Depression In The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical account of the life of the author, Sylvia

Plath, and her struggle with mental illness. The main theme in the novel is mental distress.

Esther Greenwood, the main character, suffers from severe depression, and the depression she

experiences, is caused by her lack of confidence, the relationship she has with her mother, and

her failed suicide attempts.

Esther Greenwood is a college junior, living in New York. She has a one-month long

internship at a fashion magazine, where she works hard, has friends, and makes good money.

Even though she appears to be happy, she worries about what career path to take, because she

is unsure about her future. In the novel, Esther

The news is devastating, and the uncertainty about her future

intensifies. She frantically thinks of many possible career paths to take but, she rejects all of

them. She has never spent a summer at home, nor had she spent one with her mother. This

rejection causes great depression. She seeks help from her doctor, who refers her to a physiatrist.

The psychiatrist believes that she would benefit from a stay in a hospital. Esther’s mother is in

denial of her mental illness and assures Esther that everything will go back to normal, once she

is released from the hospital. While in a session with her doctor, Esther admits that she hates her

mother, and this is one of the many obstacles she must overcome.

Esther becomes obsessed with different ways to kill herself. Her suicide attempts are

cries for help and cause turmoil in her life. In the novel, Esther recalls a suicide attempt when she

wanted to slit her wrists with a razor blade, “It was if what I wanted to kill wasn 't in the skin or

the thin blue pulse that jumped under my thumb, but somewhere else, deeper, more secret, and a

whole lot harder to get at.” (134). She experiences several types of treatments from