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beaniebaby3000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Lesbophobia
trish1oo1's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
esther’s journey is fascinating. initially she just feels empty when her life is seemly perfect and doesn’t not want to fit into the stereotypical 1950s feminine role. as the novel progresses she begins to show signs of depression and paranoia. unfortunate, she doesn’t get the correct treatment for it because she’s in the 1950’s (which makes me celebrate how far medicine has come.) she got lobotomies, like that’s insane. also there is this notion that the bell jar-a metaphor for her mental state- that is suffocating her lifts and “clears” directly after electroshock therapy. that has got to be a placebo right?
besides that Esther is selfish and demonstrates this multiple times through the novel. this could be partly due to her mental illness, her depression causing her to not care about anyone but herself. but i believe this behavior is a defining characteristic of her. she is self centered, early in the novel and later into it. i don’t particularly like Esther but i understand her. this was a bleak journey.
also should be mentioned Sylvia Plath wrote this as a Roman a clef and shortly after publishing this novel she committed suicide. I feel wrong judging this book because of that. this is basically an autobiography. but if im looking at this solely as a piece of literature it’s definitely not my favorite.
**also, Esther says so prejudiced things against a few marginalized communities. there’s undertones it’s not very overt and i do understand the time period this was written/set in but it’s a little uncomfortable to read
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Self harm
Minor: Homophobia, Blood, and Racism
mvonmalmborg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Racial slurs
sexyslutsyndrome's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
hottknifer's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Lesbophobia
notreallyregan's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Rape
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny
Minor: Lesbophobia and Racial slurs
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Lesbophobia
ornebbn's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Racism, and Xenophobia
curatoriallyyours's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, and Forced institutionalization
mirireads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship