The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book is often regarded as a roman à clef because the protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels Plath's experiences with what may have been clinical depression or bipolar II disorder. Plath died by suicide a month after its first United Kingdom publication. The novel was published under Plath's name for the first time in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971, in accordance with the wishes of both Plath's husband Ted Hughes and her mother. The novel has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. Synopsis In 1953, Esther Greenwood, a 19-year-old undergraduate student from the suburbs of Boston, is awarded a summer internship at the fictional Ladies' Day magazine in New York City. During the internship, Esther feels neither stimulated nor excited by the work, fashion, and big-city lifestyle that her peers in the program seem to adore. She finds herself struggling to feel anything at all aside from anxiety and disorientation. Esther appreciates the witty sarcasm and adventurousness of Doreen, another intern, but she identifies with the piety of Betsy, an old-fashioned and naïve young woman. Esther has a benefactor in Philomena Guinea, a formerly successful writer of women's fiction, who funds the scholarship through which Esther – from a working-class family – is enrolled at her college. Esther describes in detail several seriocomic incidents that occur during her internship. In the beginning, she and Doreen meet Lenny, a gallant radio host who tries to seduce them, and who eventually dates Doreen. Another incident occurs with a mass food poisoning during a lunch thrown by the staff of the magazine. Much of the story is spent in flashbacks, where Esther reminisces about her boyfriend Buddy, whom she has dated more or less seriously, and who considers himself her fiancé. Esther's internal monologue often lingers on musings of death, violence, and the roles of women in her society. Shortly before the internship ends, she attends a country club party with Doreen, and she is set up with a wealthy Peruvian man named Marco who treats her roughly. Later, Marco takes her outside and tries to rape her; she breaks his nose and leaves.