How does the author's treatment of relationships effect the characterisation
of the heroines in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Quicksand by Nella
Larsen?
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
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How does the author's treatment of relationships effect the
characterisation of the heroines in "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath and
"Quicksand" by Nella Larsen?
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This essay will compare the ways in which the novels "The Bell Jar" by
Sylvia Plath and "Quicksand" by Nella Larsen deal with relationships,
paying particular attention to how this aids the characterisation of
Esther Greenwood and Helga Crane, the central characters respectively.
It will explore their relationships with other characters in the
novel, especially how the authors use relationships to fulfil their
writing aims. It will also discuss the relationship between the
protagonist and the reader, and how successfully this is achieved
through the novel's language. Finally, it will attempt to compare the
ways in which they relate to the world around them, which is
particularly fascinating as although both novels could pass as
fiction, they are largely autobiographical, raising the question of
why the author's chose to tell their own life stories in this
relatively detached way.
The relationship between the reader and the central character is
directly affected by the style of the narration, and is fundamental in
understanding the author's intentions. "The Bell Jar" is written in
the first person, providing the reader with intimate access to
Esther's every feeling, using past tense and speaking in a reflective,
conversational tone. Although "Quicksand" ...
... middle of paper ...
...oo can be said of "Quicksand", although the effect
on the reader is perhaps not as definitive, as the character is
arguably less rounded, less developed and less realistic as she we do
not delve as deeply into her psyche as we do that of Esther
Greenwood's.
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[1] Plath, Sylvia, The Bell Jar, William Heinemann Limited, 1966, p230
[2] Plath, Sylvia, The Bell Jar, William Heinemann Limited, 1966, p93
[3] Plath, Sylvia, The Bell Jar, William Heinemann Limited, 1966, p93
[4] Plath, Sylvia, The Bell Jar, William Heinemann Limited, 1966, p1-2
[5] Plath, Sylvia, The Bell Jar, William Heinemann Limited, 1966, p76
[6] Larsen, Nella, Quicksand, 1928, Alfred A. Knopf, p8
[7] Larsen, Nella, Quicksand, 1928, Alfred A. Knopf, p43
[8] Larsen, Nella, Quicksand, 1928, Alfred A. Knopf, p64
...es these primitive standards, she becomes melancholy because she does not attune into the gender roles of women, which particularly focus on marriage, maternity, and domesticity. Like other nineteen year old women, Esther has many goals and ambitions in her life. Nevertheless, Esther is disparaged by society’s blunt roles created for women. Although she experiences a tremendous psychological journey, she is able to liberate herself from society’s suffocating constraints. Esther is an excellent inspiration for women who are also currently battling with society’s degrading stereotypes. She is a persistent woman who perseveres to accomplish more than being a stay at home mother. Thus, Esther is a voice for women who are trying to abolish the airless conformism that is prevalent in 1950’s society.
Exploitation of Women Exposed in The Bell Jar and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute
There are many norms associated with being a woman and being a man, especially during the time period of which Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers was written in. These include, but are not limited to, the following (feminine and masculine counters are separated by a / ): one must always obey males because they are the superior sex/one must not allow women to hold any form of power because they are the weaker sex, one must obey her husband/one must not let his wife do whatever she pleases, and one must not live with another of the opposite sex unless they are relatives or married. Despite these norms being set in place for most of the characters in Strong Poison, there are a few exceptions for on both the feminine and masculine side.
"The bell jar hung, suspended, a few feet above my head…” For most people, when the name Sylvia Plath comes to mind, the word “psychotic” is the word that follows; however, there was more to Plath than her demented works. Throughout her shortened life, Plath had a variety of titles bestowed upon her: daughter, sister, student, wife, mother, teacher, author, and poetess However, Sylvia Plath was a haunted soul, as she also had the labels of “manic depressive” and “bipolar.” Her constant struggles with her mental illnesses are evident in her writing, especially her semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar.
Sylvia Plath wrote the semi autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, in which the main character, Esther, struggles with depression as she attempts to make herself known as a writer in the 1950’s. She is getting the opportunity to apprentice under a well-known fashion magazine editor, but still cannot find true happiness. She crumbles under her depression due to feeling that she doesn’t fit in, and eventually ends up being put into a mental hospital undergoing electroshock therapy. Still, she describes the depth of her depression as “Wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a street a cafe in Paris or Bangkok - I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air” (Plath 178). The pressure to assimilate to society’s standards from her mother, friends, and romantic interests, almost pushes her over the edge and causes her to attempt suicide multiple times throughout her life. Buddy Willard, Esther’s boyfriend at a time, asks her to marry him repeatedly in which she declines. Her mother tries to get her to marry and makes her go to therapy eventually, which leads to the mental hospital. Esther resents the way of settling down and making a family, as well as going out and partying all night. She just wants to work to become a journalist or publisher. Though, part of her longs for these other lives that she imagines livings, if she were a different person or if different things happened in her life. That’s how Elly Higgenbottom came about. Elly is Esther when Esther doesn’t want to be herself to new people. Esther’s story portrays the role of women in society in the 1950’s through Esther’s family and friends pushing her to conform to the gender roles of the time.
