This research paper is about Sylvia Plath and her writings. The early writings show the process of Plath’s coming into a period in which her initial idealism faded as she began to identify with the role of a creator, the writer, and especially, the aesthete. Although she was still a student at that stage, her construction of identity became more complicated and complex due to the nurturing questions of gender and sexuality.
It is also worth including, with regards to the aspect of feminism, some references from Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, who questions so-called repressive hypothesis. The problem of gender roles is also extensively discussed in another bibliographical position written by Adrienne Rich and titled Compulsory heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence. Here the author presents how the society actually pursue a threatening politics.
Yet, Elaine Tyler May and Deborah Nelson reveal that the culture of the fifties displayed contradictory views on certain issues concerning ideas about "citizen and state, self and society", which led to the politics of containment (further elucidated in Chapter One). Nelson discusses in Pursuing Privacy in Cold War America in which ways privacy trapped woman in particular. While the term privacy presumably indicated self-sufficiency, it came to symbolize "isolation, loneliness, domination and routine" for many confessional writers, linking Sylvia Plath as a confessional writer to the Foucauldian hypothesis, and arguing that confession does not lead to freedom, as the private is already penetrated by power.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: Baby-boomers of 1950s – Gender Roles in Clash of both Post-Victorian and Post-War Society
1.1. Suburbia’s Domestic Divas of 1950s and the Politics of Domestic Containment
1.2. Repressive Hypothesis – Social Obsession with Purity vs. Echoes of Roaring Twenties Female Freedom
1.2.1. The Repressive Hypothesis or “Don’t talk about sex”
1.3. Drastic Results of Household Containment and Repressive Hypothesis – Mental Illnesses and Suicidology of 1950s Housewives
1.3.1. Treatment or Torment – American Attitude towards Depression and Mental Illness in 1950s
Chapter Two: Sylvia Plath – the Portrait of Life under a Cracking Jar
2.1. Under the Atomic Dome – Plath’s writing in view of the 1950s politics
2.2. The Soul’s Containment – Plath’s female perspective
2.3. The year The Bell Jar cracked
Chapter Three: The Two Bell Jars – The interwoven stories of Plath and Esther in the Cold War reality
3.1. Politics of containment and purity of life through Esther’s eyes
3.2. Male-dominant society and Esther’s true dilemma
3.3. Plath and Esther’s mother-daughter relationship in view of fear of motherhood
3.4. Isolative and perfectionist nature as source of Esther/ Plath’s depression
3.5. ECT as Esther’s Catastrophic Treatment vs. Esther’s Cleansing Treatment
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Objectives and Core Topics
This work aims to examine the intricate parallels between Sylvia Plath’s life and her semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, within the restrictive socio-political context of the 1950s. It investigates how the era's ideology of domestic containment, Cold War anxieties, and rigid gender roles contributed to the mental health struggles of both the author and her protagonist, Esther Greenwood.
- The intersection of Cold War politics and female gender identity.
- The societal pressure of domesticity and the "repressive hypothesis" regarding female sexuality.
- The relationship between creative expression, depression, and the struggle for autonomy.
- The historical medical approach to mental illness and the stigmatization of women in the 1950s.
- The literary significance of Plath’s "life narrative" and its dual function as both autobiography and social critique.
Excerpt from the Book
Politics of containment and purity of life through Esther’s eyes
As readers of The Bell Jar will know, this novel, frequently described as the autobiography is a recollection of the breakdown, and concluding recovery of Esther Greenwood, a white, middle-class young woman, living her life in the middle of Eisenhower’s era in America. Esther, just like Sylvia Plath went to the point in her life where she needed to negotiate the sexual and social contract of the 1950s: a contract which in the early pages of the novel seems hopelessly weighted in terms of male agendas and interests but gradually shifts towards the possibility of female autonomy and agency. The setting of Esther’s attempts for self-determination in a surrounding society which is obsessively domesticated and sexually correct in terms of its national identity and politics foreshadows an inevitable dramatics. Coming-of-age amongst marriage-oriented and ecstatically child-rearing women must have been immensely difficult for a young woman searching for her own identity and trying to establish her own needs.
