Weaknesses of Esther and Plath Exposed in Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar E

Weaknesses of Esther and Plath Exposed in The Bell Jar The glass of which a bell jar is constructed is dull and suffocating, intending to preserve its orna kind contents but instead traps in it make air. The thickness of the bell jar glass prevents the prisoner from clearly eyesight through distortion. Sylvia Plath writes with extreme conviction, as The Bell Jar is essentially her autobiography. The engagement title symbolizes not only her suffocation and mental illness, but also the internal struggle of Plaths alter ego and apologue protagonist Esther Greenwood. The novel illustrates the theme confinement by highlighting the weaknesses of both Esther and Plath. Esthers first statement, It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs (1) sets the tone for the novel and establishes her preoccupation with remainder. She alludes to no remorse at the loss of life but rather concentrates on the rarity of execution. This style allows the reader to see the development of confinement that is, Esthers preoccupation with death entraps her within herself. It is perhaps her over-analysis of situations that causes the manifestations of her psyche she consistently volleys between multiple possibilities, inquisitory for the most fruitful option. The novels theme is consistently shown as a mental battle of Esther versus herself, a direct result of her mental illness. It is obvious that Esther is at a crossroads and feels torn by life. She best describes her feelings with the following passageway I saw myself in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, save because I couldnt make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I treasured each a... ... her a strong person. Works Cited and Consulted Brennan, Sheila M. Popular Images of American Women in the 1950s. Womens Rights Law Reporter 14 (1992) 41-67. Bronfen, Elizabeth. Sylvia Plath. Writers and Their Work. Plymouth, UK Northcote, 1998. Evans, Sara M. Role Models of W omen in America. New York Free-Simon, 1989. Friedan, Betty. The powder-puff Mystique. Twentieth Anniversary Edition. 1963. New York Norton, 1983. Nizer, Louis. The Implosion Conspiracy. New York Doubelday, 1973. Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. 1963. London Faber, 1966. Radosh, Ronald, and Joyce Milton, eds. The Rosenberg send A Search for the Truth. 1983. New Haven Yale UP, 1997. Stevenson, Anne. Bitter Fame A life history of Sylvia Plath. London Viking-Penguin, 1989. Wagner-Martin, Linda. Sylvia Plath A Biography. New York Simon, 1987.