The bell jar is symbolic throughout the whole novel because it is responsible for much of the trouble that Esther experienced. Sylvia Plath, the author of the Bell Jar, makes the main character Esther go through a psychological transformation. To add on, Esther feels greatly oppressed by the patriarchal framework constructed. Most of her reflections circulate around sex and career. In a very dramatic episode, the newspapers presume her kidnapping and death, but she is discovered under her house after an indeterminate amount of time. Men, on the other hand, enjoyed the double standard which gave them the task of being experienced with sex. In other words, the individual will conform to the social construct in order to fit in.
However, Esther's entire life shows warning signs that cause this depressive downfall. Most famously recognized psychiatrist Sigmund Freud is known for his Psychodynamic theory. Esther feels pulled between her desire to write and the pressure she feels to settle down and start a family. The hospital is organized on an ascending scheme from illness to health, from Wymark to Caplan to Belsize and then back to the world. However, this is the only instance in the novel that finds Esther literally trapped; the other instances in which this theme appears are allegorical, demonstrating that Esther's sense of confinement is largely mental.
Esther feels ambivalently about this double standard. Tormented by both the death of her father and the feeling that she simply does not fit into the culturally acceptable role of womanhood, she attempts to commit suicide in the hopes of escape. Thus, Plath skillfully connects the theme of feminism and mental health in her novel The Bell Jar. The person that wants Esther to get help and takes her to see Doctor Gordon is her mom. After her first shock treatment with Dr. Sylvia Plath, the Critical Heritage. The novel ends with her entering the room for an interview, which will decide whether she can leave the hospital.
Images of Madness and Retrieval: An Exploration of Metaphor in The Bell Jar. Nolan, a progressive female psychiatrist. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. Esther Greenwood used to live in the suburbs true woman hood not only to be different, but to escape he physical, emotional, and psychological abuse that they will or have encountered. The theme of societal pressure even continues into the mental hospital, where the greatest concern of Esther's mother and even some of the patients is that they will not be accepted in their particular social circles because of their mental illness.
Esther represents everything controversial about domesticity in the twentieth century. As a result Esther builds up personalities which do not have these problems. The influences of people and events around Esther Esther is one of the most significant characters etched in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Self-obsessed and patronizing, he subjects her to traumatic shock treatments that haunt her for the rest of her time in medical care. Esther therefore tries to protect her real identity and hides from her real self.
Explain why you think the bell jar will trap Esther again, or why you believe she is free forever. Could this novel have been foreshadowing young and talented writer with the potential to exceed literary expectations. Women's Studies, 43 5 , 567-588. Esther Greenwood is passive and unable to be agent of her life. I'm gonna tell on her.
Point of View The point of view of the novel is first person. Esther feels that she is pressured to succeed in whatever career she chooses, despite the fact that she cannot yet even decide on which career path she will pursue. Later boyfriend, Billy Willard, decides that when he gets better from portrayed in a means to convey to her readers the everyday struggle of depression, and how it affects her view of her world, herself, and even those who attempt to tackle her battle with her. The Bell Jar is a story that will take reader on a journey with a girl who lets the gender roles of 1950s get the best of her. The first is formed from early traumatic experiences, her father's death when she was 9 years old.
After one treatment, Esther finds herself unable to think about knives. Never having learned how to develop herself as an independent individual, she is dependent on others and follows their ideals of a fulfilling life. Esther reflects often on the differences between men and women as well as on the different social roles they are expected to perform. No further distribution without written consent. Her first person point of view allows the reader to really engage with the characters thoughts, specifically Esther Greenwood and her perspective on everything. On the other hand, when she decides to have sex with Erwin, she is glad that he is promiscuous since it makes him experienced.
Esther contemplates the possibility of becoming a well-known author such as her benefactress, Philomena Guinea or an important and successful editor such as her boss. Usually I had these plans on the tip of my tongue. Mirrors Esther continually confronts reflections of herself, reflections she often fails to recognize. On the other hand she wants to have a family or at least a loving husband. For Esther, the bell jar symbolizes madness. The interrelation with food functions in two distinct manners: literally and figuratively. Esther's mom loves her and worries about her future.
She decides to reject Buddy for good when she realizes he represents a sexual double standard. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Free BookNotes Online Book Summary All Content Copyright©TheBestNotes. These moments correlate to her mental state and the effect of her depression. Plath also explores the idea of how grave these timeless and poignant issues can affect a fragile On January 14th of 1963, Sylvia Plath had finally completed The Bell Jar after approximately two years of writing. People suffering from emotional illness are also living as if under a bell jar. By nine in the morning the fake, country-wet freshness that somehow seeped in overnight evaporated like the tail end of a sweet dream.