Bell Jar summary :: essays papers

Bell Jar summary Many have paralleled Sylvia Plath’s novel, The Bell Jar, to her very own life. Plath is known for her tormented life of constant depression and disappointments, causing her to end her life early at the young age of 30. The time frame in which the book is in matches the times when she is enlisted in many mental institutes and ultimately her suicide. The story of Esther Greenwood also tells the feelings and emotions of Sylvia Plath. Other characters in the novel are said to be in relation to characters in the author’s life. The novel begins where Esther is just about halfway through her job as Mademoiselle, a fashion magazine. She and many other girls received this opportunity because of their exceptional writing abilities. Even though this she had waited for this chance for a year, she is actually disappointed because she had expected more from the other prizewinners. â€Å"These girls looked awfully bored to me. I saw them on the roof yawning and painting their nails and trying to keep their Bermuda tans, and they seemed bored as hell... Girls like that make me sick.† (Pg. 4) A couple other unfortunate events also led her to be depressed at her stay in the hotel. At a dinner gathering, Esther ate a lot of crabmeat that happened to be poisoned. She passes out and awakes in her room. Her recovery is slow and agonizing. Another social event causes yet again another mishap. Doreen, Esther best friend there, sets Esther up with a friend of Doreen’s boyfriend to go to a party. There, the bli nd date attempts to sexually assault, but Esther resists and walks away with her dignity. After returning to the hotel, Esther takes no care of the assault and just carries on. Later, she finds out that her on and off boyfriend, Buddy Willard, is actually not a virgin. â€Å"At first I thought he must have slept with the waitress only that once, but when I asked how many times, just to make sure, he said he couldn’t remember but a couple of times a week for the rest for the summer.† Knowing this, she thought it to be okay if she were to have an affair also. On a date with Constantin, he invites her to his room, but to her dismay, nothing happens.