Sylvia Plath and Living Life In The Confines of One’s Own Bell Jar

Plath was a literary genius, with her witty, often gruesome but spot-on detailing into some of life’s most mundane moments.

The protagonist Esther finds herself clawing at the clear confines of her own personal bell jar: one that descended onto her NYC life of work at the magazine, snobby dinners and useless friends. With raw detail Plath pries open Esther’s mind as any last bits of saneness diminishes, leaving her questioning existence and finding the allure of self harm and suicide to be an aching desire.

Reading Plath’s description of Esther’s time at the differing psych wards feeds into this contradicting force between one’s body fighting to stay afloat and the craving urge to give in and sink below the surface. But as the novel goes on, a shift occurs, a slow rebirth is unearthed, when Esther’s mind and body begin to grow steady and find a sense of normalcy. She starts rejoining life outside the ward, reclaiming herself, tying loose ends with her past relationships and ultimately finding solace in being free.

The bell jar is no longer a dark thick cloud obfuscating her life, and as she creeps out from under its shadow, she walks on, knowing that at any moment it can descend once again.

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