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A review by samahcanread__
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
5.0
tw: sexual assault, suicide, attempted suicide, depression, self-harm
the bell jar is the only novel written by sylvia plath, published one year before her suicide. considered a semi-autobiography, the book narrates the protagonist, esther, descent into mental illness, paralleling plath's own experience.
i picked the book thinking it is just a sad book, knowing plath's backstory and how she struggled with her depression and bipolar disorder in times where mental illness, especially among women, was often if not always misdiagnosed as hysteria, which resulted in either being locked in an asylum to go through shock treatments, or undergo a lobotomy. it has more than just 'sad hot girl' vibes; this is an account of the treatment of women with mental illness in the 50s, the need to prove oneself with academia and the feeling of being in your twenties and lost and not knowing where you stand in this grand big world.
there were parts where i had stopped reading and just stared at a wall crying my heart out, parts where i was so angry at how unfair it was being a woman in the 50s, parts where i was shocked at some men misogynistic remarks, i had looked at an invisible camera, the Office style, and cringed. Many ideas in the book feel outdated, but this is a statement of its time, a perfect time capsule of the 1950s
the bell jar is the only novel written by sylvia plath, published one year before her suicide. considered a semi-autobiography, the book narrates the protagonist, esther, descent into mental illness, paralleling plath's own experience.
i picked the book thinking it is just a sad book, knowing plath's backstory and how she struggled with her depression and bipolar disorder in times where mental illness, especially among women, was often if not always misdiagnosed as hysteria, which resulted in either being locked in an asylum to go through shock treatments, or undergo a lobotomy. it has more than just 'sad hot girl' vibes; this is an account of the treatment of women with mental illness in the 50s, the need to prove oneself with academia and the feeling of being in your twenties and lost and not knowing where you stand in this grand big world.
there were parts where i had stopped reading and just stared at a wall crying my heart out, parts where i was so angry at how unfair it was being a woman in the 50s, parts where i was shocked at some men misogynistic remarks, i had looked at an invisible camera, the Office style, and cringed. Many ideas in the book feel outdated, but this is a statement of its time, a perfect time capsule of the 1950s