Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - The Bell Jar

I am really glad I finally read this book! I enjoyed that way it was written, there have been multiple sections of the book that I have underlined because the way Plath worded things was so eloquently done. I really enjoyed the way she tackled different forms of mysogyny as well as mental health all while the reader has to keep in mind that this book as well as the character is from the 60's - which is also clearly evident in the cultural/societal response to women and mental health at the time.

I specifically had a moment of reflection where I had to jot down my thoughts on mirrors and it's role in the story (Plath, p. 168):

[Esther asked to see a mirror, and the nurse ignored her]
'Why can't I?'
'Because you better not.' The nurse shut the lid of the overnight case with a little snap.
'Why?'
'Because you don't look very pretty.'

I also had a discussion with my mum about it. All the different factors and layers that were held in such a short line: 'Because you don't look very pretty.'

I will leave at 4.75, and see how the book will further impact me - and if it does, now that I have finished it.

Content Warnings

martinadr's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

ceana's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i really loved it. i could see myself in esther and her mistakes so i felt very maternal over her and may have liked her more than others who find her to be cynical and as asshole

Content Warnings

mermaidsherbet's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

cranedphoenix's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I will fully admit I asked for this book because it's the book Heather Chandler reads in Heathers
That being said it is actually a pretty good book I was afraid I'd find it boring as it's not the usual kind of book I read
Of course the book is old so some subject matters are quite dated in the aslyum and whatnot
But for what it's worth it's pretty good
Personally I have a few iffy feelings on the asylum parts so it's not a full 5 star read but it was really close

fully wasn't expecting Joan to die at all and I was very shocked and a little saddened at that

Content Warnings

iksme's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This book is alot

Content Warnings

uselessreader's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

First of all, the things I liked:

- Feminism! The Bell Jar offers an in-depth meditation on womanhood and presents a complex, frequently disturbing portrait of what it meant to be female in 1950s America. Esther reflects often on the differences between men and women as well as on the different social roles they are expected to perform and finds these different expectations to be utterly and completely unfair. She doesn’t understand why women need to stay ‘pure’ when men don’t, why men are allowed to have a career and women expected to be only mothers and housewives, … She decided never to marry, and to have sex when she wants to, not when society deems it appropriate. She also starts birth control.

“And I knew that in spite of all the roses and kisses and restaurant dinners a man showered on a woman before he married her, what he secretly wanted when the wedding service ended was for her to flatten out underneath his feet like Mrs Willard’s kitchen matt.” (p.80)

“So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterwards you went about numb as a slave in some private, totalitarian state.” (p.81)

“The trouble was, I hated the idea of serving men in any way.” (p.72)

- The book talks about depression and suicide, which I always find interesting to read about. I liked the portrayal, it was realistic, while not being trauma-porn or overly explicit. Sylvia Plath suffered from depression herself and ultimately ended her life by killing herself, so she knows what she is talking about. If you’ve been depressed and had suicidal thoughts you’ll be able to relate to Esther.

“(…) it had never occurred to me before that I was only purely happy until I was nine years old.” (p.71)

“I saw the years of my life spaced along a road in the form of telephone poles, threaded together by wires. I counted one, two, three … nineteen telephone poles, and then the wires dangled into space, and try as I would, I couldn’t see a single pole beyond the nineteenth.” (p.118)

“(…) everything people did seemed to silly, because they only died in the end.” (p.124)

“(…) how I was so scared, as if I were being stuffed farther and farther into a black, airless sack with no way out.” (p.123)

- The book was actually quite funny, which I had bot expected it to be. I especially found it funny how she ridiculed other people, mainly men. Esther (the protagonist) really has nothing but contempt for them.

“My favourite tree was the Weeping Scholar Tree. I thought it must come from Japan. They understood things of the spirit in Japan.
They disembowelled themselves when anything went wrong.” (p.132)

“Lately I had considered going into the Catholic Church myself. I knew that Catholics thought killing yourself was an awful sin. But perhaps, if it was so, they might have a good way to persuade me out of it.” (p.158)

Now the things I didn't like:

- Racism/Ableism/Fatphobia. Plath very much was a product of her time and in this book she casually makes some racist, fatphobic and ableist remarks. There’s also one scene in which she described a black nurse, and she constantly refers to him as “the negro” and basically portrays him as a horrible person, set on harassing his patients. I think one must take into account the time she lived in, but obviously none of this is acceptable.

“I hated coming downstairs sweaty-handed and curious every Saturday night and having some senior introduce me to her aunt’s best friend’s son and finding some pale, mushroomy fellow with protruding ears or buck teeth or a bad leg. I didn’t think I deserved it. After all, I wasn’t crippled in any way, I just studied too hard, I didn’t know when to stop.” (p.54)

“I was so busy thinking how very fat he was and how unfortunate it must be for a man and especially a young man to be fat, because what woman could stand leaning over that big stomach to kiss him (…)” (p.60)

“’He’s from Peru.’
‘They’re squat,’ I said. They’re ugly as Aztecs.’” (p.99)

“The face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian.” (p.108) (with which she means to say that she looks awful)

Content Warnings

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