monikamichelsen

Being a bit intimidated by poetry in general (although constant re-reading of e.e. cummings and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by Eliot is as necessary to me as breathing)I never thought my and Sylvia Plath's literary paths would ever cross. That all changed when I read and was bewitched by "The Bell Jar." The book is a powerful and sadly semiautobriographical depiction of a young girl's slide into suicidal depression. It starts off positively enough. Young Esther Greenwood is interning at an influential New York fashion magazine and living it up. Unfortunately she is already sliding downwards. The first thing Esther mentions to us is the electrocution of the Rosenbergs - a couple convicted of providing the Russians with intelligence and subsequently sentenced to death during the Cold War. This is a chilling indicator of the kind of disturbing thoughts she is wrestling with. Also considering the trials Esther will face later on looking back on this puts a lump in the throat. All you ever hear about this book is that it is about suicide and madness. That is like saying "War and Peace" is about a war and peace. This book is about women in the stifling fifties standing up for themselves and their dreams. Esther is driven mad by having to fit into the tiny space society has allotted her. She wants to write, make love and live freely just like a man. Unfortunately she is ahead of her time. She is trapped in a world entrenched in its soon to be outdated gender roles. Esther refers to her madness as feeling like she is trapped under a bell jar. Couldn't we say though that the bell jar is the glass ceiling society has placed above her? This book is hard to take. You grow to love Esther and it's like watching a friend or family member gripped by darkness and being totally unable to help free them. Considering how Plath's life ended it makes it that much harder to read. Luckily for us though she left us this call to arms to women everywhere.

2022-10-25 11:02