The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Esther Greenwood is young, intelligent woman on the edge of greatness. She should be having the time of her life, having secured a place on a prestigious scholarship which bring her to New York. It is here that she finds herself just drifting along and completely loses all of her drive ambition and passion. I love this book because it is semi-autobiographical and the more I learned about Sylvia Plath, the more I admired the novel. Esther finds she can no longer write or even read properly which is a something she always excelled at, as it all came so naturally to her. She disconnects with the other students on her course and starts to drift aimlessly from day to day. Esther feels sealed off from everything else behind the 'bell jar', she can see what is happening but behind or underneath the bell jar she remains unchanged. This short powerful novel raises many issues about the role of women in society and their own expectations and how mental illness was viewed back in the 1960's. Esther want to be a writer but does not secure a place on the course. Esther's gradual descent in to a suicidal state is very troubling to read, so too are the episodes of electro convulsive therapy she was subjected to. Sylvia Plath did commit suicide in 1963 at the age of 30, so it has generally become accepted that The Bell Jar was semi-autobiographical.
Submitted by Paula
