Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

66 reviews

lindsey_bear's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

Plath’s writing style is easy and timeless. That being said, the topics in The Bell Jar are anything but easy. The story was hard to get through as much of it surrounds the main character’s thoughts of suicide. I found the descriptions of the asylum to be extremely interesting and it shed a lot of light on how mental disorders used to be dealt with decades ago. The metaphor of the bell jar as intermittent depression was relatable and evergreen. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism

alexandrabelze's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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

3.75

sylvia plath. wow. her poetic imagery fits wonderfully in this novel. it’s so personal and real that i don’t even feel like i have a right to critique it on anything. it was a beautiful read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

livvynelson22's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

unicornjessie4's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

h0neybear's review against another edition

challenging dark funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed it. Preferred the second half. Definitely a very clever book, but I think I was a bit too dumb to understand some of it. I reckon I will at some point though. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, and Alcohol

livruther's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

i understand why this book is a classic, but it is very difficult to read because some parts of it are very upsetting. however, it is no doubt very well written and full of literary merit. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, and Racism

lucymoosie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

plantdog30's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book as someone whose had mental health struggles, but even in a normal state there are things I relate to. It's easy to empathize with the emotions Esther feels because the writing is so immersive. Generally, this book is interesting as it has insight into how mental health was treated at the time as well as simply the experience of a young woman faced with an undetermined future. I would've given this book 5 stars but there are times the main character is just irritating and plain racist, with the n word being said numerous times in a single chapter. Overall though, it was definitely intriguing and captivating, especially with such great writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

hallenoelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I have always been deeply interested in the idea of the “mad woman” and how has society treats women with mental illnesses throughout history. The Bell Jar is a raw, disturbing, and realistic depiction of what so many women went through and why. The turn from the fun and youthful vibe at the beginning to the gut-wrenching plot twist had me captivated. I could not give this book 5 stars, however, because of the incomplete romance(ish) with Buddy Willard and because of how problematic this book is today. Not really a spoiler but warning anyway for the next sentence!

I hate when a character hates another character and we never find out why and that is exactly the case with Buddy and Esther

. This book has countless moments of racism that really took me out of the story and made me super uncomfortable. And lastly, please do not read this book unless you are POSITIVE you can handle it. It is full of triggers for those who have struggled with mental illness, grief, SA, EDs, and suicidal thoughts. Please read with caution - but if you are interested in women’s history and feminist literature I would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

madlin14's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

Really, really enjoyed this. Minus the racism, that was ruff. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Racism