How Does Sylvia Plath Use Feminism In The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath, a phenomenal author whose book The Bell Jar informed the world about her life as a woman in a man's world while suffering from depression which took her life in the end. Writing a book in such an era, during the twentieth century when it was more common for a woman to stay home instead of going to work or having her own identity. Sylvia Plath managed to publish a book as such however after her death. This paper revolves around the ideas and mentality of the late twentieth century regarding women and depression which many people were not aware of, treating the sufferers with techniques which were not only horrific but inhumane.
Along with depression, feminism is one of the motifs of this novel. In the late twentieth century, women
The most commonly applied procedures were hydrotherapy, insulin shock therapy and the infamous electroshock therapy (1930-1950: New Treatments). In hydrotherapy, the patient's body is locked in a closet shaped bath and then it is filled with water to produce calming effects (1930-1950: New Treatments). Sylvia Plath was subjected to insulin shock and electroshock therapies frequently. She was injected with insulin which made her fat and had a reactions at night. However, nothing was as severe and deadly as electroshock therapy. She described her experience in the novel by writing "with each flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break …" (Plath 143). In addition, there was an unusual but common surgery at the time called Lobotomy which is removing a part of the brain to improve mental health (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). On the contrary, in some situation this excision was rather unsuccessful causing personality disorders, poor judgement or even death (NEMADE, REISS and DOMBECK). Sylvia Plath's fellow patient, Valerie, had lobotomy and felt better than before; less angry and had