What is the main message of The Bell Jar?

What is the main message of The Bell Jar?

Growth Through Pain and Rebirth. The Bell Jar tells the story of a young woman’s coming-of-age, but it does not follow the usual trajectory of adolescent development into adulthood.

Who raped Esther in The Bell Jar?

This episode – itself written in the manner of a short story or novel, with dialogue and extra attention to style – has echoes in at least two scenes in The Bell Jar: Marco’s attempted rape of Esther and the scene in which she learns that her sometime boyfriend, Buddy Willard, is not a virgin.

What is the storyline of The Bell Jar?

The Bell Jar details the life of Esther Greenwood, a college student who dreams of becoming a poet. She is selected for a month-long summer internship as a guest editor of Ladies’ Day magazine, but her time in New York City is unfulfilling as she struggles with issues of identity and societal norms.

What mental illness does Esther from The Bell Jar have?

Esther’s development of psychotic depression is Plath’s interpretation of the classic “rite of passage” journey. The bell jar of confusion that descends on Esther hampers her personal progress, yet it protects her from being overwhelmed by a highly competitive social world.

What is The Bell Jar a metaphor for?

In The Bell Jar, the main character uses the bell jar as the primary metaphor for feelings of confinement and entrapment. She feels that she’s stuck in her own head, spinning around the same thoughts of self-doubt and dejection, over and over again, with no hope of escape.

What does the fig tree represent in The Bell Jar?

Early in the novel, Esther reads a story about a Jewish man and a nun who meet under a fig tree. Their relationship is doomed, just as she feels her relationship with Buddy is doomed. Later, the tree becomes a symbol of the life choices that face Esther.

Why did Esther throw her clothes?

She throws away the expensive clothes as if throwing away the unhappy remnants of the dream job she ended up despising. While the symbolic gesture is apt, for Esther symbolism has filled the screen, leaving little room for the demands of reality.

Why was Esther bleeding in the bell jar?

When she loses her virginity, she bleeds so copiously that she must seek medical attention. The presence of blood suggests a ritual sacrifice: Esther will sacrifice her body for peace of mind, and sacrifice her virginity for the sake of experience.

What does the fig tree symbolize in The Bell Jar?

What happens in the ending of The Bell Jar?

The novel ends with Esther entering a conference with her doctors, who will decide whether she can leave the hospital and return to school. It is suggested near the beginning of the novel that, in later years, Esther goes on to have a baby.

Why is Esther Greenwood crazy?

Being a young intelligent woman, Esther becomes mad as a result of the mental stress to conform to the traditional role of women or to break tradition. Esther Greenwood is passive and unable to be agent of her life.

Why does Esther Greenwood become depressed?

However, Esther’s entire life shows warning signs that cause this depressive downfall. The novel begins with her negative thoughts surrounding all her past and current life decisions. It is this mindset mixed with the childhood trauma and perfectionist attitude that causes her descent that leads her to attempt suicide.