The Bell Jar is a contemporary classic published in 1963 that explores mental illness and the societal expectations that oppress women in mid-19th century America. It takes place in 1953, New York City, and documents a slice of Esther Greenwood's life as a beautiful and brilliant young woman interning at a well-known magazine in NYC at the time. Left tormented by the death of her father and distraught by the idea that she does not fit into the culturally and socially acceptable image of womanhood, she then attempts suicide. Although it can be deemed upsetting and poignant to read, it is beautiful and rewarding in a seemingly uncomfortable way.
Right off the bat, the narrative makes it clear that Esther is mentally unstable. Because there she is, in the midst of New York City's hustle and bustle, yet absolutely void of what you’re supposed to feel (or what Esther thinks she should feel) when you are, in fact, in the midst of New York City's hustle and bustle:
“I was supposed to be having the time of my life. […] Only I wasn’t steering anything, not even myself. I just bumped from my hotel to work and to parties and from parties to my hotel and back to work like a numb trolleybus. I guess I should have been excited the way most of the other girls were, but I couldn’t get myself to react. I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.”
What I really liked was the general pace of the novel—edgy yet controlled—which kept me on my toes that I read the last 200 pages in one sitting. The writing all throughout is fairly readable and flows just right and Plath’s tone is crisp and intelligent. Although the theme of the novel can be somewhat uncomfortable, I enjoyed certain discussions on womanhood and how gender-based notions and standards put women, particularly, at a disadvantage. Throughout the novel, Esther consistently resists the biological representation of femininity (i.e. pregnancy and the demand for being a natural nurturer that is tied with the double standards that still exist for women) and the patriarchal idea of marriage—which she believes both stand in the way of her attaining a solid sense of individuality.
“That’s one of the reasons I never wanted to get married. The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket.”
In a way, this certain connotation she has of being restrained by societal norms serves as the central subject for the metaphor of the novel’s title. The “bell jar” that gives Esther the feeling of being trapped does not only represent her mental state throughout the novel, but also is in itself a general metaphor for a society that is constricted into homogeneity by its own conventions.
I don’t want to give too much away because reading it can be such a personal experience. However, what I can say is that this novel is truly deserving of the recognition it has received in the past and has been receiving latelyel—particularly on BookTok, despite the misrepresentation. It’s not every day I get to read a book as thought-provoking as this, and it has easily become one of my favorites.
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