Volume 4 | Issue 2 | April - May
2010 |
Interview with Sarojini Sahu
C P Aboobaker
C.P.: May I put an irrelevant question in the course of our talk? I find that three illustrious women writers of our period (Anne Sexton (1928-1974) , Sylvia Plath( 1932-1963), Virginia Woolf ( 1882-1941) committed suicide. The trio were feminists. In other societies also feminist writers are seen to have done the same thing. E.G. Farough Farukhabad of Iran. How does it happen? What is the psyche behind this play of suicide among women writers?
S.S: Here are some lists of writers who made suicide.Acuna, Manuel (Mexico, 1849-1873); Adamov, Arthur, born in Russia in 1908 and died in France in 1970, Aguila, Pablo del: born and died in Granada (1946-1968); Akhmatova, Anna: Born and died in Russia, Akutagawa, Ryunosuke, (1892-1927), born and died in Japan; Aleramo, Sibilla (pseudonym of Rina Faccio, 1876-1960), born and died in Italy; Amery, Jean (1912-1978), born and died in Austria, Aragon, Louis (1897-1972): born and died in Paris, Arenas, Reynaldo (1943-1990), born in Cuba and died in USA. Arguedas, José María (1911-1969), nacido y muerto en Perú. Arguedas, José María (1911-1969), born and died in Peru. Artaud, Antonin (1895-1948): nacido y muerto en Francia. Artaud, Antonin (1895-1948): born and died in France. Babel, Issak (1894-1941), nacido y muerto en la Unión Soviética. Babel, Isaak (1894-1941), born and died in the Soviet Union. Benjamin, Walter (1892-1940), nacido en Alemania y muerto en Portbou, Girona. Benjamin, Walter (1892-1940), born in Germany and died in Portbou, Girona. Berryman, John (1914-1972): nacido y muerto en USA; Biest, Alain van der, nacido en Bélgica en 1944, y muerto en 2002. Berryman, John (1914-1972): born and died in USA; Biest, Alain van der, born in Belgium in 1944 and died in 2002. Bjorneboe, Jens: (1920-1976), nacido y muerto en Noruega. Bjørneboe, Jens: (1920-1976), born and died in Norway. Carvan, Laura; Casariego Córdoba, Pedro (1955-1993): nacido y muerto en Madrid, España. Carvan, Laura; Casariego Cordoba, Pedro (1955-1993): born and died in Madrid, Spain. Casey, Calvert, nacido en Cuba (1924) y muerto en Roma en 1969. Casey, Calvert, born in Cuba (1924) and died in Rome in 1969. Castelo Branco, Camilo (1825-1890), nacido y muerto en Portugal. Castelo Branco, Camilo (1825-1890), born and died in Portugal. Celan, Paul (1930-1970), nacido en Rumania y muerto en Francia. Celan, Paul (1930-1970), born in Romania and died in France. Cesarano, Giorgio (1928-1975). Cesarano, Giorgio (1928-1975). Chatterton, Thomas: Nacido en Bristol, 1752; muerto en Londres, 1770; Costafreda, Alfonso (1926-1974); nacido y muerto en España. Chatterton, Thomas: Born in Bristol, 1752, died in London, 1770; Costafreda, Alfonso (1926-1974), born and died in Spain. Crane, Hart (1899-1932), nacido y muerto en USA. Crane, Hart (1899-1932), born and died in USA. Cravan, Arthur (1887-1920), nacido en Francia y muerto en México. Cravan, Arthur (1887-1920), born in France and died in Mexico. Crevel, René (1898-1935), nacido y muerto en Francia. Crevel, René (1898-1935), born and died in France. Cuesta, Jorge (1903-1942): Nacido y muerto en México. Cuesta, Jorge (1903-1942): born and died in Mexico. Curtis Ian (1956-1980), nacido y muerto en Inglaterra. Ian Curtis (1956-1980), born and died in England. Dagerman, Stig (1923-1954), nacido y muerto en Suecia. Dagerman, Stig (1923-1954), born and died in Sweden. Dazai, Osamu (1909-1949), nacido y muerto en Japón. Dazai, Osamu (1909-1949), born and died in Japan. Debord, Guy (1932-1994), nacido y muerto en Francia. Debord, Guy (1932-1994), born and died in France. Deleuze, Gilles (1925-1995), nacido y muerto en Francia. Deleuze, Gilles (1925-1995), born and died in France. Dick, Phillip K. Dick, Phillip K. (1928-1982), nacido y muerto en USA. (1928-1982), born and died in USA. Drieu La Rochelle, Pierre (1893-1945), nacido y muerto en Francia. Drieu La Rochelle, Pierre (1893-1945), born and died in