The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Caution tape surrounded the bookshelf. My hands quivered as I reached out for the forbidden book. The air was full of excitement as I opened the cover and began to read. It was banned book month at my local bookstore.

The book I happened to reach for was The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, a riveting classic about a young woman's descent into madness. Though the book is narrated by a girl named Esther Greenwood, it is a well known fact that The Bell Jar is a thinly disguised memoir of Plath's own life. The story begins in glamorous New York City where Esther is working for a fashion magazine. But all that glitters is not gold, as can be seen by the trials Esther faces while in New York. When she returns to her small hometown, Esther begins to lose her grip on reality. She becomes paranoid of innocent occasions, she isolates herself from those who care for her, and she loses her ability to function normally. Eventually, Esther is sent to a mental asylum where a crude doctor gives her shock treatments as a solution to her mental illness. The shock treatments, however, spiral her into a yet worse state causing her to try to end her own insanity. After her attempted suicide, Esther is sent to a more refined mental hospital where she recovers slowly and develops interesting relationships with her doctor and her fellow patients. The book ends rather open-endedly, but those who know the story of Sylvia Plath’s life can make a reasonable assumption to the conclusion.

 Plath writes with a matter-of-fact voice, refusing to sugarcoat details. Her ability to put surreal feelings into words amazes me. There are rare moments in life when someone seems to not only understand completely, but also recapture exact emotions vividly. The Bell Jar is full of moments like this. Additionally, Plath uses a plethora of interesting strategies to tell her story. For instance, the first paragraph of the book opens with an allusion to the Rosenberg execution by electric chair, an ominous foreshadowing of the shock treatments Esther is given in the mental asylum.

This book has continued to resonate with me for months after reading. The Bell Jar is full of unforgettable moments and stellar imagery. I recommend it to anyone who has ever suffered with a mental illness, and to anyone who has ever just felt plain crazy. I would encourage readers under the age of fifteen to wait to read this book as it contains graphic sexual and suicidal content. The Bell Jar is indeed disturbing, earning its place as a formerly banned book. Yet, in my opinion, it is disturbing in the very best of ways.