Review: The Bell Jar
/2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 12 / 12
5 stars. I feel like a broken record at this point, but The Bell Jar is yet another book that somehow slipped through the cracks, making it perfect for this challenge. I was an English major, for Pete's sake. I took classes in Women's Lit. This is book is freaking important.
The Bell Jar refers to the main character's sense of major depression from which she suffers for most of the novel. We meet Esther in New York, successful but feeling empty in the busy, glamorous city. When she returns home - without the urban distractions and without work - her mental state worsens. She feels suffocated. She chafes against society's expectations. She becomes fixated on taking her own life.
The last quarter of the novel follows her stay in an asylum, under the care of a patient and competent female psychologist who administers proper treatment. This feels very lucky. Having recently watched Unbelievable, it sometimes feels like victims either end up with a good cop or a bad cop (or a mediocre one), and it's just luck of the draw that can dictate the rest of their lives. Similarly, Esther first ends up with a mediocre doctor and then, miraculously for the 50s, gets a great one - paving the road of her recovery.
I don't claim to know firsthand what major depression feels like (and I try very hard to not take my mental health for granted - I'm lucky), but I've learned a lot about it through experiences and through my relationships. Not all cases are the same, but Plath's depiction of the sheer compulsive, depressive fog seems accurate and articulate. I could barely breathe reading those pages.
This wasn't an enjoyable read, exactly, but I do enjoy books that capture the tragedy of being a woman. There are many angles to explore here, reminding me of The Virgin Suicides and Girl, Interrupted and others of that nature. I'm sure there's a way to examine the mental illness theme without considering gender, but the sheer confusion of being a woman must be on the table. It's incredibly relevant, even today.
The Bell Jar is a must-read for anyone who has felt lost, confused, or imposter-y, for anyone whose care has been put in the wrong hands, for anyone who finds the world ill-fitting, for anyone who feels swollen against expectations, for anyone who finds society preposterous. It won't loudly solve your problems, but it will quietly take your hand in commiseration. Knowing Plath's life story, and how it ended, makes it that much more incredible.