The Bell Jar
Discuss an Important Character
In the novel, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, the protagonist and narrator of the story is Esther Greenwood. Esther is a young woman that travels to New York City, and is expected to progress into adulthood and follow the ways of society. Although she seems to enjoy her time in New York City, upon returning home to Boston, her disgust and opposition to the way society expects her to act is revealed. She believes that society wants her to act happy and cheerful all the time which is contradictory to her apathetic personality. One obvious way Esther contradicts society's expectations is by wanting to lose her virginity when she is in New York City, although she never does. At that time (1950s), women were supposed to save themselves until marriage, where they could be a perfect wife for their perfect husband. This obligation to society eventually drives Esther mad.
"So What?" Category
Essential Plot Elements
- Introduction: Esther, a young women from Boston working in New York City, struggles to fulfill the society's expectations.
- Rising Action: After working in New York City as an intern for a magazine editor, Esther returns to her home in Boston and finds she is no longer able to do the things she loves, like reading and writing, even sleeping and eating. Esther and her mother both become concerned about Esther's attitude toward life so Mrs. Greenwood begins shock treatment for Esther. Obviously, this treatment is unsatisfying for Esther, leading her to consider suicide as a suitable option.
- Climax: As a result of the shock treatments, Esther is nearly effective in killing herself by taking massive number of sleeping pills and hiding in a basement crawl space. Luckily she doesn't succeed.
- Falling Action: After Esther's suicide attempt, and a stay a city hospital, Mrs. Greenwood admits Esther into mental hospital where she is allowed to recover. While she is there, Esther meets Dr. Nolan, a psychiatrist. Through a combination of talk therapy, injections and PROPER shock treatment, Esther begins to recover and trust Dr. Nolan. Also while Esther is at the mental hospital, she meets a math professor from a local college named Irwin while she is out on the town. Eventually after talking and flirting for most of the night, Esther finally loses her virginity to Irwin. Soon after this, Esther recovers and leaves the mental hospital.
Setting
The novel, The Bell Jar, begins in New York City in June 1953. Due to societal obligations and Esther Greenwood's (the narrators') apathetic nature, the novel takes a cynical and isolated tone both while she is in New York City then when she returns home to Boston. The novel ends in January 1954.
"So What?" Category
Central Conflict
Internal: The central internal conflict of this novel is Esther's struggle within herself to fight apathy and going crazy as a result of an oppressive society.
External: Esther, obviously, fights the society that oppresses her, but Esther's family and friends also have to fight Esther because she doesn't realize that her suicidal tendencies are hurting the people around her.
"So What?" Category
Major Themes
The central themes in this novel are the oppression of women during this time, the ridiculousness of societal expectations and renewal.
This novel reveals important insight about humanity by showing what oppression and societal expectations can do to a person.
"How?" Category
Motifs
Two motifs that author Sylvia Plath uses in her novel, The Bell Jar, are mirrors and blood. Throughout the novel, Esther sees herself in mirrors, but it seems she doesn't ever recognize herself. By using this motif, it seems that Esther's inability to recognize herself may coincide with her inability to understand herself completely. Another motif Plath uses is blood. Each time the book, and Esther, transition, she bleeds. This is a representation of Esther losing a part of herself.
"How?" Category
Symbols
Two symbols that author Sylvia Plath uses in her novel, The Bell Jar, are the bell jar and a fig tree. The bell jar is a symbol of insanity throughout the novel but at the end of the novel, the bell jar is lifted as a symbol of Esther recovering. The next symbol used in the novel is a fig tree that represents life and life choices. Esther cannot choose which "fig" she wants because, in reality, she wants them all. This results in Esther being incapacitated with uncertainty and doubt.
