How Does Sylvia Plath Use Sexual Double Standards In The Bell Jar

In the novel The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath represents the idea of sexual double standards by introducing specific male characters into certain scenes. The main character, as well as the protagonist in the novel, Esther, portrays frustration when faced with the various social views that men have on women. Esther encounters one of the two, minor, male characters, Marco, who is a sadistic Peruvian man. Sylvia Plath describes Marco’s outlook on sex as demeaning to both men and woman, yet he proceeds to seek it. Marco is a minor character, but a primary character to Esther in this part of the novel because it allows Sylvia Plath to express a situation where sexual double standards is proved. Marco’s introduction to the novel also expresses the importance of Esther’s reaction to others disagreeing with her. After Esther’s encounter with Marco she comes to a realization about herself and society, which is a vital and essential idea portrayed in The Bell Jar. In chapter nine, Marco is acquainted with Esther and from the beginning of their greeting he is perceived as misogynistic. The first interaction they share Marco instantly begins to possess
Marco was the last way Sylvia Plath showed her views of men interacting with woman and she used Esther to represent the woman in society. Esther has now her final views of men after she met Marco, and also has her final views about herself. Once Esther concludes chapter nine by saying, “Piece by piece I fed my wardrobe to the night wind, and flutteringly, like a loved one’s ashes, the gray scraps were ferried off, to settle here, there, exactly where I would never know, in the dark heart of New York” (111). Sylvia Plath ended the chapter this way to conclude Esther’s search for love and searching for herself. She came to New York to discover what was in store, and was now leaving herself and her “heart’s ashes” on the empty