Sylvia Plath’s novel, “The Bell Jar”, tells a story of a young woman’s descent into mental illness. Esther Greenwood, a 19 year old girl, struggles to find meaning within her life as she sees a distorted version of the world. In Plath’s novel, different elements and themes of symbolism are used to explain the mental downfall of the book’s main character and narrator such as cutting her off from others, forcing her to delve further into her own mind, and casting an air of negativity around her. Plath uses images of rotting fig trees and veils of mist to convey the desperation she feels when confronted with issues of her future. Esther Greenwood feels that she is trapped under a bell jar, which distorts her view of the world around her.
Young adults in high school and college face a constant bombardment of questions and opinions about their plans for the future, which only makes it harder to choose between multiple possibilties. Sylvia Plath weaves these confused, lost feelings into her autobiographical fictional novel The Bell Jar. The highly motivated main character, Esther Greenwood, wins a scholarship to work at a magazine over the summer, but during the internship, she realizes that she does not know who she wants to be anymore. Rapidly descending into suicidal depression, the empty Esther travels to a mental hospital and eventually recovers, reborn as a confident, independent woman. Esther initially plays many roles for others; however, her identity crumbles when these contrasting lifestyles collide, for she cannot reach selfhood until she realizes that she can only be herself.
Women in the 1950s were typically stay-at-home moms with the task of cooking, cleaning, and tending to the children. Men were the sole providers of the family, and held superiority and masculinity over the women. Men were portrayed as more intelligent and rational than women, forcing a society that viewed women as subordinate. These rigid gender roles are what caused Esther Greenwood to challenge her expectations, thus causing her mental breakdown. To cope with her own thoughts and fears, Esther sought to find liberation by freeing herself from her oppressor: her mother. Mrs. Greenwood constantly pressured Esther into pursuing shorthand so that she would “have a practical skill as well as a college degree” (Author Sylvia Plath 40). Esther interpreted her mother’s comment as obtaining no other significance than submission to men. This amplifies Esther’s resentment towards her mother, and is a factor that contributes to her insanity. Along with challenging the strict gender roles of the 1950s, Esther was worried that she would never find a man to marry. She could not understand how to handle a relationship with a man, and felt pressured by society to start thinking of a future with a husband. Esther could not accept that kind of commitment in her life, and began to detach herself from relationships until she was solely dependent on
One is often enticed to read a novel because of the way in which the characters are viewed and the way in which characters view their surroundings. In the novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Esther Greenwood is a character whose "heightened and highly emotional response to events, actions and sentiments" (Assignment sheet) intrigue the reader. One of her character traits is extreme paranoia that is shown in different situations throughout the novel. As a result of this, she allows herself to be easily let down, as she believes that all events that are unsatisfactory are directed towards her. Finally, it is clear that she attempts to escape this notion by imagining an idyllic yet impossible life that she envisions in remote circumstances. It is clear that Plath's creation is a Novel of Sensibility as her writing not only possesses all of the qualities associated with this genre, it also effectively takes the reader into the story with the protagonist.
People's lives are shaped through their success and failure in their personal relationships with each other. The author Sylvia Plath demonstrates this in the novel, The Bell Jar. This is the direct result of the loss of support from a loved one, the lack of support and encouragement, and lack of self confidence and insecurity in Esther's life in the The Bell Jar. It was shaped through her success and failures in her personal relationships between others and herself.
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The main character in Sylvia Plath's novel, The Bell Jar, could be the spokesperson for all of Steinem's ideas. Esther Greenwood breaks all of the traditional rules that a female in her time should have been following. Esther is a bold and independent woman. Which makes Buddy Willard, he...
Through an overwhelming sense of symbolism, the author demonstrates both the separation and pressures that Esther Greenwood goes through. The reoccurring image of a bell jar haunts Esther throughout her story representing both her mental illness and her alienation from the society surrounding her. As Dunn states “a glass ‘bell jar’ is used to cover and protect laboratory materials. Significantly, a bell jar also allows objects to remain in view.” Much like a scientific specimen, Esther is readily visible to those around her both observation and study. The jar in this case represents her mental instability, which causes her to be isolated from the rest of society and treated abnormally. Furthermore, “Plath [uses] the bell jar to indicate the circumference of the world of pain and mental suffering Esther Greenwood, the heroine, lives in” (Evans 105). The heroine herself admit...
Through the diction in which she utilized in order to shed light upon the complications of trying to transform and grow in a restrictive society, she used pervasive imagery, allusions, metaphors, symbolism, and other literary devices to further her theme and idea of the novel. Plath created Esther in her image to show how one was forced by society to define themselves by the culturally entrenched stereotypes and expectations of women. In doing so, it detailed the hazardous effects of culturally committing to the conventional model of women. But, it also outlined the transformation of Esther Greenwood from a society-abiding woman to someone who dared to question the conventional model of women. Through the precise detailing of her struggles and complications, Plath was able to utilize several effective literary to enhance the theme of women who undergo the struggle of growth and transition within a restrictive