack is to express myself using any and all media that interest me— each post representing a different fig. My fig tree is my mind, and I intend to bring it to life.
Thank you sincerely for reading this piece, and I hope you enjoyed! This is my first short-essay that I’ve put together for Substack, so any comments and/or criticism is encouraged. I’m also super interested in how you guys interpret the metaphor and how you relate, as I know others are as well. If you’re comfortable, leave a comment and create a conversation, or join one!
chat soon, x
Notes:
a. For those interested in further analyzation, it’s worth noting that she initially published the book under a pseudonym (a fake name); her real name was attached to the novel in 1966— per her husband’s doing, 3 years after her death.
b. The switch from coal gas to natural gas between 1958-1971 dramatically decreased the suicide rates in the UK, as suicide by gas inhalation was the leading method at the time. I originally found this on a reddit thread, but supporting evidence is linked here. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/saves-lives/
c. I kind of wrote a thesis on this during my senior year of undergrad. I would be more than delighted to dive deeper, if the topic is of interest!
The interview I reference:
Loved this! I’ve never read anything of Sylvia’s but you’ve inspired me to do so! Thanks 🫰🏻 excited to read more of your posts :)
if only i was a fat purple fig