‘the Medical Profession in the Bell Jar Is Presented as a Symbol of Male Brutality.’ to What Extent Do You Agree with This Statement?
‘The Medical Profession In The Bell Jar Is Presented As A Symbol Of Male Brutality.’ To What Extent Do You Agree With This Statement?
The Bell Jar was written in the 1950s, a time when lobotomy was frequently used, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) could be given without consent and a female doctor was a rare sight. The motif of male, medical brutality is a constant throughout the second half of the book. Plath critiques this point in many different ways for instance Esther’s treatment with Dr Gordon in contrast with Dr Nolan, Esther’s relationship with Buddy and Esther’s experience of ECT (Plath herself received this treatment) and observing childbirth. A figure in the novel that symbolises Esther’s relationship with the medical profession is Buddy Willard and Esther’s relationship with him. Buddy is studying medicine at Yale University, a very prestigious course that opens the door to a high end job in the medical industry; and even though Esther is shown to be far more clever than Buddy, she has only accomplished an internship at a magazine company in New York. So in this way Plath uses the profession of medicine as a tool to show the undermining of women at the time. Buddy is also shown in a negative way throughout the book. Buddy remarks thoughtlessly at the end of the book, after all that Esther has been through, how no one will ‘want her’ when they find out she spent time in an asylum and had suicidal tendencies. Plath presents Buddy as cruel and arrogant, dismissing Esther’s illness ‘psychosomatic’, Plath writes that he is ‘very proud of his perfect health’ (ironic as he later develops TB). This portrayal of Buddy by Plath could be a way of showing the ugliness and insincerity of the medical profession. Earlier on in the book, Plath writes about Esther’s experience of viewing a delivery. In this scene the woman who is giving birth has to get be cut to make way for the baby, an image that Plath describes in horrible detail. Before she views the delivery,
The Bell Jar was written in the 1950s, a time when lobotomy was frequently used, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) could be given without consent and a female doctor was a rare sight. The motif of male, medical brutality is a constant throughout the second half of the book. Plath critiques this point in many different ways for instance Esther’s treatment with Dr Gordon in contrast with Dr Nolan, Esther’s relationship with Buddy and Esther’s experience of ECT (Plath herself received this treatment) and observing childbirth. A figure in the novel that symbolises Esther’s relationship with the medical profession is Buddy Willard and Esther’s relationship with him. Buddy is studying medicine at Yale University, a very prestigious course that opens the door to a high end job in the medical industry; and even though Esther is shown to be far more clever than Buddy, she has only accomplished an internship at a magazine company in New York. So in this way Plath uses the profession of medicine as a tool to show the undermining of women at the time. Buddy is also shown in a negative way throughout the book. Buddy remarks thoughtlessly at the end of the book, after all that Esther has been through, how no one will ‘want her’ when they find out she spent time in an asylum and had suicidal tendencies. Plath presents Buddy as cruel and arrogant, dismissing Esther’s illness ‘psychosomatic’, Plath writes that he is ‘very proud of his perfect health’ (ironic as he later develops TB). This portrayal of Buddy by Plath could be a way of showing the ugliness and insincerity of the medical profession. Earlier on in the book, Plath writes about Esther’s experience of viewing a delivery. In this scene the woman who is giving birth has to get be cut to make way for the baby, an image that Plath describes in horrible detail. Before she views the delivery,