Gender Roles In The Bell Jar

Throughout The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath explores a number of themes, particularly regarding the gender roles, and subsequently, the mental health care system for women. Her 19-year-old protagonist, Esther Greenwood, is the vessel through which Plath poses many probing questions about these topics to the reader. In the 1950s when the novel was set, women were held to a high standard: to be attractive but pure, intelligent but submissive, and to generally accept the notion of bettering oneself only in order to make life more comfortable for the significant male in her life. Esther not only deals with the typical problems faced by women in her time, but she has to experience those things through the lens of mental illness though it is up for

In Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood seems incapable of healthy relationships with other women. She is trapped in a patriarchal society with rigid expectations of womanhood. The cost of transgressing social norms is isolation, institutionalization and a lost identity as woman. The struggle for an individual identity under this regime is enough to drive a person to the verge of suicide. Given the oppressive system under which she must operate, Esther Greenwood's problems with women stem from her conflict between individuality and conformity.

The pain and trauma that stem from Esther’s illness have warped her view of the world around her. However, this symbol also represents the pressures put on women in the 1950s to be what was considered ideal for women during this era. The bell jar “suggests more than Esther’s inner alienated world”, it also “signifies society which destroys Esther” and “symbolizes ‘scientific punishment’ for non-conformists” (Evans 105). She “must combat the additional alienation of being an aspiring woman in an era of strict limitations for women” which only hinders her further from her goals in life (Axelrod). While many women at the time planned on marrying and settling down, Esther does not view these expectations for women in the same way and instead wishes to be her own independent person. While working as the guest editor of Mademoiselle, a fashion magazine, Esther “suffocates under the bell jar forced on her by a competitive, male-oriented society”(Evans 105). During the fifties women were not expected to have successful careers in general and the male dominant world held a high level of competition; while trying to come out on top in this society Esther ends up cracking under the intense pressure. Representing both the stifling social limits set on women and the protagonist’s dismal mental state, the bell jar is a robust symbol in this novel.

The Bell Jar, a coming of age, semi-autobiographical novel, by Sylvia Plath follows the life of a troubled young girl named Esther Greenwood, her slow descent into mental illness and then her subsequent recovery. The second half of the book details Esther's mental breakdown, her incarceration and stumbling recovery whilst the first half uncovers the protagonists, narrators day to day struggles which go on to contribute to her eventual breakdown . Throughout the novel, the reader comes to understand that Esther feels there are few choices; in character a woman must be either the virgin or the whore, both of which are demonstrated by Esther's friends, Betsy and Doreen. This presents one of the key internal conflicts the protagonist, Esther battles.

In the 1950s, women were able to work for themselves, but society still expected them to find a husband, get married, and have children, allowing their husbands to take over all the responsibilities. Many women went to college in hopes of finding a suitable husband instead of getting a degree and making a life on their own. In the novel, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Esther Greenwood struggles with society’s expectations of her and her own desires in life. Coming from a poor family in Boston, Massachusetts, Esther makes her way through college by getting scholarships and studying relentlessly, much to the amusement to her other classmates, women who are rich and able to go to school and not take it seriously. Esther finds herself in New York

Esther’s abrupt shift in mood thoroughly captures how the tiniest conditions can have a lasting effect. In The Bell Jar, Plath consistently writes Esther’s character and being as independent, hence, leading Esther to be more on her own with tasks. She does not believe in having other people in her life, solving or controlling anything. Esther’s constant independent characteristic resulted in different desires, passions, and arrangements for her future, than most other people in her life. As Buddy attempted to talk to her about marriage and love, the two always had opposing viewpoints on the matter. “I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a fourth of July rocket”. Plath portrays Esther as wanting trepidation, solely by herself. Not married, or looking after a child. The achievement of having an eternal response on the readers part was high, because the comparison of a fierce independence woman to a rocket made an

The accounting of where Esther is staying shows the normalcy and what the woman's role was in this era. For instance while Esther is describing her hotel she explains, “This hotel--the Amazon--was for women only, and they were mostly girls my age with wealthy parents...and they were all going to posh secretarial schools...where they had to wear hats and

