Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar portrays the complexities of female identity and the pernicious outcomes of societal pressure on mental health. At its core, the novel presents an exploration of female anxiety and the ways in which societal expectations and gender norms contribute to the erosion of one's mental well-being. Through the lens of feminist psychoanalysis, this thesis will claim that the novel's recurring motifs of confinement and anxiety – including its central image of the bell jar – function not only as an expression of Esther's mental illness, but also as a social commentary. More specifically, it will argue that these motifs make visible how Esther's anxiety and depression are the result of the interplay between external pressure and internal struggles. Since the novel is often regarded as a roman à clef, this essay will furthermore argue that these motifs are the result of Sylvia Plath's unconscious.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-204880 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Håkansson, Alma |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för kultur och samhälle |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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