How Does Sylvia Plath Use Feminism In The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath, a phenomenal author whose book The Bell Jar informed the world about her life as a woman in a man's world while suffering from depression which took her life in the end. Writing a book in such an era, during the twentieth century when it was more common for a woman to stay home instead of going to work or having her own identity. Sylvia Plath managed to publish a book as such however after her death. This paper revolves around the ideas and mentality of the late twentieth century regarding women and depression which many people were not aware of, treating the sufferers with techniques which were not only horrific but inhumane.
Along with depression, feminism is one of the motifs of this novel. In the late twentieth century, women
were only recognized for a few roles in the society, such as to stay at home as a wife or a mother. Esther Greenwood was a young successful woman who excelled in her studies and got an opportunity to intern for a renowned editor. Esther wanted to support herself, and have her own identity instead of being recognized by being associated with a man. When Jay Cee, her employer, asked her what her plans were after graduation, Esther was unable to provide any proper answer, but she knew that she wanted to take charge of her life's path (Plath 32).
Esther wanted to have a purpose in her life and do whatever she wanted to do without any obstructions. She believes marriage is an obstruction that will discourse her from the route she wants to follow. "I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket" (Plath 83), in this instance, Esther wants self-determination. She wanted to try out things which got her excited, like the trip she wants to take to the Europe. She sees that her marrying someone would act as a barrier that would be separating her and the goals she wanted to achieve. So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brain washed, and afterward you went about numb as a slave in some private, totalitarian state (Plath 85). What Sylvia Plath is essentially saying is that 1950s American society expected women to set aside their personal ambitions and get married instead. Moreover, she is looking for a relationship to lose her virginity, to go against the society. She disapproves the idea of men having a dual life while women have to stay pure for them (Plath 81). In page 77, Esther relates her life to a fig tree, how each and every fig represents some aspect of her life, like one of them being a mother, a wife, having a career and many more. She thought of herself sitting in the middle of tree but starving to death because she cannot decide which one to choose (Plath 77). Possibly she wanted each and every one of them but she loses all of them as they wither away. Esther is facing a dilemma and is not sure how to proceed with it. Life presents Esther with many opportunities but she gets overwhelmed with the choices she was provided and instead of choosing any one of them, she had all of them taken away.
Sylvia Plath lived a life of hardships, completing her education through scholarships and charities while living with a hard working mother. She was raised by a single parent after the death of her father when she was nine, whose funeral she was not allowed to attend. This marks the first incident which contributes to the gradual onset of depression. According to Sigmund Freud, the onset of depression could be due to the death of someone close, in her case, it was the death of her father (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). Sylvia Plath realized that she was most happy at the age of nine when she spent the summer with her dad before his death. While the other reason would be a "symbolic loss", failure to achieve enrollment to a course she desired, she did not know what else to do (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). This was another impact that contributed towards her mental illness. However, Sylvia Plath's suffering did not end just here. Esther's symptoms started to surface from the beginning of the novel. She notices details which were sorrowful and tragic, like the electrocution of Rosenbergs. Esther starts to feel lonely and believes that she is moving away from all the thrill of life (Plath 16). After her return to her hometown, her system crashes completely. She becomes unproductive and stops taking showers and changing her clothes because she thought of these daily tasks as silly. Gradually her depression completely takes the control of her, she eventually loses her ability to read and write as she finds the words getting scrambled. She is then affected by insomnia, she loses the ability to rest and sleep, staying awake for hours and hours. "Freud believed that a person's unconscious anger over loss weakened the ego, resulting in self-hate and self-destructive behavior" (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). Esther's anger was evident towards her mother and acts selfishly, thinking about herself and shows no bit of concern towards her mother who was worried about her daughter. Esther becomes self-destructive as she thinks her illness won't be getting better, starts considering suicide and practices it by making cuts over her legs. Eventually she visits a doctor who was suggested by a family relative. But after receiving the shock therapy, Esther loses her trust on doctors. Esther one day was certain that she would want to end her life that day by consuming around 50 pills and making sure that she is not found by her mother. She survived and was moved to a new facility where she met Dr. Nolan, a female psychologist/psychiatrist. Esther is surprised to see her because it was the first female doctor she has ever seen in this field of study and believed there were only male doctors.
Depression during the 1950 was not how people see it now, there was less awareness along with limited options of treatment.
The most commonly applied procedures were hydrotherapy, insulin shock therapy and the infamous electroshock therapy (1930-1950: New Treatments). In hydrotherapy, the patient's body is locked in a closet shaped bath and then it is filled with water to produce calming effects (1930-1950: New Treatments). Sylvia Plath was subjected to insulin shock and electroshock therapies frequently. She was injected with insulin which made her fat and had a reactions at night. However, nothing was as severe and deadly as electroshock therapy. She described her experience in the novel by writing "with each flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break …" (Plath 143). In addition, there was an unusual but common surgery at the time called Lobotomy which is removing a part of the brain to improve mental health (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). On the contrary, in some situation this excision was rather unsuccessful causing personality disorders, poor judgement or even death (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). Sylvia Plath's fellow patient, Valerie, had lobotomy and felt better than before; less angry and had
privileges.