The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Bell Jar
Book Review: In the Thin Air under a bell jar...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not a mental health professional, and I claim no expertise in that field. I know this book speaks to many people about gender issues, and I'm sorry to give that short shrift, but I read this book from the standpoint of somebody who's had a person close to me commit suicide. It has been a while since I thought about this book, but I saw a friend's Goodreads review recently, and just coincidentally the Human Resources dept where I work has lately been active addressing suicide prevention. I can't help wondering what this book says about the experience of depression. That statement may be simplistic; depression may not be a single entity, but a constellation of different conditions with similar symptoms. I've read some distinctions between "psychological" and "biochemical" depression. The biochemical category makes sense, but the more I read about "psychological" depression, the harder it is to believe anybody really knows what is meant by that term. Maybe it just represents forms of biochemical depression that haven't been elucidated yet. Maybe what seems like a "psychological" component is just incidental. Legitimate grieving or life stressors may lower the threshold for biological depressions to declare themselves, but may not actually cause depression. From my lay perspective, this seems to make intuitive sense, because we read about people like Anne Frank or Loung Ung, who faced horrible and prolonged psychological assaults, but did not seem to be clinically depressed. I presume it's because they had no biochemical disposition towards depression. If Anne Frank isn't a case against the existance of psychological depression, I don't know who is.
One form of biologic depression involves insufficient Serotonin. That's a neurotransmitter, a chemical responsible for signal transmission in the brain. Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors like Prozac or Zoloft treat depression by increasing the concentration of Serotonin at brain nerve endings. Plath's metaphor for her depression as a bell jar makes perfect sense in this context. She compares her life experience to the rarified atmosphere under the sealed glass dome of a vacuum pump. It seems like she was trying to tell us that her depression wasn't situational at all, it was a perception of some kind of insufficiency. I have to believe this distinction was important to her. After all, the title of the book is "The Bell Jar", not some reference to any of the situational stressors in her life. As I look at the suicide prevention materials from work, it bothers me that there is no mention of this anywhere. I'm sure what is listed here has some merit: risk factors, warning signs, recommendations, etc. But there's nothing here about comparisons to suffocation, or a vague sense of smothering or insufficiency. I wonder whether anybody has ever investigated that as a warning sign or risk factor for suicide.
Book Review: Incredible book!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is great. It is so nice to see a book written in this time period, about the time period. The sad story in this book gave great insight into the treatment of women, both in normal society and in mental institutions. It painted a clear picture of what was typical of women at this time, such as typical schooling, dating and sexuality in relationships, and "normal" behavior.
As someone interested in entering the mental health field, it really shows the changes that have been made to the health care system and how some people were stuck in the system based on their lack of funds and availability of skilled and caring doctors.
Book Review: Insanity becomes rational
Summary: 5 Stars
I originally read The Bell Jar in an introductory English course at the University of Texas. I remember staying up late at night reading this book, as it captivated me from the first sentence. In class, we went over a brief background of Sylvia Plath's life and the personal, political, social, etc. environment in which the book was written. I remember looking at pictures of Sylvia Plath in class, with her All-American good looks and obvious intelligence, then going home to read the dark thoughts and insecurities that she described in The Bell Jar. I remember being perplexed by this book, as I could not understand why such a successful and beautiful, young lady would ever even think about comitting suicide. I also coudn't understand why she was so "turned-off" by the world and every important person in her life (i.e. her mother, her father, Buddy Willard, etc.). I mean, I loved this book from the beginning but I was left with many questions regarding Sylvia Plath, herself.
Well, I am now two years removed from college and I have gone through some tragedy of my own. I was recently diagnosed with Generalized-Anxiety-Disorder (GAD) and had to get treatment for it. I have since been "cured," but in re-reading The Bell Jar I couldn't help but admire how Plath makes the decent of Esther Greenwood into borderline insanity seem rational, if not altogether normal. I may also add that I had recently read The Catcher in the Rye and I got great joy out of paralleling Holden and Esther as I worked through the book. In addition, I researched Sylvia's life more in depth and watched the movie SYLVIA, with Gwyneth Paltrow portraying Sylvia Plath. This added background made all the difference in the world in regards to my experience with this book. As if I hadn't already enjoyed the book so much more my second time reading it, I found the answer to my questions in the "Biographical Note" section of the book. In it, Aurelia Plath, Sylvia's mom, describes Sylvia's intended message in the Bell Jar, as explained by Sylvia during a conversation with her mother shortly before her suicide:
" 'What I've done...is to throw together events from my own life, fictionalizing to add color...I think it will show how isolated a person feels when he is suffering a breakdown...I've tried to picture my world and the people in it as seen through the distorting lens of a bell jar.'" "The very title The Bell Jar should imply what Sylvia told me and that is what the astute reader should infer..."