France. Duprey, Jean-Pierre (1930-1959), nacido y muerto en Francia. Duprey, Jean-Pierre (1930-1959), born and died in France. Egea, Javier (1952-1999): Nacido y muerto en España; Esenin, Sergei: nacido en Konstantinov, 1895, y muerto en Leningrado, 1925; Espanca, Florbela (1895-1930), nacida y muerta en Portugal. Egea, Javier (1952-1999): born and died in Spain; Esenin Sergei: born in Konstantinov, 1895, and died in Leningrad, 1925; Espanca, Florbela (1895-1930), born and died in Portugal. Fassbinder, Rainer Weiner (1946-1982), nacido y muerto en Alemania. Fassbinder, Rainer Weiner (1946-1982), born and died in Germany. Redern, Paul (1871-1950), nacido en Austria y muerto en USA. Redern, Paul (1871-1950), born in Austria and died in USA. Ferrater Soler, Gabriel (1922-1972), nacido y muerto en España. Ferrater Soler, Gabriel (1922-1972), born and died in Spain. Forrest Thompson, Verónica: Nacida y muerta (1975) en Inglaterra; Forrestal, James (1982-1949), nacido y muerto en USA. Forrest Thompson, Veronica: Born and died (1975) in England, Forrestal, James (1982-1949), born and died in USA. Galvao, Patricia (1910-1962), nacida y muerta en Brasil. Galvao, Patricia (1910-1962), born and died in Brazil. Ganivet, Angel: Nacido en Granada, 1865, y muerto en Riga, 1898. Ganivet, Angel: Born in Granada, 1865, and died in Riga, 1898. García Sierra, Antonio. Garcia Sierra, Antonio. Gary, Romain (1914-1980), nacido en Rusia y muerto en Francia. Gary, Romain (1914-1980), born in Russia and died in France. Gilman, Charlotte (1860-1935), nacida y muerta en USA. Gilman, Charlotte (1860-1935), born and died in USA. Gogu, Katherina: Nacida y muerta (1993) en Grecia. Gogu, Katherina: Born and died (1993) in Greece. Gómez Jattin, Raúl (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 1945-1977). Jattin Gomez, Raul (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 1945-1977). Graciotti, Mario (1901-1993, nacido y muerto en Brasil. Graveraux, Fabrice: (1951-1982). Nacido y muerto en Francia; Günderode, Karoline von (1780-1806): Nacida y muerta en Alemania. Halcón, Manuel (1903-1989): nacido y muerto en España. Haliwell, Kenneth: (1926-1967), nacido y muerto en Inglaterra. Hemingway, Ernst (1898-1961), nacido y muerto en USA. Hernández Camarero, Luis: Nacido en Perú, 1941, y muerto en Buenos Aires en 1977. Hervás, Eduardo (-1976): Nacido y muerto en España. Inge, William (1913-1973), nacido y muerto en USA. Jarrell, Randall: Nacido y muerto en USA; Jonsson, Tor: Nacido (1916) y muerto (1951) en Noruega; József, Attila (1905, 1937): Nacido y muerto en Rumanía; Karyotakis, Kostas: Nacido y muerto en Grecia (1896-1928). Kawabata, Yasunari (1899-1972), nacido y muerto en Japón. Kees, Weldon (1914- presumiblemente el 18/7/1955), nacido y muerto en USA. Kennedy Toole, John. Kiš, Danilo (Subotica, 1935 - París, 1989). Kleist, Heinrich von (1777-1811), nacido y muerto en Alemania. Kofman, Sarah (1934-1994) Nacida en Polonia y muerta en Francia. Koestler, Arthur (1905-1983), nacido en Hungría y muerto en Inglaterra. Kosinski, Jerzy (1933-1991), nacido en Polonia y muerto en USA. Lafargue, Paul (1842-1911), nacido en Cuba y muerto en Francia. Lapathiotis, Napoleón: Nacido y muerto (1944) en Grecia. Laranjerira, Manuel (1877-1912), nacido y muerto en Portugal. Larra, Mariano José de (1809-1837), nacido y muerto en España. Lequier, Jules (1814,1962), nacido y muerto en Francia. Levi, Primo (1919-1987), nacido y muerto en Italia. Lindsay, Vachel (1879-1931), nacido y muerto en USA. London, Jack (1876-1916), nacido y muerto en USA. López Merino, Francisco (1904-1928): Nacido y muerto en Buenos Aires. Lowry, Malcolm (1909-1957), nacido y muerto en Inglaterra. Lucentini, Franco (1920-2002), nacido y muerto en Italia. Lugones, Leopoldo (1874-1938), nacido y muerto en Argentina. Mandiargues, Pieyre de: Nacido y muerto en Francia (1909-1991). Mann, Klaus (1906-1949), nacido en Alemania y muerto en Francia. Márai, Sandor (1900-1989), nacido en Hungría y