Taufiq Yves's Reviews > The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar is about an American Dream gone wrong. Esther, a young woman from Boston, comes to New York and feels the immense pressure of the city's upper-class intellectual circles. The lavish lifestyle and superficiality are evident from the 3rd chapter, "Ladies' Day," with its descriptions of extravagant food. In my opinion, this is actually a work of a small-town writer who fears the shattering of her dreams, afraid of being left behind in the fast-paced world of elite schools, high society, publishing, and handsome men.

After publishing this book, Plath committed suicide. So, it's more like a suicide note, a burden released by a mentally ill person. It tells the story of how women in the upper-class intellectual circles of post-war America felt oppressed. After her death, not only was the book published, but it also achieved unprecedented success, and countless generations of women have read it.

But for me, as human beings, we all have to bear the weight of reality, no matter what. It's a responsibility, and no matter how difficult it is, we must endure it.

This is the reason why I feel a certain degree of disgust and irony towards the latter half of the novel, when nearly half of it is devoted to describing how Esther destroys herself after experiencing betrayal in love, friendship, and her dreams.

Plath’s writing was OK, but this is definitely not a good novel. The story is too childish, the central theme is childish, the narrative is childish, and Plath herself, as the author of the book, is childish. Strangely enough, many people loved it, look at the amount of 4 & 5-star reviews.

I’m sorry but I don’t get it.

Esther always presents herself as a Plath-esque American sweetheart, yet despite being a virgin, she is perceived as promiscuous due to her appearance. And the seemingly honest and hardworking Yale medical student, with over 30 sexual experiences, is seen as a perfect marriage candidate. OK, he was tempted and fell, but that doesn't really count as a fall. It was just a lapse, the fault of that flirtatious women, not his own problem. But this is clearly the problem — both for Plath and Esther.

How to solve this problem has always puzzled them, and until the end of the novel they are still trying to overcome the extreme impact of this fact. So, during a break from the asylum, she randomly found a man she decided not to see again and lost her virginity. She tries to make her virginity as unimportant as a man's virginity. But in fact, she values ​her virginity too much, and cannot understand that men go crazy thinking about getting it. Whether it is a male student at Yale or a young associate professor of mathematics, this kind of thinking does not require wisdom at all. As long as straight men have sexual ability, they just, want it.

That's the problem with Ploth and Esther. Even after having sex, she still didn't find the answer. The process of losing her virginity and bleeding was the process of endless doubts. This question will obviously not be answered by women losing their virginity.

One thing that shocked me is how poorly female friendships are depicted in this novel. Do women in real life often see another women as competition, or are all those so-called 'BFFs' fake?

Another thing is: do intelligent women, like female writers, not want to get married and have children? They think being a good wife and mother is undignified?

Personally, it's a pity, thou. Both Plath and Esther were initially portrayed as such wonderful figures: independent, strong-willed, intelligent, happy, and lively. It's just puzzling why they would choose such a tragic ending.

My interpretation is that they were too sensitive, perfectionist and craved love and freedom too much, feeling as if they were living under a bell jar, unable to breathe.

I still believe that one's destiny is shaped by thought and action, not by despair or a negative outlook.

1 / 5