A review by lillyoftheval
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

i had a little bit of a stomachache during the second half of the book, when Esther is going downhill and i remembered a crisis i went through in 2019. there's a lot of heartbreak around depression, but i think i'm better nowadays. 

Plath has an amazing use of the english language and i enjoyed the way she talked about controversial topics like birth control, feminism and psychiatric care. 

ps. it has a really similar vibe to rosemary's baby. it's like a mirror: while rosemary is the perfect christian woman and thus, punished. esther is quite unhinged and thus, punished. the real villain in both of them is patriarchal expectations and misogyny. 
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