The Bell Jar

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The Bell Jar (Magill Book Reviews)

Esther Greenwood sees society as artificial and hypocritical but, at the same time, wants to belong to it. Her story is one of several popular examinations of insanity from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Esther, a college student with literary aspirations, is repelled by the conventional, boring lives American women were expected to lead in the 1950’s. Her mother leads such a life. Esther feels suffocated by her mother and has not felt happy since her father died when she was nine.

Esther is confused about and afraid of sex. She wants to lose the burden of her virginity but...

[The entire page is 966 words long]

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• The Bell Jar (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
• The Bell Jar (Identities and Issues in Literature)
• The Bell Jar (Magill Book Reviews)
• The Bell Jar (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
• The Bell Jar (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
• The Bell Jar (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
• The Bell Jar (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
• The Bell Jar (The Sixties in America)

See Also:

• Sylvia Plath (Cyclopedia of World Authors)
• Sylvia Plath (Poetry)
• Sylvia Plath (Short Fiction)
• Sylvia Plath (Dictionary of World Biography)
• Sylvia Plath (Identities and Issues)
• Sylvia Plath (Women’s Issues)

See Also:

• - The Bell Jar summary and study guide in the eNotes.