title: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in literature: Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.
abstract: Sylvia Plath's well-known novel, The Bell Jar, recounts her experience of a severe depressive episode. In the novel, the protagonist is treated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), as was Plath in life. The first ECT is given in the now-obsolete "unmodified" form, without general anesthesia. Later in the story, she receives ECT again, this time with full general anesthesia and muscle relaxation, as is the standard of care today. This chapter examines how the novelistic descriptions of the treatment compare with actual clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: charles.kellner@mssm.edu.
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kellner
mesh_terms: D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000266:history*; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history*; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D011037:Poetry as Topic / Q000266:history; D014481:United States
keywords: ECT; Plath; electroconvulsive therapy