--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forget about the scant hours in her brief…" description: "\"“Forget about the scant hours in her brief life when Sylvia Plath was able to produce the works in Ariel. Forget about that tiny bit of time and just r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/106/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_depression_forget-about-the-scant-hours-in-her-brie_1569945.jpg" --- # Forget about the scant hours in her brief life when Sylvia… ![“Forget about the scant hours in her brief life when Sylvia Plath was able to produce the works in Ariel. Forget about that tiny bit of time and just remember the days that spanned into years when she could not move, couldn’t think straight, could only lie in wait in a hospital bed, hoping for the…” quote by Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/106/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_depression_forget-about-the-scant-hours-in-her-brie_1569945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/106/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_depression_forget-about-the-scant-hours-in-her-brie_1569945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/106/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_depression_forget-about-the-scant-hours-in-her-brie_1569945.jpg) > ““Forget about the scant hours in her brief life when Sylvia Plath was able to produce the works in Ariel. Forget about that tiny bit of time and just remember the days that spanned into years when she could not move, couldn’t think straight, could only lie in wait in a hospital bed, hoping for the relief that electroconvulsive therapy would bring. Don’t think of the striking on-screen picture, the mental movie you create of the pretty young woman being wheeled on the gurney to get her shock treatments, and don’t think of the psychedelic, photonegative image of this sane woman at the moment she receives that bolt of electricity. Think, instead, of the girl herself, of the way she must have felt right then, of the way no amount of great poetry and fascination and fame could make the pain she felt at that moment worth suffering. Remember that when you’re at the point at which you’re doing something as desperate and violent as sticking your head in an oven, it is only because the life that preceded this act felt worse. Think about living in depression from moment to moment, and know it is not worth any of the great art that comes a its by-product.”” [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Depression can eclipse achievements; the pain of mental illness outweighs artistic success, urging empathy for lived suffering. **In simple terms:** Depression’s pain is deeper than any achievement. Key Takeaway Prioritize mental health over external validation. Themes mental health art suffering Mood somber thoughtful Type expository reflective When to use this quote - creative work - clinical treatment - personal reflection Key Concepts depression empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can we better support those struggling with depression? - What role does art play in healing? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on art can ignore underlying illness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Electroconvulsive Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electroconvulsive-therapy-1913380/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Relief Electroconvulsive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relief-electroconvulsive-5908235/) [Sylvia plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sylvia-plath/) [Think Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-psychedelic-3464841/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Works Ariel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-ariel-5908234/) [Young woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-woman/) ## Related quotes > [“Undiagnosed DID patients received incorrect diagnoses of schizophrenia in 25% to 40% of cases in two large series (Putnam, 1989; Ross, 1989), while in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-a-ross/undiagnosed-did-patients-received-incorrect-diagnoses-of/) [Colin A. 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How many ways can you describe the sky and the moon? After Sylvia Plath,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-marvel-at-the-economy-and-this-choice-of-words-how-many-ways-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“I began to realize, with some little horror, that she was nothing more than a lowbrow, pop-psychology version of Sylvia Plath. It lasted forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-began-to-realize-with-some-little-horror-that-she-was-nothing-more/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“In striving to fulfill our identities as women, it's important not to confound the various passages of life with each other. What we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/in-striving-to-fulfill-our-identities-as-women-it-s-important-not-to/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“And besides, I'm not a writer. I don't go to coffeehouses and smoke, wear black, and analyze Sylvia Plath to the point of depression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/and-besides-i-m-not-a-writer-i-don-t-go-to-coffeehouses-and-smoke/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“Sylvia Plath is there for me when actual living people upon who I have depended upon my whole life, are not. What I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlaina-tibensky/sylvia-plath-is-there-for-me-when-actual-living-people-upon-who-i/) [Arlaina Tibensky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlaina-tibensky/) > [“All night your moth-breath Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen. A far sea moves in my ear. --from "Morning Song",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/all-night-your-moth-breath-flickers-among-the-flat-pink-roses-i-wake/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Sylvia Plath and I met a long time ago. A really long time ago. Was it a summer day? No! It was a wintry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/sylvia-plath-and-i-met-a-long-time-ago-a-really-long-time-ago-was-it/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) ## More by Elizabeth Wurtzel > [Belief is a good thing in principle, but an annoying thing in human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/belief-is-a-good-thing-in-principle-but-an-annoying-thing-in-human/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I myself am hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-myself-am-hell/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. 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Even though not one of those cries was ever a false alarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-am-sick-of-the-girl-who-cries-wolf-all-the-time-even-though-not-one/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I'm lost in a loneliness that feels like forever ... like a solitude that never goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-m-lost-in-a-loneliness-that-feels-like-forever-like-a-solitude-that/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [It's the people you are close to, the ones who love you, theo nes who have seen your heart, who have touched your soul-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/it-s-the-people-you-are-close-to-the-ones-who-love-you-theo-nes-who/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“When you do drugs, you count like a chemist: The numbers are wild, the formulas are easy. Then, when you try to get clean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/when-you-do-drugs-you-count-like-a-chemist-the-numbers-are-wild-the/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Everything's plastic, we're all going to die sooner or later, so what does it matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/everything-s-plastic-we-re-all-going-to-die-sooner-or-later-so-what/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) [Explore all 261 Elizabeth Wurtzel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) [Kirsten Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gilchrist/) > [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/) [Heidi Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-ames/) > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/) [Yanilsa pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanilsa-pena/) > [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/) [Shayamalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shayamalan/) > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) [Hugh Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-williamson/) > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. 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Forget about that tiny bit of time and just remember the days that spanned into years when she could not move, couldn’t think straight, could only lie in wait in a hospital bed, hoping for the relief that electroconvulsive therapy would bring. Don’t think of the striking on-screen picture, the mental movie you create of the pretty young woman being wheeled on the gurney to get her shock treatments, and don’t think of the psychedelic, photonegative image of this sane woman at the moment she receives that bolt of electricity. Think, instead, of the girl herself, of the way she must have felt right then, of the way no amount of great poetry and fascination and fame could make the pain she felt at that moment worth suffering. Remember that when you’re at the point at which you’re doing something as desperate and violent as sticking your head in an oven, it is only because the life that preceded this act felt worse. 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