Women haven’t always had the freedom that they have today. Women were supposed to live a certain life even though sometimes they didn’t want to. They had to tend to their husbands at all time, stay home and do housework while still taking care of their children or being pregnant. Women were abused physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Although women were perceived to act and present themselves in a certain way, some young women went against the cult of the true woman hood not only to be different, but to escape he physical, emotional, and psychological abuse that they will or have encountered. In novels, The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Path and Lucy, by Jamaica Kincaid both young women have the similarity to rebel against the cult of true

People's lives are shaped through their success and failure in their personal relationships with each other. The author Sylvia Plath demonstrates this in the novel, The Bell Jar. This is the direct result of the loss of support from a loved one, the lack of support and encouragement, and lack of self confidence and insecurity in Esther's life in the The Bell Jar. It was shaped through her success and failures in her personal relationships between others and herself.

Esther refuses to allow society to control her life. Esther has a completely different approach to life than the rest of her peers do. The average woman during this time is supposed to be happy and full of joy. Esther, on the other hand, attempts to repress her natural gloom, cynicism, and dark humor. This eventually becomes too hard for her and causes her emotions to go crazy. She begins to have ideas

Sylvia Plath’s novel, “The Bell Jar”, tells a story of a young woman’s descent into mental illness. Esther Greenwood, a 19 year old girl, struggles to find meaning within her life as she sees a distorted version of the world. In Plath’s novel, different elements and themes of symbolism are used to explain the mental downfall of the book’s main character and narrator such as cutting her off from others, forcing her to delve further into her own mind, and casting an air of negativity around her. Plath uses images of rotting fig trees and veils of mist to convey the desperation she feels when confronted with issues of her future. Esther Greenwood feels that she is trapped under a bell jar, which distorts her view of the world around her.

Esther’s mother and society’s expectation as a woman, which is to be a good wife and a mother, suffocate and demoralize Esther’s dream as a professional writer. Esther’s mother wants her to “...learn shorthand after college, so I’d have a practical skill as well as a college degree” (Plath 40). Her mother believes that Esther cannot further advance her education as a writer and simply wants her to be a secretary since professional career for women was uncommon and discouraged because it disturbs the role as a married woman. These pressures often obliged her to fall into the societal expectations, to give up her higher education, and to marry somebody. However, she knew that the marriage and the babies were not for her, “because cook and clean and wash were just about

One relationship and event ultimately lead to Esther’s battle with the gender stereotypes of the 1950s. In the era is which Esther Greenwood lived, women were expected to be prim, proper, pure, married and with children. Esther struggled with this concept as she fits none of the following categories. Her former boyfriend, Buddy Willard, created extreme stress for Esther and greatly contributed to her mental breakdown. Before the pair became involved with each other, Esther was enamored with him.

"The Bell Jar Themes.") ("Notes on The Bell Jar Themes." BookRags.) In the Bell Jar, it’s okay for men to have sexual desires and to actively act upon them but for women, it’s way different. Women are suppose to view sex as something detached from love and passion or anything of the sort. They are suppose to remain innocent until they get married, then are expected to have sex for one purpose: Babies. Esther is fascinated by sexuality even though she is unimpressed with Buddy Willard’s naked body and his betrayal all of a sudden makes her become ready for it. She doesn’t actually buy into the whole importance of the chastity thing. She doesn’t feel like it is that important and she feels that way for the duration of the book.(Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Bell Jar Theme of Sex.") She doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror or in photographs that she’s in. It is mentioned several times during the book that she’ll stare continuously at herself and not even comprehend that the person staring back at her through the mirror is her. At one point, she’s looking at her reflection in the elevator door and she refuses to accept that the creature she was looking at was her or even after her suicide attempt and her face is all bruised up and swollen. She got to the point of not even being able to tell if she was a man or a woman.(SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 06 Apr. 2016) She begins to make aliases for herself over a series of time. Her main alias, Elly

Throughout the story “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath, Esther’s mental health deteriorates overtime due to various factors in her social environment such as double standards. The novel begins with Esther’s internship at the Ladies’ Day magazine in New York City. Despite living the life every girl wishes to live, Esther is dejected and feels disengaged with the environment around her; thus resulting in the beginning of an identity crisis. Through the events of the story, gender double roles in the areas of education, careers, virginity and marriage affect Esther’s life significantly and it consequently leading to Esther’s confusion with her identity within the society. During the 50s, women were seen to be inferior to and dependent on men as