The Bell Jar Review

Bella Riccitelli

Staff Writer

     The Bell Jar, an autobiographical novel by American poet and writer Sylvia Plath is probably one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.

     Taking place in the 50s but written in the 60s, Plath grabs readers by the hand and walks them through her years of college as an intern for a magazine in New York.

     

After winning a contest, the main character Esther Greenwood, known to be Plath’s alter-ego, won the competition to guest edit a fashion magazine. Hotel rooms, meals, clothes, and other various luxuries are paid for by the contest hosts.       

     Throughout the book, Greenwood begins to act and think differently. Towards the end of her college internship, photographs are taken of all of the contest winners. This is when Greenwood has her first real emotional breakdown.

     Deeper into the book is when Plath is believed to have started to lose her mind. Her character, Greenwood, returns home after the internship and decides to drop out of college. Greenwood spends her days lazily in bed, moping around the house, and refrains from sleep for days upon days.

     After her mother notices that Greenwood has entered a deep depression, she takes her daughter to a psychiatrist. This specific doctor makes Greenwood do electroshock therapy. All that this does is worsen her condition.

     Once Greenwood began getting worse, she really thinks about committing suicide. Attempts include using a razorblade, drowning, and hanging.

     Then, one day while her mother is away at work, Greenwood leaves a note on the counter stating that she went for a walk. When her mother returns home, she finds an empty house and begins to panic.

     While Greenwood’s mother was working, she snuck into her safe, stole her sleeping pills, and attempted suicide by overdose in a compartment under their home. However, the suicide failed, and she was found a few days later.

     Similar to Greenwood’s suicide attempt, Plath herself attempted suicide in the same manner around the same time.
I was extremely intrigued and captivated by Greenwood’s mental unstableness. To read about a time when someone can almost pinpoint the exact moment they started going off the deep end is really something.

       Once Greenwood’s attempt of suicide was known, she is taken to a hospital. After a few more mental breakdowns, she is moved to the psychiatric ward of the hospital.

       There, she sees a girl named Joan who attempted suicide after reading about Greenwood’s attempt  because she felt “inspired.”

       The doctor at this hospital connects to Greenwood on a very personal level, and promises that she will not give her the same electroshock therapy, but the right kind. Eventually, Greenwood is given insulin shock therapy and dramatically improves. She is then moved to a different facility.

       One day, Greenwood decides to go into town. While in town, she met a Harvard professor and soon after slept with him. However, Greenwood begins to bleed nonstop, and goes to Joan’s home for help and guidance.

       Joan rushed Greenwood to the hospital, and a few days later, Greenwood woke up in the middle of the night in the institution to be told that Joan committed suicide. .

       The book ends by Greenwood being given the choice of wanting to stay in the mental institution, or if she wanted to go home.

       I believe this book is truly a gem. Not often do writers write about their own lives, especially in such an honest manner. Plath even released this book under a pseudonym name because of how honest it was and how closely related it was to her own life.