The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
This was the first book I read this year. I have wanted to read The Bell Jar for sometime.
The Bell Jar for me is a representation of gender, sex and mental health difficulties. It's also a recognition of the attitudes towards those issues in the 50's.
The character Esther is a young lady. Her character particularly struck me as I felt can relate to in some ways. She is ready to break into her career, off the bat of college but there is still uncertainty and confusion about her path. Whilst that is the present theme of the novel, we are informed on her past with Plath's use of flashback's. We learn of her college romance with ex lover Buddy Willard. Through this relationship the main themes of the Bell Jar are highlighted. There is infidelity that is looked over on the male counterpart, expectations of Esther in marriage and home keeping and attitudes towards sex in the 50's. From the relationship, we see how it fell apart and what Esther takes from it and how it shapes the present of her character in the novel.
At the start, Esther is drawing comparisons between the women she works with within the internship. I believe Plath details this to further explain the light that is on the behaviour of women. Themes of promiscuity, togetherness and emotion are brought to our eyes.
Esther has a few negative encounters with men. She expresses her sexual oppression and recites the ideology that women aren't supposed to sleep with more than one man outside of their wedlock bed. Esthers character seems to have ideas beyond her time. The primal feminism instincts are evident throughout.
As the storyline progresses, we first hand see Esther's fall into her breakdown. She starts to obsess on suicide and is determined that her life is not worth living. In this time she recalls more past experiences, old friendships with people that will later resurface.
After a suicide attempt, she becomes an in-patient at a mental hospital, where she is treated with shock treatment. It is detailed in a very medieval way and the reader begins to fear for Esthers wellbeing on a deeper level than before.
Time goes on however and this is when her old friendships resurface - to spare details, someone from the past appears and unfortunately commits suicide. I believe this is a version of a wakeup call to Esther as she sees what she could have been.
Her liveliness is vivid as she sits at her friends funeral. Esther hears 'The old brag of her heart' beating "I am...I am...I am". Despite this she lacks faith in her consistency. She understands there is a risk of falling back down.
Hence, the exposé of The Bell Jar metaphor.
When she was amidst her breakdown, she felt as if she was under a bell jar. There was no air, no way to be heard clearly, and everything around her appeared warped through the distortions of the glass.
She notes, though she is free from hospital and supposedly better now, she feels the bell jar lingering above her head and awaits its drop at any moment.
The character Esther is a young lady. Her character particularly struck me as I felt can relate to in some ways. She is ready to break into her career, off the bat of college but there is still uncertainty and confusion about her path. Whilst that is the present theme of the novel, we are informed on her past with Plath's use of flashback's. We learn of her college romance with ex lover Buddy Willard. Through this relationship the main themes of the Bell Jar are highlighted. There is infidelity that is looked over on the male counterpart, expectations of Esther in marriage and home keeping and attitudes towards sex in the 50's. From the relationship, we see how it fell apart and what Esther takes from it and how it shapes the present of her character in the novel.
At the start, Esther is drawing comparisons between the women she works with within the internship. I believe Plath details this to further explain the light that is on the behaviour of women. Themes of promiscuity, togetherness and emotion are brought to our eyes.
Esther has a few negative encounters with men. She expresses her sexual oppression and recites the ideology that women aren't supposed to sleep with more than one man outside of their wedlock bed. Esthers character seems to have ideas beyond her time. The primal feminism instincts are evident throughout.
As the storyline progresses, we first hand see Esther's fall into her breakdown. She starts to obsess on suicide and is determined that her life is not worth living. In this time she recalls more past experiences, old friendships with people that will later resurface.
After a suicide attempt, she becomes an in-patient at a mental hospital, where she is treated with shock treatment. It is detailed in a very medieval way and the reader begins to fear for Esthers wellbeing on a deeper level than before.
Time goes on however and this is when her old friendships resurface - to spare details, someone from the past appears and unfortunately commits suicide. I believe this is a version of a wakeup call to Esther as she sees what she could have been.
Her liveliness is vivid as she sits at her friends funeral. Esther hears 'The old brag of her heart' beating "I am...I am...I am". Despite this she lacks faith in her consistency. She understands there is a risk of falling back down.
Hence, the exposé of The Bell Jar metaphor.
When she was amidst her breakdown, she felt as if she was under a bell jar. There was no air, no way to be heard clearly, and everything around her appeared warped through the distortions of the glass.
She notes, though she is free from hospital and supposedly better now, she feels the bell jar lingering above her head and awaits its drop at any moment.
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