The Metaphorical Bell Jar
The bell jar represents how Esther views herself relative to how she believes society views her/her mental state. For example, she says, "There was the famous poet, and Philomena Guinea, and Jay Cee, and the Christian Scientist lady and lord knows who, and they all wanted to adopt me in some way, and, for the price of their care and influence, have me resemble them." Like a specimen, she feels like she is always being closely observed and judged. The doctors actually “study her” and “take notes” as they would to an actual specimen in a bell jar. Since a bell jar only exists for display purposes, that means the specimen inside only ever existed in the first place to be put on display and to please the viewer. It has no alternate purpose. Similarly, Esther feels the same way. Her only purpose is to “fulfill” the demands of everyone: Jay Cee, her doctors, her mother, and society. She feels stifled by society’s expectations of her and scrutinized for her every move.
Further, the bell jar metaphor serves as a distorted lens through which she sees the outside world. Everything around her is magnified and one-dimensional. For example, she exaggerates the characterizations of Dodo Conway as a mother figure and she exaggerates “rebellious” Doreen. Both Dodo and Doreen represent paths Esther could have taken, only she can’t make up her mind. No matter what she chooses in life, she will feel judged by spectators hovering over her bell jar.
The bell jar does not only serve as a distorted lens, it serves as a metaphor for preservation. Esther feels confined, "stifled in her own foul air", hermetically sealed from the rest of the world. I think it’s interesting to note how a bell jar usually holds a dead specimen, meaning Esther isn’t just a figurative specimen that everyone looks at, she is also metaphorically “dead”. She sees no purpose in doing anything since people “only die in the end”. Thus she succumbs to slow suffocation under her bell jar, as she is isolated in a vacuum of her own death and suicidal attempts. She can’t escape the “air” of her own attempt at death, and thus she is stuck in this suicidal loophole, and everyone simply watches her flounder.
I definitely see where you are coming from. Especially with the "suicidal loophole" that you mention. Even though she says that she is feeling better, she will eventually be brought back, which is the reason for Sylvia Plath's eventual suicide. The Bell Jar is over her, while she paces around in circles, while other people simply watch her.
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ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a lot of great points in this post! I think the most striking thing to me is the way that the bell jar actually distorts Esther's view of the world. We've repeatedly said that Esther almost paints a caricature of different characters throughout the book, and I think the idea of the bell jar really contributes to this. Depending on how Esther is looking through the glass, the people who are outside can look different. I also don't think these distortions are necessarily ones that paint everything in a negative light, I think they can also contribute to a naive, overly-idealistic view of the world as well (i.e. when she expected the world to be free from the sexual double standard)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Ignore my deleted comment above, sorry about that!
This probably means nothing but I thought it was interesting that the metaphor she chose is a bell jar, which is used for experiments, when she felt unexplainable feelings of despair while attending chemistry and physics lessons.
ReplyDeleteI like your point that Esther is kind of metaphorically "dead" in this bell jar analogy. It also works with the people outside looking in at her as if she's, if not "dead", not actually a living person with feelings. The doctors don't ever seem to care about her as a person, and are very disconnected from any kind of sympathy for what's she's going through - Dr. Gordon doesn't even listen to her, and treats her as just one in a long line of things he has to deal with. Even those that do "care" about her don't always care about her as a person, like her mother who sometimes seems to care more about how Esther's condition reflects on herself than about Esther is feeling and why she's feeling that way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I especially like that you described her suicidal ideation and depressing thoughts as a loophole or cycle. Considering that Esther is really similar to Sylvia Plath, it's interesting that Sylvia Plath committed suicide after writing this book. Although this seems kind of negative, it seems like while writing the book, Sylvia Plath became trapped in her own cycle of depression; depression continued as a cycle beyond her teenage years.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Plath came up with this metaphor while she was still experiencing her own troubles or with a retrospective view on her story. It really fits well and clearly communicates how Esther feels about her situation. I think it does a good job underlying what the root of the narrative is about.
ReplyDeleteLike Allie mentioned, I think the bell jar's distorting effect is the most interesting to me - Esther does not only feel as if she is perceived differently by others, but she is also unable to see those outside of her jar clearly, she can't make real personal ties with people, and I think that this definitely explains a lot of her rude or aggressive behavior towards her mother and hospital workers.
ReplyDeleteI like the bell jar metaphor because of the different ways it applies to Esther. She is a "dead" specimen because society no longer views her as a functioning member who will be something, she is dead to them. But it also serves to distort her point of view on everyone on the outside like they are constantly judging her and waiting for her to die. Ultimately this leads to Esther first caving into the the pressure it create and then becoming more aware of it.
ReplyDeleteThe bell jar definitely is used as a metaphor to show how suffocated she feels. To continue with this metaphor, I think the bell jar could also be a barrier to her. Throughout the book, we see instances where it is evident that she has a lot of potential and has a lot of opportunities to pursue what she wants in her future, but she is never able to actually set foot in them. With it's metaphor of trapping her, the bell jar could definitely be seen as glass trapping her into that life style of expectations and judgement so whenever she tries to escape from that lifestyle and pursue the things she enjoys, she continues running into the walls of the bell jar.
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