Hughes, pictured as a baby, chose to live in America, his mother's country
Posted on 03/23/2009 9:09:53 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Nicholas Hughes, the son of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, has killed himself at the age of 47. The couple's other child, Frieda Hughes, told the Times newspaper that her brother had been battling depression for some time. Hughes had been working as a professor in Alaska. His sister paid tribute to "a loving brother, a loyal friend to those who knew him". Plath took her own life in 1963 when her two children were infants. The writer also had a history of depression and her novel, The Bell Jar, is one of the most acclaimed depictions of the disease. She gassed herself while Nicholas and Frieda lay in the room next door. Her suicide note was left pinned to the children's pram. Her death led to criticism of Plath's husband Ted Hughes, who had recently left the family for another woman.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Hughes, pictured as a baby, chose to live in America, his mother's country
What sad and tragic lives for all of them. Wow. Deep, dark and so troubled. Just look at the photo of this young man when he was a baby. Makes me sad now knowing what his future would bring. Seems he lost a lot in his life and was deeply troubled and I wonder why? Whatever the reason...I’m very sorry for him and hope he finally found peace in death. Rest in Peace.
Why on earth would you link Sylvia Plath to Sylvia Brown? Brown is a big fat fraud, Plath a writer of literary note.
I know. As a parent of two kids almost the exact same age as those in this picture, it makes me very sad to think that such innocent creatures can sometimes become so troubled.
It's my opinion that depression can be a result of mixed up chemical reactions in the brain. This is where pharmaceuticals can truly help, not in the simple 'feelings' type of depression.
It's likely that the chemical type of depression is the one from which Sylvia Plath suffered and likely what Nicholas inherited, since his sister said he'd been battling depression for years.
Condolences to Frieda Hughes and remaining family and friends of Nicholas Hughes.
Thank you, SuziQ. I was expecting one of the first posts to say that he committed suicide because he didn't read the Bible enough, or some kind of malarkey (and I say that as a conservative, devout Christian). Too many people don't understand what clinical depression is.
Amen to that. They are born into this world so innocent of every ugly sin or opinion and they trust in those who had them to love, teach, guide and show them all of that by example. There is a sign I had years ago that read:
The best thing a mother can do for her children is to love their Father. Also one in reverse about loving their Mother. I know that is not always possible but...it sure speaks volumes!
Sad. I didn’t see the movie in fact...never even heard of these people but...probably saw the name paltrow and that steered me clear period.
It wasn’t as terrible as I had expected. It was well acted, though a little sparse on the poetry for both Hughes and Plath.
I was pleasently surprised that Hughes was not portrayed as the ogre popular culture has made him out to be. His character is even somewhat sympathetic.
Fairbanks may be a great town, but if you're depressed it's probably not the best place for you to live -- especially in the winter.
So true. Some folks believe that you should be able to 'get over it', or pray your way out of it. If it were just a 'bad feelings' kind of depression, that may work, but then folks feel worse if neither approach helps.
When it's your own body working against you, that's a whole 'nother can of worms. As my hubby jokes, it's 'better living through chemistry'. ;o)
And yet, only 6 years after Sylvia killed herself, Hughes' lover, Assia, also killed herself (and their daughter). How do we know that Hughes wasn't an ogre behind closed doors? Two women who had a relationship with him killed themselves.
Yep. People who don't have depression think it's a matter of feelings. Nothing could be futher from the truth, of course. It's more like being put into a sensory deprivation tank. It's suddenly realizing that "the world would be better off without me". It's believing that there is no hope and that everything you and everyone else do or have done is a pointless waste of time. It's knowing that you're really a bad person but also that you're too much of a coward to kill yourself and rid the world of one more fleck of evil.
Maybe he was attracted to self-destructive women.
Plath was messed up from the get go. She probably would have offed herself regardless of who she married. The idea that he was so awful to her that she saw suicide as her only escape is feminist tripe. Their daughter even says as much.
Thank you both. Sometimes depression expresses itself in real physical pain. It’s more than just wrong thinking or feelings. I’ve read, but haven’t verified, that the only two diseases that can make people kill themselves are rabies and depression. Brain tomographies show that the brain activity of clinically depressed people are radically different from normal people or people with a case of the blues.
Were they suicides? I have seen several true crime cases where the killer has tried to fake suicide and almost gotten away with it.
ping
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