Research Paper On The Bell Jar Plath

Often times in life, the pressure from peers and the status of which one must live up to tends to corrode one’s character. The dawn of the twentieth century saw much change in the legal progressions of women, as they finally gained their rights. Although having reached such accomplishments, women still did not maintain equality in societal expectations. The Bell Jar, first published under the pseudonym “Victoria Lucas”, persists as a confessional novel that embodies Sylvia Plath’s struggles with society and the circumstances that eventually led to her tragic suicide in 1963. Writing The Bell Jar required Plath to contend with her inner demons, much of which sprung from the harsh relationships with the people whom with she surrounded herself.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a novel that follows Esther around while she deals with issues that would not be seen in the media. In the novel The Bell Jar, Plath presents a different perspective of women from the norm during the 1950's.

In the Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood struggles to find an identity within a male dominated society. From her mother’s expectations to her career’s expectation, Esther is unable to to distinguish the correct societal and personal ways to achieving her desired result. She is lost. Her continual journey down into the most repressive times of her life reveals past experiences that ultimately changed her path to becoming someone new.

Esther’s depression is a key factor in the development of her relationship with many characters in the novel, The Bell Jar. Esther is mentally and emotionally different than a majority of the people in her community. As a result of this state, she often has difficulty taking criticism to heart. Her depression continues to build throughout the novel as she remains in the asylum. It does not help that she has no aid from her loved ones. In the novel, The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath utilizes the relationships that Esther shares with Buddy Willard Mrs. Greenwood, and Dr. Nolan in order to emphasize the impact that they have on both exacerbating and remedying Esther 's debilitating depression.

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

Esther Greenwood distinguishes a psychological space of the bell jar which separates her self from the 1950’s America. Esther’s disillusionment of social and gender standards allows her to believe that there is air to breathe out side this confinement. To purposely live in a emotion of isolation and indifference in order to obtain her sense of security, Esther has form a psychological space around her which is the bell jar. However, it has come to the readers attention that the protagonist has a need to realise that feeling of being reduced to an object as a human being brings an institutional

Sylvia Plath, the author of The Bell Jar, writes in a very simple and ordinary but exceptionally unique way. She put her whole young genuine heart and soul into this semi-autobiography. Her first person point of view allows the reader to really engage with the characters thoughts, specifically Esther Greenwood and her perspective on everything. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood encounters the coming of many things, including age and mental illness. While the coming of age is normal for the majority of society, the coming of mental illness is abnormal. With that being said, many may classify Esther Greenwood as abnormal and deviant but in all reality,

Near the onset of Esther’s issues, she continues remind herself that she “[is] a scholarship girl,” and, as one, she feels that she should not suffer with depression, anxiety, and so on (136). Here, her view of herself demonstrates her struggle with truly recognizing the problem; she sees it as temporary and impermanent, while, without addressing the issue, the illness will only continue to plague her. Secondly, this view portrays that Esther molds her self-image and self-worth from others’ opinions. This serves as a further indicator of the distorted view she holds because, since she finds herself through others’ opinions, she sees faults within society and not her actions or mental state. The title of the book itself depicts Esther’s general attitude towards herself; by definition, a bell jar exists as a sort of container that keeps items or specimens in a vacuum and separate from others. These characteristics come about in Esther by way of her time in mental institutions, away from the rest of society. Her idea of existing inside a bell jar distorts her view of society: she can only observe and not partake in it. This unclear view of the outside world only reflects back to her distorted view of self in that she does not fully grasp that, despite her illness, she can improve and still function in society.

In the 1963 Autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is narrated by Esther Greenwood who questions her self-identity and sexual behavior. The theme of the novel is explored more in depth when Esther realizes she feels constrained of being a woman that is expected to be a household wife. The theme is shown how the expectations of the 1950s American society forms into sanity and madness . Straight into the first chapter, Plath detaches Esther from society with her clinical diction seen when Esther describes New York to be “fake” as she constantly felt like a “numb trolleybus” when all her life consisted of was hotels and parties. Plath's hyperbole, “I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel,moving dully

The book that I chose to read for my project is called The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. The story follows a woman named Esther Greenwood through her downward spiral of mental illness, and describes her experiences as someone who does not fit the societal expectations placed upon her. She grew up earning A’s in school, and was regarded as a good student. However, as she entered college, her grades and mental health took a turn for the worse. Working an internship in New York for a magazine company, Esther was living a life that many would envy. She was surrounded by friends, entertainment, romantic interests, and the career that she had hoped for. However, none of the things that were supposed to bring her happiness succeeded in doing so.

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 is an autobiographical, feminist novel by Sylvia Plath. The main character, Esther Greenwood represents Sylvia Plath in several life events throughout the novel. I think one of the best themes of this novel is that it challenges and mocks the idea of misogyny. Some examples of how society restricted women in the 1950s deal with sex, work, and home lives and some of these examples still exist. This novel sticks up for women and shows the true potential that they behold.

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.

Throughout Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood finds herself constantly constrained to the binds of women's standards in the 1950s; Esther is able to recognize her potential future and deviate away from a path of conformity through consistent aberration of the societal push towards 'typical family life.’ While living in New York City, Esther has a multitude of extraordinary opportunities and experiences that accompany her internship at a women's magazine. Despite this, however, Esther tends to ignore the expected implications that come with such opportunities. Esther is extremely aware of the way society expects certain things from women, including but not limited to: mannerisms, marriage, child bearing, education, etc. With this, Greenwood's awareness

The Bell Jar is a novel written in, 1963 written by Sylvia Plath. It is a story about a girl who under goes many traumatic life events that had the destiny to make or break her. The things she used to enjoy in life are no longer bringing joy to her life. She can’t find anything that gives her the will to go on. 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. She lets people tell her what she can and cannot do and loses what it means to become your own person. The Bell Jar teaches the audience about the expectations, opportunities or restrictions on American Women in the 1950’s. As gender roles have become more diverse between a man and a woman, it is still more