muerto en USA. Maupassant, Guy de (1850-1893), nacido y muerto en Francia. Mayakovsky, Vladimir (1893-1930), nacido y muerto en Rusia. Mirande, Jon: Nacido y muerto en París, 1925-1972. Mishima, Yukio (1925-1970), nacido y muerto en Japón. Montherlant, Henry de (1896-1972), nacido y muerto en Francia. Murena, Héctor (1923-1975): Nacido y muerto en Buenos Aires. Nava, Pedro (1903-1984), nacido y muerto en Brasil. Novo, Salvador: Nacido y muerto en México; Obregón, Carlos: Bogotá, 1929- Madrid, 1963. Pavese, Cesare (m. 1950), nacido y muerto en Italia. Pérez Creus, Juan; Plath, Sylvia (1932-1963), nacida y muerta en USA. Polydouri, María (1902-1930), nacida y muerta en Grecia. Potocki, Jan: Polonia (1761-1815). Pozzi, Antonia: Nacida y muerta en Milán, Italia, 1912-1938; Ramos Sucre, José Antonio: Nacido en Cumaná, Venezuela, 1890, muerto en Ginebra, 1930; Roethke, Theodore: Nacido y muerto en USA; Roussel, Raymond: País, 1877, Palermo, 1933; Safo, siglo V aC; nacida y muerta en Lesbos, Grecia. Salgari, Emilio: Verona, 1862, muerto en Turín, 1911. Salvia, Beppe: Potenza, 1954- Roma, 1985; Antonio Rotundo, Roma, 1987; Sarréra, Danielle: (1932-1949): Nacido y muerto en Francia. Sexton, Anne (1928-1974), nacida y muerta en USA. Silberer, Herbert. Silva, José Asunción: Nacido (1865) y muerto (1896) en Bogotá, Colombia; Sola González, Alfonso: Nacido y muerto en Argentina; Szondi, Peter (1929-1971), nacido en Budapest y muerto en Berlín; Teasdale, Sara: Saint Louis, 1884, Nueva York, 1933; Thompson, Hunter S. (USA, 1938-2005) Torres Bodet, Jaime: (1902-1974). Nacido y muerto en México; Traianós, Alexis: Nacido (1944) y muerto (1980) en Grecia. Tsvietáieva, Marina (1892-1941), nacida en Moscú y muerta en Yelabuga, Rusia. Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941), nacida y muerta en Inglaterra. Yanópoulos, Periclis: Nacido en Patras, 1870, muerto en Eleusis, 1910; Yavórov, Peiu, búlgaro (1878, 1914). Zenón (Cition, Chipre, aprox. 336 – Atenas, aprox. 264). Zürn, Unica (Berlín, 1916 – París, 1970). Graciotti, Mario (1901-1993, born and died in Brazil. Graveraux, Fabrice: (1951-1982). Born and died in France; Günderode, Karoline von (1780-1806): Born and died in Germany. Falcon, Manuel ( 1903-1989): born and died in Spain. Halliwell, Kenneth: (1926-1967), born and died in England. Hemingway, Ernst (1898-1961), born and died in USA. Hernández Camarero, Luis: Born in Peru , 1941, and died in Buenos Aires in 1977. Hervas, Eduardo (-1976): born and died in Spain. Inge, William (1913-1973), born and died in USA. Jarrell, Randall: born and died in USA; Jonsson, Tor: Born (1916) and dead (1951) in Norway, József, Attila (1905, 1937): born and died in Romania; Karyotakis, Kostas: born and died in Greece (1896-1928). Kawabata Yasunari ( 1899-1972), born and died in Japan. Kees, Weldon (1914 - presumably 18/7/1955) born and died in USA. Kennedy Toole, John. Kis, Danilo (Subotica, 1935 - Paris, 1989). Kleist, Heinrich von (1777-1811), born and died in Germany. Kofman, Sarah (1934-1994) Born in Poland and died in France. Koestler, Arthur (1905-1983), born in Hungary and died in England. Kosinski , Jerzy (1933-1991), born in Poland and died in USA. Lafargue, Paul (1842-1911), born in Cuba and died in France. Lapathiotis, Napoleon was born and died (1944) in Greece. Laranjerira, Manuel ( 1877-1912), born and died in Portugal. Larra, Mariano José de (1809-1837), born and died in Spain. Lequien, Jules (1814.1962), born and died in France. Levi, Primo (1919-1987 ) born and died in Italy. Lindsay, Vachel (1879-1931), born and died in USA. London, Jack (1876-1916), born and died in USA. López Merino, Francisco (1904-1928): Born and died in Buenos Aires. Lowry, Malcolm (1909-1957), born and died in England. Lucentini, Franco (1920-2002), born and died in Italy. Lugones, Leopoldo (1874-1938), born and died in Argentina. Mandiargues, Pieyre of: born and died in France (1909-1991). Mann, Klaus (1906-1949), born in Germany and died in France. Márai, Sandor (1900-1989), born in Hungary and died in USA. Maupassant, Guy de (1850-1893), born and died in France. Mayakovsky, Vladimir (1893-1930), born and died in Russia. Mirande, Jon: born and died in Paris, 1925-1972. Mishima, Yukio (1925 -1970), born and died in Japan. Montherlant, Henry (1896-1972), born and died in France. Murena, Hector (1923-1975): born and died in Buenos Aires. Nava, Pedro (1903-1984) born and died in Brazil. Novo, Salvador: born and died in Mexico, Obregon, Carlos: Bogotá, 1929 - Madrid, 1963. Pavese, Cesare (d. 1950) born and died in Italy. Creus Pérez, Juan; Plath , Sylvia (1932-1963), born and died in USA. Polydouri, Maria (1902-1930), born and died in Greece. Potocki, Jan: Poland (1761-1815). Pozzi, Antonia, born and died in Milan, Italy, 1912-1938, Ramos Sucre, Jose Antonio: Born in Cumana, Venezuela, 1890, died in Geneva, 1930; Roethke, Theodore: born and died in USA; Roussel, Raymond: Country, 1877, Palermo, 1933; Sappho V century BC, born and died in Lesbos, Greece. Salgari, Emilio: Verona, 1862, died in Turin, 1911. Salvia, Beppe: Potenza, 1954 - Rome, 1985; Antonio Rotundo, Rome, 1987; Sarrera, Danielle: ( 1932-1949): born and died in France. Sexton, Anne (1928-1974), born and died in USA. Silberer, Herbert. Silva, José Asunción: Born (1865) and dead (1896) in Bogota, Colombia; Sola Gonzalez, Alfonso: born and died in Argentina; Szondi, Peter (1929-1971), born in Budapest and died in Berlin; Teasdale, Sara: Saint Louis, 1884, New York, 1933, Thompson, Hunter S. (USA, 1938 -2005) Torres Bodet, Jaime (1902-1974). born and died in Mexico; Traiana, Alexis: Born (1944) and dead (1980) in Greece. Tsvietáieva, Marina (1892-1941), born in Moscow and dead in Yelabuga, Russia. Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941), born and died in England. Yanópoulos, Periclis: Born in Patras, 1870, killed at Eleusis, 1910; Yavorov, Peiu, Bulgarian (1878, 1914). Zeno (Cition Cyprus, approx. 336 - Athens, approx. 264). Zürn, Unica (Berlin, 1916 - Paris, 1970).
(This suicidal writers' list compiled by Vicente Mora, which I copy and paste here. Strange enough, this long list does not contain Virginia Woolf's name.)
What does it mean? Can we reach to any solution or can we find any relation between writing and suicide? I think Anne Sexton( 1928-1974) , Sylvia Plath( 1932-1963), Virginia Woolf ( 1882-1941) and even E.G. Farough Farukhabad of Iran are mere coinciding with the above list and nothing to be generalize with feminism and suicide from these facts.
The lives of those three writers (I am excluding the Iranian writer, as I have less read about her) are different from each other. Except Virginia Woolf, the other two writers are completely hetero sexual. So you can't blame any LGBT affair in them. The suicide of Woolf may be influenced by the sexual abuse she and her sister Vanessa were subjected to by their half-brothers George and Gerald Duckworth. (It is debatable, but once Woolf recalled in her autobiographical essays A Sketch of the Past and 22 Hyde Park Gate). Anne Saxton was suffered from nervous breakdown and this may be a cause for her suicide. The death of Sylvia Plath has still been remained under controversy whether it was an accident or a suicide. If it was a suicide, it is due to any of her personal cause.
Suicidal tendency no doubt is a psychological trauma. People who attempt suicide are not crazy. Most of the people who are suicidal are in pain and probably have a chemical imbalance in their brain. And telling them that they "just want something" or "are trying to manipulate" is both insensitive and ignorant.Anyone could attempt suicide.
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C P Aboobaker - C.P. ABOOBACKER, editor of thanalonline, belongs to Calicut in Kerala. His interests include writing, publishing poems, essays, and many more literary things. Latest writing is about Channels and Globalizations. He is a retired professor of history.
e-mail: cpaboobacker@gmail.com