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"The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

"The Bell Jar" is an autobiographical novel that relates closely to the events of the author's life. Esther Greenwood is the narrator of the novel. This story begins on a "queer, sultry summer". It is a novel that shows the downfall and recovery of one young woman, Esther Greenwood, the narrator. This study will examine Esther's downfall through symbolism and characterisation. It will look at the "beating heart", "the bell jar", "the fig tree" and "the headlines" for symbolism. This study will pick apart Esther's character and her mother's character.

To start, Esther is a scholarship student. Her dad died when she was nine years old, something that could be a cause of her fear of sexuality and men. She had just finished her first year at college. Growing up in the Boston suburbs it was just her, her mother and brother. She is a very attractive, lucky girl, with many talents. However she is very unsure about what she wants to do in her life and is overwhelmed with uncertainty. This decision leads to a terrible breakdown and a suicide attempt. Esther doesn't know if she should marry now or wait until she has a career. She believes that society thinks she should remain a virgin until she married but Esther sees no sense in this rule and wants to lose it to buddy, her so called high school sweetheart.
Esther behaves quite selfishly towards people, mainly because of her mental illness. When she tries to kill herself she doesn't think of what anyone will feel when she dies. She doesn't consider what this suicide attempt would have on her mother or friends. She comes across as being very inexperienced in life but it a loving, very observant but naive women. She has made her own world seem so terrifying to herself that it engulfs all her thoughts and processes.
Esther, we could say, doesn't really have a relationship with her parents. Her dad died when she was nine. This links with her feelings for her mother. She seems to blame her mum for the death of her dad. We could question Esther asking if she has a case of Matrophobia. The fear and resentment of her mother. However does Esther's mum show her any compassion when dealing with her illness? She almost ignores Esther's illness saying she knew there would be nothing wrong with "her daughter".

Mrs. Greenwood is very hard-working and does care for Esther. She has had a difficult life as her husband died and she was left mourning, trying to look after children that we at a very young age. Her husband didn't have good life insurance meaning she struggles trying to make ends meet. After all of Mrs. Greenwood’s trying Esther still remains angry at her. She doesn't understand what Esther is going through although she does try. Some comments made by her show the reader that she is more concerned with her social status with friends rather than the state of her daughter's health. "I know my daughter shouldn't be in with all those people." When really Esther is ill and needs some medical care.
The reader could make the prognosis that Mrs. Greenwood is too blame for the way Esther is at this stage in her life, but taking a second look we noticed she has issues with mean relating back to her dad and with what she wants to do in life which just shows she is very anxious about her decision and doesn't know what to do. Mrs. Greenwood can't be blamed for everything.

Symbolism is a big part of this book. "The Bell Jar" obviously the title of the book is a glass jar that holds a subject of scientific interest. It is airless. In the book Esther has moments of sheer madness where she feels as if she is trapped in a bell jar. She can't breathe. It suggests she feels isolated from the world. She doesn't have the chance to interact with anyone because of this "entrapment" that she feels. By then end of the novel Esther can breathe again, symbolising she has recovered and got over this horrible depression she fell into but she feels as if the jar is still there waiting to fall onto her again, suffocating her. She knows she could fall back into he told ways at any moment.

"The Fig Tree" symbolises Esther’s decisions in life and her relationships. She tells us of a novel she read quite early in the novel. It is about a Jewish man who meets a nun under a fig tree but their relationship is obviously not going to work. This relates back to her relationship with Buddy Willard. Esther later on sees the tree as one that holds her decisions in life. She wants all the choices that are in front of her but can only choose one. She sits staring at the tree, unable to choose, while the figs fall to the ground and each life choice is lost.

The headlines, especially reprinted in chapter 16 are almost a climax in Esther’s life. Joan, Esther’s friend, gives her headlines she has cut out the newspaper about the disappearance of Esther. These symbolize just how exposed Esther feels and how much of an effect she has on people. She only sees the pain in what she is going through. She only sees the darkness and the pills, all the attempts at suicide but the world looks at Esther as this person who has went missing and her hunt to find her. It is an amazing story in the eyes of all these people. Esther realizes that she isn’t alone but all these people, strangers, actually care enough for her to write about her going missing.

Finally the last object of symbolism is the “beating heart”. No matter how many times Esther tries to kill herself it seems that her body won’t let her. Esther reminds the reader that if it were up to her she would have killed herself in no time. Esther has to try to outdo the tricks of her body so she can kill herself. The beating heart represents this intense desire her body has to live. It suggests to the reader that her body isn’t ready to give up yet. Her body knows she will get better in time. This is shown when Esther tries to drown herself. She says her heart beats “I am, I am, I am.” It happens again at her friend Joan’s funeral. Her body isn’t going to give up and die anytime soon. She won’t be having a funeral soon.

Symbolism and characterisation show Esther’s downfall and eventual recovery. This study has shown this using evidence from the novel and explaining what Plath was trying to get across to people relating to her own life events. This is a warming novel that many people can relate to with a personal message, don’t give up to soon, you can succeed.

By Sarah Anderson.