A review by robyn1998
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is my third time reading the Bell Jar and my first time reading it while I'm in a mentally good place. The writing style is as beautiful as I remember, and I appreciate gross details and weird characteristics in protagonists. However, I was struck by how Esther shows ZERO empathy for other characters. The book is extremely racist for the time period. It also has basically every other -ist and -phobia you could imagine. Considering that she's basically a stand-in for Plath herself, it made me like the book a lot less. The afterword mentions that Plath wanted to emphasise how you see everyone as a caricature when you're mentally unwell, which I understand to some extent. However, Esther is continuously judgemental and nasty throughout the book, both before she becomes unwell and after she recovers. Interesting how so many people idolise Sylvia Plath when she had such backwards attitudes to anyone who wasn't a thin, attractive, white Anglo-saxon protestant. 
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