January 29 2024
By Juha(Lucy) Kim
Summary
Based loosely on the author's own life, “The Bell Jar” is a haunting American classic. Esther Greenwood, an immensely talented, accomplished, and beautiful scholar, has the wits to become great. However, something is slowly but surely drowning her. A deep depression and vivid insanity draw Esther in, rendering her unable to fend for herself.
Review
Spoilers ahead
I could love this book so much; in theory, I do, but I can't. In some ways, this book blew my expectations out of the water. The symbolism, especially regarding the fig tree, has and will stick with me for the rest of my life. The book itself was a strangely easy read, though it is a classic, but the brilliance shone through. Slyvia Plath's writing is nothing if not assertive. Slyvia Plath was a poet, and that accounts for the charm and wonder that were always somewhere creeping behind a page or two.
This book is very often hailed as a feminist novel, a book very ahead of its time, and while I do agree with its progressive nature, I disagree with categorizing it solely as such. Esther Greenwood's rejection of marriage and motherhood reflects her defiance against societal expectations and norms; the idea of depending on a man made her sick. Though there was a part of her that romanticized or pondered a suburban family life with a blue-collar husband and little babies running around the house, those thoughts always came when she was sickest. These types of thoughts are still frowned upon. Being married and a mother are the norm for women; these things are expected of us, and if this is still true, imagine how it must have been then. Sylvia Plath was very brave for writing about such a character as Esther.
However, we must not ignore the fact that Esther Greenwood was very problamatic. She judges her own appearance harshly at times, comparing them to a “chinaman, a woman, an Indian," etc. It is jarring because there is no sensitivity to it at all. Even in most classics written by white men and women, there is a sort of line, a craftiness, in how they display their internalized prejudice, but for Plath, there was none.
Esther's disdain for LGBTQ+ individuals is also very unsettling; she once called the intimacy between two women “the supreme act of evil." There is a certain naivety to Esther, an innocence almost: her obsession and disgust with sex, for instance. She's intensely aware of herself, and yet she feels she doesn't know who she is. She looks in the mirror and does not recognize herself. Though quite a strange and twisted character, she is still very relatable, even to the average person. Relatability usually allows you to immerse yourself in the character more, enjoy that character more, but for me, that key held little to no impact. I found Esther unlikeable. I don't hold this against her or Plath; characters and people don't exist for you to measure them to a standard; however, it stayed with me—the fact that I really did not like this person. It made every hurtful thing she said, every useless comment she made, and every malicious gesture she rendered worse. Esther Greenwood is dull, unkind, and very privileged, despite her claims. Sick people are hard to love, and that's the simple truth.
To me, "The Bell Jar" is symbolic of girlhood and womanhood, resonating with many of my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences, but in many ways, this book was forgettable. I didn't hate it; I didn't even not like it, but it didn't have a profound impact on me. In comparison to the 1960s or 1970s, when the discussed topics were taboo, today's literature offers more nuanced and in-depth explorations of mental illness, societal expectations, sexism and its impacts, and womanhood. Consequently, "The Bell Jar" falls short of meeting my standards, as there are now more compelling options in this genre.
Just because it didn't hit home for me, that doesn't mean it won't for you. Personal preferences vary! I do recommend this book to anyone who might care and everyone who does not. It is a good place to start on your journey to radicalization.
Comments