Sylvia Plath does attract the kind of hushed reverence usually reserved for senior religious figures, so this article came as a bit of a tonic:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jan/31/reading-group-bell-jar-funny
I might even read it again...
Of course there are some funny moments in The Bell Jar. One of the things that makes it an engaging book is that the narrator is a multi-faceted person who seems real, and not like a one dimensional character. If it was just a wholly depressing one note novel I don't think anyone would have cared about it.
If you haven't read it in long enough that you don't remember why it's actually a worthwhile book, then I do suggest giving it a look.
I don't really like when things about Plath and her writing focus only on her life and how she died - that's how nonsense like your idea of a hushed reverence starts. I read an article here recently that did that and it turned me off. The merit of Plath is not that she committed suicide. It's that she wrote a great book and some amazing poetry.
And some great short stories too! :)
A reason The Bell Jar resonates is the elements of grotesque with an almost world weary and unapologetic expectation of vulgarity of others. Not a comedy, but not without a humerous lining.
