Summary Of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar

Artistic works, including books, tend to reflect their creator. Sylvia Plath authored The Bell Jar shortly before committing suicide. A semi-autobiographical work, many real events became included with names and places changed, though thinly veiled to those who knew her. Published after her death amidst much controversy, the novel follows Esther Greenwood through her depression, suicide attempt, and struggle to recover. While many factual physical events appear in the book, clearly other internal factors affecting Ms. Plath during her final days have representation through the thoughts and feeling of her protagonist. The Bell Jar provides an accurate portrait of the environment and inner struggle of its author in her final days. Sylvia

She separated from her husband in 1962 after a difficult summer.11 By chance, she received the opportunity to live in a flat where Yates used to live, moving herself and the children in a few days before Christmas. 12 The Bell Jar, published in England January 1963, received mixed reviews. This distressed her even as she wrote poem after poem.15 Poetry compilations comprise most of her written works, including Ariel, The Colossus, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees, and The Collected Poems. The Collected Poems posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize.2 Once again experiencing severe depression, she turned to a psychiatrist and received a prescription for medication. However, on February 11, 1963, she killed herself at the age of

The Bell Jar concerns the mental breakdown and gradual recovery of Esther Greenwood, a young college student in the late 50s. The book starts in New York City, where she has a temporary job at the fashion magazine as a result of winning a writing contest.2 This obviously correlates with the life of the author herself, as she experienced a similar event.5 The author never denied the work’s autobiographical nature.12 Both women lost their fathers at an early age., the suicide attempts obviously resemble one another.3, number, number Other instances of autobiographical novelization appear throughout the book. The most interesting similarities, however, exist between the emotional conditions of both Sylvia and Esther. In order to illustrate these parallels, one must examine evidence of depression in both