The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Margo Arrowsmith — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 22:11:54 +0000

For decades I assumed that I had read The Bell Jar. It turns out that I hadn’t. However, the book is so widely written about that I thought I had. I had read someone talking about the scene where she goes to a hospital with her medical student boyfriend and watches a birth with the woman in ‘twilight sleep’. That was seared into my memory. I decided to reread it when Plath was featured in the book The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free. Just as Plath did in real life, the protagonist was awarded the guest editorship of a young women’s magazine. Like in real life it was glamorous but not as glamorous as young girls would think.

At the end of the month, Esther Greenwood began to have a mental breakdown, but the signs were ignored. The book is so biographical that Plath originally published it under a pseudonym and only in England to spare the feelings of people she loved who might be upset.

After returning home Esther was able to appear normal, if somewhat worrying, while planning her suicide. Just as Plath in real life, there was a nationally famous hunt for her after she attempted it until she was found almost dead in her mother’s basement.

I have worked in mental health for more than 40 years, at times with people suffering as she did. Her portrayal of the inner life was a stunningly intimate portrayal of mental illness and life in the 50s. Esther was first put in a state facility, after a horrible experience with electroshock. Thanks to a wealthy benefactor she was then placed in an exclusive private hospital where she recovered. In addition to the inner workings, we learn a lot about the classist nature of our medical system.

If, like me, you think you have read it because you have read so much about it, it’s time to get the book in your hands. You might want to re-read it regardless, as it is a book that will be important and instructive as you go through ages and changes in your life.

Study Questions

These questions are generally for book clubs; however, they can also be used for contemplation or talking to a friend. Spoiler Alert: These questions are designed for people who have read the entire book. If surprises matter, do not read these now. I have given the entire story of this book because Plath’s life is so well known, and it is her writing that is the reason for reading the book.

What did you learn about suicide?
What part of women’s place in society has to do with her breakdown?
Did the portrayal of her boyfriend seem accurate for male-female relationships of the time?
How did her mother participate in the problem? Was she too involved or not enough?
Plath seemed to draw a link between the electrocution of the Rosenbergs and her own and Esther’s electroshock therapy. Besides the obvious, what links do you see?