"I read The Bell Jar, and then I read her memoir and her diaries, and a third book, an outside opinion. Just the way she made the pillows so neat on the oven door. It just seems to be the opposite of, if you're going to take your life, in a horrible rage it happens"

In this quote, Paul Westerberg assesses the life and work of Sylvia Plath, a popular 20th-century poet and author. His commentary centers on the intersection of Plath's literary contributions and her awful individual life, particularly her suicide.

Westerberg points out checking out "The Bell Jar", Plath's semi-autobiographical book, which checks out themes of mental illness, identity, and societal pressures. This work is typically considered a window into her own struggles with depression. He then points to his reading of "her narrative and her journals", likely describing "The Journals of Sylvia Plath" and potentially a biography, providing him with deeper insights into Plath's internal world and individual reflections. These texts offer a more intimate understanding of her inner turmoil, recording the juxtaposition in between her outward achievements and internal battles.

The "3rd book, an outdoors opinion", suggests Westerberg's effort to stabilize subjective experiences with an unbiased analysis of Plath's life. This external point of view can offer a wider context, providing a more rounded understanding of her complex character and the aspects adding to her tragic end.

Westerberg highlights a poignant detail: "the method she made the pillows so neat on the oven door", most likely describing the mindful and deliberate way in which Plath got ready for her own suicide. This scene starkly contrasts with the disorderly and violent image one might connect with the act of taking one's life in "an awful rage". Rather, Plath's actions recommend a methodical, almost tranquil acceptance of her decision, challenging common perceptions of suicide as an impulsive or simply psychological act.

Through this reflection, Westerberg communicates a sense of confusion and consideration, grappling with the paradox of a lady who revealed such raw feeling and mayhem in her writing, yet approached her death with a sense of calm orderliness. This quote functions as a meditation on the enigmatic nature of Plath's tradition, catching the tension in between her artistic genius and individual anguish.