Now, I know that Sylvia wasn't "turned-off" by the important people in her life so much as she was seeing them through the distorted lens of the bell jar. Thus, she wasn't herself and other people's behavior seemed superficial and irrational to her when in reality it was her behavior that was irrational and to a certain extent superficial.
Despite the criticisms of this book, I would reccomend everyone to buy this book and read it with this last notion in mind.
Book Review: Interesting read...
Summary: 5 Stars
After hearing so much about how good this book is I decided to buy it and read it for myself. The story follows a young college aged female who was very successful (the character had won writing awards and one big one that allowed for her to go to New York) into the confusion of a nervous breakdown. The breakdown documented what happens in the 50's so there is also alot of contrast with how women were supposed to be with how she wanted to be. Sylvia Plaths character Esther Greenwood often is flummoxed about how to go about living her own life within this stiffling atmosphere. She is close to finishing college and is wondering her lifes path. Some of the stiffling issues that aggravated her nervous breakdown had to do with 'not being pinned under the thumb of a man,' ie, having kids was often a way to kill ones career, public life and academically pursuits. Eventually she goes through treatment and sorts through it. There is also a weird 'having sex for the first time' incident that goes on and describes how closeted homosexual and homosexual tendencies were then. The work is semi-autobiographical and follows the authors life very closely. I also didn't expect it to be funny, especially in the beginning and towards the middle and end it tapared into a wry humor that I liked! Very good and interesting book.Book Review: Intrinsically valuable and written with great skill, this is a wonderful novel. Highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
A largely autobiographic novel, The Bell Jar is a story of depression and mental illness. Esther is a poor student from a small town, on a scholarship to do guest editing for a New York magazine. Her time in New York, obsession with the power than men have over her, and own apathy gradually lead to a mental breakdown. Institutionalization, shock therapy, and suicide attempts follow, all closely mirroring Plath's own history. Written honestly, with great skill and talent, The Bell Jar gives insight into depression and mental illness and tells a very personal, depressing, unique story. It's a hard book to sum up and even to talk about, but I recommend it very, very highly to all readers.
As fascinating as this book was, as clear as the writing is, I find it difficult to talk about. The Bell Jar is perhaps the best memoir/book on depression and mental illness, providing a very human, realistic, and identifiable view of depression from the inside out. Plath writes so clearly that it is impossible not to understand her protagonist and the events in her life. As such, it's an informative, invaluable novel which allows the reader to understand, even experience, a point of view that would otherwise be unknown to them--and so it can be a very emotional book to read.
Besides this measure of intrinsic value, the novel simply reads and moves well. It is a memoir, not an detective story or a romantic novel, and as such the plot isn't the focus: rather, it is characters and experiences that matter. The honest, gritty memoir is reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye (although, I would say, much better). But the story is still compelling: not matter how gritty, even through the mental breakdowns, Esther is so well-written that the reader ca identify and sympathize with her throughout. Furthermore, the text reads smoothly and quickly while still chronicling some truly harrowing and depressing events. The book is compelling, well-written, and worthwhile not only as a memoir of depression but also as a skillful novel.
The rest of my thoughts about the text are lengthy rambles on women, madness/mental illness, and writing, but they are out of place here. The only thing to leave you with is a strong recommendation of The Bell Jar. Read it--there's nothing more complex than that. It is an accessible novel, both in length and writing style; it is skillful, a masterly work; the description of depression, of treatment, of interaction with the rest of the world is worthwhile for anyone to read. I highly recommend this book and am very grateful that I finally got around to reading it myself.