The Bell Jar (Ep 4.11)

My pre-pregnancy hormones are already making me depressed; and then I go and pick up the Bell Jar! The novel is great, and probably not depressing to normal souls - but I absolutely totally began to relate to the suicidal, career-confused yet reasonably "successful" heroine who is facing an early mid life crisis. I have been there myself - a successful internship in a to-die-for corporate, yet not belonging there one bit. The desire to do something else, when that "else" will never likely be properly defined. Can anyone blame me for getting the blues?

Not surprisingly, both Rory's and Lorelai's relationship to the book is also through thoughts of depression.

Rory: You’re gonna starve to death.
Lorelai: Well fine, I will starve to death, because I’m not going to reward bad behavior…
Rory: Mom, you have to do something.
Lorelai: I need a suggestion.
Rory: Have you read The Bell Jar?
Lorelai: Huh! Not funny!

Lorelai and Luke are fighting in episode In the Clamor and the Clangor and Rory is commenting on how Lorelai will starve to death if she doesn't go eat at Luke's sometime soon. Rory suggests reading the Bell Jar as a way to drive one to death (suicide), thanks to the depressing ramblings in the novel.

The book is also mentioned in the episode Breakup Part 2 in season 1, where Lorelai mentions that Rory might as well stay home and read the The Bell Jar rather than going to a Chilton party. She claims both are equally depressing.

The novel is semi autobiographical, based on Sylvia Plath's suicidal attempt as a student and her subsequent recovery. She later married a fellow poet, Ted Hughes and moved to England. She battled depression for several years, wrote this only novel, and committed suicide at the age of 30 by carbon monoxide poisoning.