The Bell Jar

By Sylvia Plath

“The Bell Jar” is a classic novel written by Sylvia Plath, which explores the challenges of mental illness and societal pressures in the 1950s. Plath uses various literary devices such as vivid imagery, symbolism, and metaphor to convey the protagonist’s experiences and emotions. The novel offers a poignant commentary on the difficulties faced by women in a patriarchal society and the impact of mental illness on one’s identity and sense of self.

Themes 📚

1. Mental Illness: The novel explores the protagonist’s experiences with mental illness and the challenges of seeking treatment in a society that stigmatizes mental health issues.
2. Identity and Self-Perception: The protagonist struggles with her identity and self-perception as she tries to conform to societal expectations and find her place in the world.
3. Gender and Patriarchy: The novel offers a critique of patriarchal society and the restrictions placed on women’s lives and opportunities in the 1950s.
4. Alienation and Isolation: The protagonist feels disconnected from those around her, and the novel explores the effects of alienation and isolation on mental health and well-being.
5. The Pressure to Conform: The protagonist experiences pressure to conform to societal expectations, both in terms of her personal life and her career aspirations. The novel critiques the ways in which conformity can stifle individuality and creativity.
6. The Search for Meaning: The protagonist grapples with questions of meaning and purpose, trying to find her place in the world and understand her own existence.

Use of Literary Devices ✍🏽

1. Imagery: Plath uses vivid imagery to convey the protagonist’s experiences and emotions, such as the “bell jar” symbolizing the protagonist’s sense of suffocation and confinement.
2. Symbolism: The novel is rich in symbolism, such as the fig tree representing the protagonist’s struggle to choose a path in life, and the mirror representing her fragmented sense of self.
3. Metaphor: Plath uses metaphors to describe the protagonist’s mental state, such as the feeling of being “stuck” in a bell jar.
4. Foreshadowing: The novel uses foreshadowing to hint at the protagonist’s mental breakdown, such as her fascination with suicide and her struggles to sleep.
5. Flashback: The protagonist’s past experiences are revealed through flashbacks, helping to build a picture of her mental state and personal history.
6. Irony: The novel uses irony to critique societal expectations and norms, such as the protagonist’s experience of being “cured” of her mental illness through electroshock therapy.
7. Allusion: Plath alludes to other literary works, such as “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” to deepen the novel’s themes and offer insight into the protagonist’s state of mind.
8. Repetition: The novel uses repetition to create a sense of rhythm and intensity, such as the repeated use of the phrase “I am I am I am.”
9. Stream of consciousness: The novel employs a stream-of-consciousness style to immerse the reader in the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings.
10. Pathetic fallacy: The novel uses pathetic fallacy to reflect the protagonist’s mental state, such as the description of a thunderstorm mirroring her inner turmoil.

Examples of Literary Devices 📋

1. Metaphor

Example	Explanation
“I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.”	This metaphor compares the narrator’s emotional state to the calm center of a storm, surrounded by chaos.
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story.”	This metaphor compares the narrator’s life to a tree with many branches, each representing a different possible path.
“I felt like a racehorse in a world without racetracks or a champion college footballer suddenly confronted by Wall Street and a business suit.”	This metaphor compares the narrator’s talent and ambition to that of a racehorse or football player, but in a world where those skills are irrelevant.

2. Simile

Example	Explanation
“The silence depressed me. It wasn’t the silence of silence. It was my own silence.”	This simile compares the narrator’s silence to a tangible presence that is oppressive and depressing.
“The heat was like a weight on my body.”	This simile compares the physical discomfort of heat to a heavy burden.
“I felt as if the skin had been peeled away from half of my body.”	This simile compares the emotional pain the narrator is experiencing to a physical injury.

3. Imagery

Example	Explanation
“The city hung in my window, flat as a poster, glittering and blinking, but it might just as well not have been there at all, for all the good it did me.”	This imagery describes the city outside the narrator’s window, emphasizing its distance and irrelevance to her current emotional state.
“The cabbages loomed up at me and I stared at them as if they were a code I had to break, as if the only thing that mattered was figuring out what they wanted me to do.”	This imagery emphasizes the narrator’s mental state of confusion and the sense that she is searching for meaning in everyday objects.
“The sky was even further away than usual, and the air was deathly still, as if all the world had stopped breathing.”	This imagery creates a sense of desolation and emptiness, emphasizing the narrator’s isolation and despair.

4. Symbolism

Example	Explanation
The bell jar	The bell jar is a symbol of the narrator’s mental state and the suffocating feeling of being trapped inside her own mind.
The fig tree	The fig tree is a symbol of the narrator’s indecision and uncertainty about the future, as well as her fear of choosing the wrong path.
The Rosenbergs	The Rosenbergs, a couple who were executed for spying during the Cold War, are a symbol of the narrator’s fear of persecution and punishment for her own thoughts and actions.

FAQs 💭