Expectations in the Bell Jar
I think a common idea In Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar is that of expectation. Esther is constantly expected to follow both societal norms and the expectations of the people around her. She is unable to find her own path in life leading to her downward spiraling situation, trapped underneath the bell jar.
Esther Greenwood's mother plays a significant role in trapping her daughter with her expectations. Mrs. Greenwood has a predetermined image of what Esther should be, well educated, refined and virgin, ideas that align with what society expects. She pushes Esther to study, participate in extracurricular activities and maintain her appearance. Initially, Esther attempts and accomplishes her mothers goals, being a high achieving student with a scholarship and attending a writing club, but is eventually overwhelmed by the pressure to live up to her mother's standards. By following her mothers expectations, she feels like she is losing her sense of self in the process, and becomes resentful of her mother. Esther's experiences highlight the negative effects of parental expectations on individualism.
Like Mrs. Greenwood, Buddy Willard and more importantly, gender roles contribute to cornering Esther under the bell jar. Buddy is handsome, smart and promising but carries his own strict expectations especially regarding gender and relationships. Buddy pressures Esther to become the traditional wife and embrace the 1950s idea of masculinity and femininity where Esther would play a submissive and domestic wife in a suburban dystopia. Furthermore, while Esther is encouraged to remain virgin, Buddy has already slept with several other women. Esther wishes to continue her writing ambitions and by accepting Buddy Willard, she would be putting an end to her own goals.
As Esther tries to become a socially acceptable woman, the more she tries to conform, the more she loses herself, experiencing detachment and feeling as if she is living a life that is not hers.
I think your interpretation of Mrs. Greenwood is highly plausible although Esther herself doesn't seem to acknowledge the effect of her mother's ideas on her very much. I definitely agree that a lot of the pressure that Esther feels might stem from her mother's expectations or hopes for her future, which aren't appealing to her. I also wrote about how her coming of age might be the process of getting rid of expectations. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think you give a good description of the factors contributing to Esthers illness, how they pile up, and how other characters in the book push these factors on her. It makes since that she would be losing herself, considering how society's ideas control so many aspects of her life, and how much effort she feels like she must put into pursuing that. I think that New York also most likely contributed to her illness, considering how people there wanted her to be conflicting things. For example, Doreen wanted her to be rebellious whereas Betsy wanted Esther to stick with the system.
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