This book review was written by Ifrah Reyal of Richard Montgomery
Warning: This book and review contain mentions of depression, suicide, bipolar disorder and shock therapy,
The Bell Jar is the only book written by Sylvia Plath, who is most known for her poetry. Plath wrote The Bell Jar as a semi-autobiographical book on her life and her struggle with mental illness, presumed to be either bipolar disorder or clinical depression. Esther Greenwood, the main character in this book describes her life as “being trapped under a bell jar.”
Esther starts out in New York City, accompanied by many other girls in a summer internship, but seems uninterested in the buzz around her. She describes many comedic events that took place during her stay there and thinks back to her life in her old town. However, after her internship ends she experiences a traumatic event, and she heads back home for the summer, intending to have an opportunity to attend a course lectured by a world-famous author. Her mother informs her once she arrives back home that unfortunately, she was not selected for that course. Distraught, Esther decided she will write a novel over the summer, but after realizing that she has no events to write about, Esther is at a loss. She comes to the realization that she is unsure what to do with her life and doesn’t enjoy any of the options presented to her. This is when Esther’s uncertainty about womanhood comes in, and her mental state worsens.
“The trouble was, I had been inadequate all along, I simply hadn't thought about it.” -Esther, The Bell Jar
Esther’s realization that she was at a loss about what to do with her life because previously, her life was more structured is something that I think is very important to her character. Plath characterizes Esther as a girl who’s had her whole life planned out and revolving around her academics, so when she has nothing to do during that summer, it feels as if her life is spiraling out of her control, which in turn causes her mental state to worsen. I think that Plath’s writing about this period of time when Esther is trying to find what to do with her life is very meaningful and important to the plot and readers since it resonated with me deeply.
After Esther starts spiraling, her mother realizes that Esther is severely depressed, and persuades her to see a psychotherapist, Dr. Gordon, whom Esther doesn’t like or trust. He prescribes her to take electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which he ends up doing wrong, severely traumatizing her. Esther’s mental state worsens, and she attempts suicide multiple times, though her full heart isn’t in it. One day, however, Esther seriously attempts suicide by swallowing multiple pills that were prescribed for her insomnia earlier that summer. Some time later, she is found and is later sent to multiple hospitals until her college benefactor gives her money to enlist her in a treatment center.
At the treatment center, she meets Dr. Nolan (a female therapist) and Joan Gilliard, who had dated her ex in the past. Dr. Nolan prescribed multiple medications for Esther and readministers her shock therapy, reassuring her that it will be done properly. It is in the treatment center where the book title comes into play, when Esther describes her life as “being trapped under a bell jar.” However, after the ECT, Esther says that it feels as if the jar has been lifted. Esther confides in Dr. Nolan about her insecurities about womanhood, when she is later prescribed a diaphragm. Dr. Nolan continues to help Esther conquer many of life’s typical challenges, as well as the shocking event of Joan’s suicide. The book ends with Esther entering an interview, which will determine whether or not she is fit to leave the hospital and go back to school.
I think that Esther’s time at the treatment center was very beneficial to the plot and the development of her mind and who she is as a person. Before being sent to the treatment center, she was lost about who she was and who she wanted to be in society, but after getting therapy and help from Dr. Nolan, she was able to get better and discover more about herself and become more secure in her place and her role in society.
While this book takes place in 1953, Plath still manages to write about mental health in a way that appeals to teenagers now. Plath describes Esther as a college-going girl and tackles the subjectivity of life and suicide with a lot of insight into the main character’s head. The novel may appear depressing, but Plath writes the main character’s development and relationships with other characters with informative descriptions. Esther’s relationship with Doreen and Besty, some of her friends from New York, demonstrated who she wanted to be and who she related to. Esther described herself to be more like Betsy, who was a sweetheart girl from Kansas. However, Esther wanted to be more like Doreen, a more rebel girl who doesn’t care much for work. Esther’s relationships with many of the characters in this novel revealed more about herself and who she thought she was.
In this book, Plath also tackles the subject of womanhood and a girl’s college life by portraying many doubts in Esther’s thoughts as her mental state continues to deteriorate. This book, while dealing with several heavy topics, might come off as severely depressing, but I see it as incredibly eye-opening to the multiple ways of life and incredibly realistic with dealing with mental health. Plath provides unsettling eyesight into daily thoughts and since reading this book, I’ve had a change in the way I view life as it is.
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