Metamorphos Plath's 'The Bell Jar'

1. Esther’s descends into depression gradually all through The Bell Jar. Chapter three exposes that her dad passed away when she was young, which makes the introduction of mental illness in her adulthood far more likely in it’s probable traumatic effect on her youthful mind. Also established early is Esther feeling jealousy towards Doreen’s livelihood. Her want is quickly diminished though, and the truth of her friend’s monetary inclinations as well as her sexual promiscuity are brought to light. Esther is filled with sadness and discomfort as the alcohol and city life progress. She reveals her lack of forward thinking and drive wo Jay, beginning a flood of tell tale signs of depression. By admitting her hopelessness, Esther establishes Platt’s theme of mental illness in the novel. Esther’s suitor Buddy
When Plath describes the atmosphere of the bell jar as being rarified, one is almost led to belief that she views the air as exclusive, premiere, or even possibly the image of tasting well. The jar described in the novel however entirely counteracts this idea in the connotation switching to negative, spoiled, or discomforting. Esther describes herself as almost cooking in this jar full of bitter lonesomeness, or rotting in a forgotten storage container, slowly becoming worse and less appealing, while going unnoticed by the outside world, only compounding upon itself when trying to escape. This leads the reader to believe that this confinement is not only gross and horrifying, but also insightful of hatred and anger. Because she is trapped, and has no way of contacting the people just out of reach, she has grown in her frustration, and begins directing her aggression outward.. Plath makes it almost too clear that the story aligns in more than one way with her own life. Her own feelings of entrapment and displeasure in her own experiences of society and marriage shine through in Esther’s disgust and isolation, as well as her sexual and emotional