A review by mmatti300
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • 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

I finished this book in one day and loved it so much. I related very deeply to the character of Esther, something that definitely allowed me to see the realities of what Plath was trying to depict within this book. The symbolism and stream-of-conscience writing style did exactly what Plath was trying to accomplish and allowed me to fully comprehend the emotions and turmoil that Esther was experiencing. However, there is an extremely racist scene that felt disjointed and took me out of the book for a period of time. Was Plath simply a "product of her time"? Yes. Was she also probably racist herself? Yes. I think this is important to note while thinking about the novel because I think the rest of the book is an incredible depiction of the influence of mental health on our worldview and well-being and yet there is this intrinsic flaw within the novel. However, overall, I loved the book and will most likely be re-reading and deeply annotating in the future.

I am still wondering why she was hemorrhaging after having sex with Irwin? Did she have the diaphragm in incorrectly? It seems like there was a cause other than it just being her first time.
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