Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

493 reviews

whatsmomreading's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Esther Greenwood is in New York on an internship for a women’s magazine, she’s broken out of her small hometown, made it to university and she has the interest of a well to do college student whose set to be a doctor. While to outsiders everything appears to be perfect for Esther, inside she’s slowly succumbing to a deep depression. She feels no joy, no love for writing, no enthusiasm for her internship. Esther can’t seem to make up her mind as to which direction her life will go and in the 50’s there were so few options for women. When she returns home to find she didn’t make the summer writing program she applied to it sends her off the deep end and into a stay at the asylum. 

This book made me so uncomfortable in how realistically Plath was able to write about depression and it makes sense as she based this book around her own life. I could feel myself sinking into that familiar fog, where you feel nothing and everything all at once so all you can do is freeze. At the time the choices for women were so limited and all roads eventually pointed to marriage and a family, which would end any career dreams they had. 

I found myself thinking about how now we can “have it all” but in so many ways we still can’t AND we still face the pressures of marriage & babies in the modern day. If you don’t get married and have kids something is wrong, if you have kids there’s always questions about when you’ll have more, if you have kids and go back to work you’re a bad mom, if you stay home with the kids then you’re taking the “easy” way out. 

The fig analogy broke my heart as I’ve felt the same way many times. Everything is just within my grasp but I still can’t decide. But I also found it inspiring to remember I don’t have to have everything figured out and there’s still so much time to chase my dreams.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

emerlees's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Medical content, Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Racial slurs

Minor: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

hannahnwalding's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual violence, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Racism, and Ableism

sarareadsxxx13's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've read this in two days and while I like the first half more than the second half, it's overall just a very good book. Heartbreaking to think about Sylvia really feeling this way, and heartbreaking that this was her only novel. I think the reason why this is such a classic and simply timeless is because to some extent very relatable for a lot of people. I'm also very surprised how well it handles the topic of mental illness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood and Sexual assault

jhump89's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Docking .25 stars for the racism and homophobia. Otherwise this is a near perfect book for me, I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. I think 25 was a really good age to read it at - that feeling of not knowing what the future holds and having to make your way forward despite all the uncertainty really hit for me. This is such an incredible portrait of life with depression, but with such a hopeful ending for a path moving forward whilst holding space for it as a part of you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Ableism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Sexual content, Classism, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy

roouija's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Grief, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Death, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexism, Alcohol, Confinement, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Classism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

giulidrago's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Lo sai che cos'è una poesia, Esther?"
"No, che cos'è?"
"Polvere."
"Anche i cadaveri che tagliuzzi tu. Anche la gente che credi di curare: polvere sono, polvere, nient'altro che polvere. E una vera poesia dura molto ma molto più a lungo di cento dei tuoi pazienti messi insieme."

Mi arrendo di fronte alla consapevolezza di non essere riuscita a mantenere il distacco necessario a soppesare, tagliare e disporre ordinatamente i brandelli di questo romanzo per tirarne fuori qualcosa di razionale. 
La protagonista si sgretola piano piano davanti agli occhi impotenti del lettore e non c'è cura, manicomio, elettroshock, terapia che possa salvarla. Le tematiche della depressione e del suicidio sono raccontate con agghicciante tranquillità, e tutto il romanzo è pervaso da un cinismo e un'ironia cupa che toglie il respiro. La scrittura è immaginifica, e così bella che sebbene leggere questo libro ferisca in profondità, invoglia a volerne ancora e ancora.
La campana di vetro ha affondato le unghie nella mia pelle e rifiuta di lasciare la presa, e dubito che il tempo diluirà l'impressione ricevuta. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Mental illness