The Bell Jar

Title: The Bell Jar
Author: Sylvia Plath
Published: Originally 1965, this edition is from 1986
Genre: Semi-autobiographical
Pages: 258


I'm on my third book after finishing this one, so let's see what I can recall...  Esther Greenwood, a college girl, is working in New York on a summer internship, away from home and family and her something-of-a-boyfriend, who is in hospital with tuberculosis. She's young, free and in New York, but she can't enjoy herself. To her, the city isn't glamorous or exciting, and she doesn't seem to care what happens. When she returns home, she finds out that her plans for the rest of the summer fell through, and she ends up staying with her mother, becoming increasingly depressed.

The book is semi-autobiographical, with names and such changed from Plath's own life and experiences. I was semi-aware of this when I read the book, but I don't know what really happened and what didn't.

For a book about depression and how it was treated back in the days (electric shocks, ow), The Bell Jar was not a depressing or dark read. It was even humorous in places, even though the humour could be very dark.


   The same thing happened over and over:
   I would catch a sight of some flawless man off in the distance, but as soon as he moved closer I immediately saw he wouldn't do at all.
   That's one of the reasons I never wanted to get married. The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the coloured arrows from a Fourth of July rocket.