“The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Early Years of Life
Life during Studying at Newnham College
Death and Published Poetry
The Bell Jar and Plath’s Personal Life
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

As one of the most discussed and admired writers of the past century, Sylvia Plath still plays an essential role in the field of literature. Even though her life lasted for only thirty years, this woman managed to transform the perception of the genre of confessional poetry in the entire world. Moreover, Plath is known for her intention to demonstrate the struggles experienced by women in the middle of the twentieth century. The writer’s life experience significantly correlates with her literary works, including poems “Daddy” and the novel The Bell Jar. Her personal development was considerably impacted by the death of her father and abusive relationships with an English poet Ted Hughes. As a result, after several attempts of suicide, Plath committed suicide in 1963. Published one month before the death of the writer, The Bell Jar is the novel that depicts the main struggles experienced by Plath during her lifetime by highlighting the impact of societal norms and stereotypes.

Early Years of Life

Born in 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts, Plath was a daughter of a German immigrant professor and his student. Since her early childhood, Sylvia was interested in literature. The young girl’s parents noticed Plath’s interest in writing when the child started out by keeping a journal (Chiasson). Later, this hobby turned into the desire of writing and publishing literary works. Therefore, the combination of talent and hard work has helped the girl receive a scholarship to Smith College in 1950 (Churchwell). On the one hand, the opportunity to improve professional skills at the private liberal arts women’s college was a great contributor to the professional growth of Plath. On the other hand, it was a tremendously difficult period for the young girl.

In fact, it was the first time when Sylvia was diagnosed with depression that resulted from bipolar disorder. At the time, healthcare providers did not have appropriate knowledge in terms of treating this kind of mental health issue (Chiasson). However, treatment with electroshock therapy has helped the writer improve her psychological well-being for some time. As a co-winner of the Mademoiselle magazine fiction contest, Plath managed to gain recognition in the circle of widely-known writers and novelists. Due to her considerable success in this area, Sylvia graduated from the college with the highest honors in 1955 (Chiasson). In order to build a professional career in the area of literature, the future poet and novelist entered Newnham College in Cambridge, England. As a result, this decision has impacted not only the professional experience of the writer but also her personal life.

Life during Studying at Newnham College

In addition to studying at college, the writer was working on her personal life as well. In fact, she got acquainted with the English writer Ted Hughes who became her husband in 1956 (Chiasson). After the marriage, two children were born in this family. The happiness of this couple did not raise any questions until Sylvia published her novel The Bell Jar. In this novel, the writer correlated her life experience with the experience of the main character (Coyne). In this way, Plath highlights that she was living under the impact of constant abuse. Finally, the couple separated their ways in 1962 when Ted cheated on his wife with the other woman.

In the period from 1955 until 1957, the writer acted in the Amateur Dramatics club and met numerous individuals who helped her turn hobbies into a profession. For instance, Robert Lowell and Ann Sexton have inspired Sylvia to write her own collections of works (Churchwell). In spite of the fact that this period was associated with abuse and a variety of mental health problems, it was also the most productive time for her as a writer. Currently, critics state that the last seven years of Sylvia’s writing experience were the most beneficial to her overall reputation as a poet, novelist, and writer (Churchwell). It is assumed that Plath has gained such a vast amount of attention and success, as she raised awareness on the issues that were not discussed before. At the time, she is known as one of the first artists who started talking about mental health and abusive relationships through her autobiographical works.

Death and Published Poetry

The mix of both positive and negative emotions has helped the writer improve her professional skills. In other words, Plath managed to transform her personal life experience into inspiration to write high-quality literary works with a great speed. Therefore, her main collection of poems named “The Colossus” was published in 1960 (Churchwell). This year became a remarkable period of the writer’s life as her first child was born as well. In turn, the second child was born two years later.

Furthermore, Plath published her highly-anticipated poem called “Daddy” several months before committing fatal suicide. This poem explores the writer’s relationships with her father and their impact on her development as an individual (Robles). Despite the fact that Sylvia’s father died when the girl was eight years old, she was raised under high expectations created by her parents. It is the reason why she could not deal with situations when her life expectations did not meet reality (Robles). At the present time, critics highlight that it was one of the main causes of the suicide that the novelist committed in 1963.