What is even worse, it seems that throughout the course of her life, Esther began to obsess about that the only good in the world was connected with everything which was clean or pure. Throughout her deeds and simultaneous thoughts, we can clearly see her obsession with the idea of purity. She ascribes almost miraculous cleansing effects of the water, and when she takes bath she feels as though she were scrubbing away all dirt of life – including her friends.: “I never feel so much myself as when I’m in a hot bath. […]Doreen is dissolving, Lenny Shepherd is dissolving, Frankie is dissolving, New York is dissolving, they are all dissolving away and none of them matter any more. I don’t know them, I have never known them and I am very pure. All that liquor and those sticky kisses I saw and the dirt that settled on my skin on the way back is turning into something pure” (Plath, 1972 p. 12).
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides the research framework, justifying the choice of The Bell Jar as a primary source to explore female identity, clinical depression, and the historical struggle against 1950s domestic norms.
Chapter One: Baby-boomers of 1950s – Gender Roles in Clash of both Post-Victorian and Post-War Society: Analyzes the political climate of the Eisenhower era, focusing on how suburban domesticity and "containment" policies trapped women, leading to widespread mental health issues and drug abuse.
Chapter Two: Sylvia Plath – the Portrait of Life under a Cracking Jar: Examines Plath's personal life, her experiences as a confessional writer, and how her internal anxieties and marital struggles informed her literary output.
Chapter Three: The Two Bell Jars – The interwoven stories of Plath and Esther in the Cold War reality: Compares the fictional journey of Esther Greenwood with Plath’s actual life, evaluating the role of psychiatry, societal expectations, and the ultimate search for self-autonomy.
Discussion: Reflects on the research findings, addressing how the "bell jar" metaphor serves as a powerful symbol for both societal confinement and the personal psychological barriers faced by women in the 1950s.
Conclusion: Summarizes the study’s contributions, emphasizing the value of Plath’s life narrative in highlighting the importance of personal freedom and legal protections for women in the modern era.
Keywords
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, 1950s, gender roles, domestic containment, clinical depression, feminism, Cold War, life narrative, patriarchy, mental illness, Esther Greenwood, psychiatry, autobiography, identity crisis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
This work explores the socio-historical and psychological factors of the 1950s that shaped Sylvia Plath's life and her only novel, The Bell Jar.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The key themes include the "politics of domestic containment," the construction of female identity, the impact of patriarchal society on mental health, and the use of the "life narrative" genre in literature.
What is the primary research question?
The paper investigates how the rigid gender norms and socio-political climate of the Cold War era contributed to the psychological distress and isolation experienced by women, mirrored in both Plath’s life and her protagonist, Esther Greenwood.
Which methodology does the author use?
The author employs a qualitative in-depth analysis of biographical sources, feminist literary criticism, and historical contexts regarding 1950s society and psychiatric practices.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The body chapters detail the historical background of the 1950s, the biographical pressures on Sylvia Plath, and a comparative analysis of Esther Greenwood’s struggle with identity and psychiatric treatment.
What characterizes the key terminology of the work?
The work is defined by concepts such as "domestic containment," "confessional writing," "the male gaze," "the repressive hypothesis," and the duality of self in the literature of marginalized groups.
How does the author characterize Plath’s relationship with Ted Hughes?
The author describes the relationship as deeply volatile, suggesting that Hughes's dominance and marital infidelity acted as a catalyst for Plath's deepening depression and eventual tragic end.
What significance is attributed to the "bell jar" metaphor in this document?
The metaphor is interpreted as both a symbol of the suffocating social space imposed on women in the 1950s and an internal psychological barrier preventing an authentic existence.
How does the paper view the medical treatment Plath and Esther received?
The paper critiques the 1950s medical establishment, arguing that psychiatric treatments like ECT were often used as a means of social control rather than genuine therapy, particularly for women who defied traditional gender roles.
- Quote paper
- Marta Zapała-Kraj (Author), 2021, Sylvia Plath. The Portrait of Life under a Cracking Bell Jar, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1140363