Lastly, Plath is known in the whole world due to the novel called The Bell Jar. The plot of this poem is mainly based on the personal experience of the writer, which is why it has such a considerable significance in the professional life of Sylvia. As a result, she was described as “one of the most impactful postwar writers” (Oates). At the age of thirty, the woman’s life ended due to a kitchen-based suicide.

The Bell Jar and Plath’s Personal Life

Even though Plath has written over several dozens of literary works during her lifetime, there are some works that are of unique importance. Critics describe them as “if they were chiseled out of arctic ice” (Oates). In turn, The Bell Jar belongs to the list of these works. The names of people and places represented in this poem do not correspond to reality, although it is pretty easy to make correlations based on the life of Plath. For example, the main character of the poem, Esther Greenwood, represents Sylvia herself, whereas Mrs. Greenwood is the character demonstrating Plath’s mother.

Based on the plot of the poem, Esther Greenwood works as an editorial intern at one of the magazines. She is a young and ambitious girl, even though she has faced several traumatizing events, such as the loss of her father and abusive relationships with the mother (Plath). Nevertheless, Esther aims to achieve a high level of artistic, academic, and social success. In order to reach the goal, the girl works to the fullest extent and gets acquainted with new people in the area of journalism. However, life creates numerous barriers on the way to her professional and personal growth. For instance, during one of the dates, the guy attempted to assault her. In addition, Greenwood works under the pressure of her boss who believes that she does not have a clear career focus. Lastly, just like other women living in the middle of the twentieth century in New York City, Esther experienced the influence of social expectations on her life. The girl felt that she was required to stay a virgin until marriage, and serving the functions of wife and a mother was also mandatory after the marriage.

As a result, Esther started experiencing symptoms of depression that later resulted in the suicide attempt. She successfully recovered after this episode with the help of electroshock and insulin therapy sessions. However, the recovery process did not last long. In several months, her life significantly changes after a sexual encounter with a professor. Esther was hospitalized due to hemorrhages and numerous psychological issues (Plath 34). In the end, the girl enters her exit interview that will be used to decide whether she is ready to leave the psychiatric institution.

Thus, the poem is filled with various elements from the real life of Greenwood, including the death of her father, abusive relationships with her mother, depressive episodes, suicide attempt, and a long process of rehabilitation. The author of the poem has a goal to express her emotions and feelings through the life of the protagonist who lives under the pressure of society to be a perfect daughter, build a successful career, and create a family where a woman should play the role of a happy mother and wife. The novel does not provide information regarding Greenwood’s life afterward, which demonstrates that the writer was still not sure whether her life should have a happy ending (Coyne). There is a possibility that Plath was thinking about the accurateness of the decision to commit suicide one more time while writing this poem. Accordingly, the writer’s life has significantly affected her work and the entire professional career.

Conclusion

Hence, Sylvia Plath has been suffering from psychological issues throughout her whole life, which can be explained by conflicted relationships with both parents and father of her children. Furthermore, the writer has always experienced huge pressure from the perspective of society to build a successful career and create a happy family with at least several children. In order to cope with this pressure, Plath was using poetry. Therefore, the majority of her works are based on her personal experience. For example, her poem “Daddy” and novel The Bell Jar provide information regarding the childhood and adulthood of the author. Therefore, Plath is currently known as one of the most controversial and talented writers of the middle of the twentieth century. Her contribution to feminism has helped numerous women start talking about the challenges associated with their gender. In turn, depression and bipolar disorder were finally perceived as global problems after Sylvia committed fatal suicide.

Works Cited

Chiasson, Dan. “Sylvia Plath’s Last Letters.”The New Yorker, 2018, Web.

Churchwell, Sarah. “Sylvia Plath, a Voice That Can’t Be Silenced.”The Guardian, 2017, Web.

Coyne, Kelly. “The Literary Insights of Sylvia Plath’S College Thesis”.The Atlantic, 2018, Web.

Oates, Joyce. “Raising Lady Lazarus.”New York Times, 2000, Web.

Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New Harper & Row, 1971.

Robles, Lillian. “Poststructuralism and Female Identity in Sylvia Plath’s Ariel.”Inquiries Journal, vol. 12, no. 9, 2020, Web.

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