As we finish The Bell Jar and finalize Project #2, what final thoughts do you have? Specifically, what do you think about the ending? What do you understand better about earlier parts of the novel now that you have finished it and come to understand Esther’s character and experiences? Write a comment–roughly 150 words–here by Tuesday, and reply to another comment–100-150 words by Thursday–to help us wrap up our discussion.
A few other points:
I will post on Tuesday another comment-and-reply request for the texts we’re discussing in class this week.
Remember that if you want to meet with me to discuss Project #2, there are appointments available on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you meet with me for one of those appointments, I will extend your deadline for Project #2. So far, about a third of the class has signed up. If you are interested but no times fit your schedule, please let me know as soon as possible and I will see if I can add in a time to accommodate you.
I look forward to meeting with you, and to reading your comments and projects!
With Dr. Nolan’s help, Esther improves and many life changing events help her regain her sanity. She tells Dr. Nolan she envies the freedom that men have and she worries about getting pregnant. She agrees to use of diaphragm as a contraceptive. After that she feels free from her fears about the consequences of sex. She feels free from previous pressures of getting married, as she had mentioned, potentially to the wrong men. However Esther managed to have a child, as it was suggested near the beginning of the novel, in later years. Was she able to find true love? Was she married? She also managed to write this narrative where at one point she wasn’t able to write at all. I think the ending of the story clearly showed us Esther’s journey to becoming her own person. I believe the bell jar has been lifted off of Esther at the end of the novel.
Joan’s death causes a reflection for Esther. This reflection shows Esther’s way of expressing herself. It also shows that, although Esther did not really care for Joan, The two of them still completed each other. Because Joan is partly Esther’s double, then her burial could symbolize the fact that Esther is burying her disease. The novel tries to end on a positive note but Esther is left wondering if the bell jar will surround her again.
Greg, it sounds like Sibel is suggesting that the narrator’s discussion early in the novel of her baby indicates that she does find the bell jar lifted enough to have a relationship and become a mother. What do you think of that reading?
Sibel, is it possible that the bell jar could again descend and stifle her? Even though she refers to having the baby, we don’t know the circumstances or the future it offers her. It sounds like Greg isn’t convinced she’ll have a life free of mental illness. What do you think?
i was actually shocked of joan death at the end of the story, I do feel as the death of joan represented the depress and sorrow part of Esthers life. i also ask myself did she really killed herself because she found out that Esther had sex with Irwin? At the end we see that Esther actaully better herself into becoming the person that she always thought she could be. I also agree that Dr. Nolan had a big part of this transformation to the better for Esther because as she states in the book she sees like a mother figure iin her , a person that actaully listens to her and tries to understand her.
i think that i expected that by the end of the story Esther will get better. One question i also asked myself is why she will reject Irwin date to see her again? At the end we see that Esther is a new person she is back at school doing what she enjoys and she is finally able to live her life without fear or worries. She went through a process of a new person.Most likely she will be discharged from the hospital.
Esther isn’t back at school at the end of the novel but is planning to return if the board approves her release from the private hospital.
Joan’s suicide reminds us that mental illness is real and not something that everyone can recover from. That Esther can potentially recover could seem to simplify the difficulties of suffering from mental illness, giving readers a happy ending–or potentially happy ending. Joan’s story doesn’t have a happy ending. What do you think–what message does Joan’s death send readers? What message would the novel make about mental illness if Joan had not committed suicide?
I think a message that Joan death tries to send the reader is that sometimes people really cant recover from mental illness and it becomes so overwhelming to them that they might decide to take their life away as Joan did at the end of the story. It shows how real a mental problem really is. If Joan had not committed suicide at the end of the story many may probably believe that its a condition that most could overcome.
The ending of the novel is certainly what I was anticipating but with a slight twist. In the last two chapters Esther’s health improved greatly. She was able to go back to college and even was physically able to loose her virginity to Irwin. Loosing her virginity was something she always wanted to get over and done with. I think Esther loosing her virginity right after her mental health improved is a definite sign of healing, She felt completely revived. Another sign that contributed to Esther’s healing is the death of Joan. Since Joan was Esther’s companion in the hospital, I believe her death is a reflection of Esther. Her death symbolizes the suicidal part of Esther. Her death reflects the burial of all the horrible experiences that Esther went though (shock treatment, unable to sleep for months, etc.) One thing I learned after reading this novel is in order to experience growth and rebirth you have to go through pain. In Esther’s state she had to experience madness that she describes it like a ball jar when gripped by insanity.
I agree that the ending of The Bell Jar was certainly a twist. I believe Esther’s health improved greatly as well, but mainly because Dr. Nolan stuck by her side. I believe Dr. Nolan played a great role in Esther’s life improvement. I was happy to see that Esther was healthy and stable enough to register for college again. I also agree that Joan’s death was a reflection of how much issues Esther went through herself. I too learned that after reading this novel that in order to grow in life you must first go through some conflicts in life.
As the novel concludes Esther’s health improves. The hospital gives her permission to leave the hospital every now and then. During one of these outings Ester looses her virginity to someone named Irwin. Joan then commits suicide which caught me a little bit of guard because it seemed that her health was improving. When Buddy visits Ester they both realize that their relationship is over for good. Esther then leaves the mental hospital to start college in the winter, however she knows that the bell jar could close down around her again at any time.
As we wrapped up The Bell Jar, the ending of the book was definitely a shock to me. I never expected Joan to be the one to commit suicide. I did believe that Joan’s death somehow depicted Esther’s life all in one, from her going all the way through hell and back. I felt that Dr. Nolan made a great and positive impact in Esther’s life and if it wasn’t for her, she might have not survived all her struggles. After all Esther’s pain and suffering the hospital officials finally granted her permission to leave. I believe that Esther’s bell jar had finally released her from the crazy madness but could probably plummet again anytime soon. In conclusion, The Bell Jar did have some good life lessons here and there. I believe Plath wanted to demonstrate that in order to survive in this world and to become a strong minded person, you must first go through the many different struggles of life but no matter what you can always pick yourself right back up and try again.
Do you think Plath would say that “no matter what you can always pick yourself right back up and try again”? Does Esther always feel this way?
Sylvia Plath committed suicide shortly after the publication of the novel. Does that change how definite you are that all adversity can be overcome?
I just saw this comment and I mentioned the same thing — that Plath commited suicide. My point of view is that many cases of depression come from lack of empathy toward the world, and that’s what I think Esther/Plath struggled with. Both character and author had more than enough reasons to live a happy life, but they weren’t able to have the feeling of accomplishment.
Maybe if Plath lived in the modern days, she could have been able to treat her disease in a more effective way. I don’t think it could be something as simple as “pick yourself right back up and try again” just like someone with heart disease or cancer can’t simply “want” to get better.
It’s hard for me not to remember that the story is semi-biographical and that Sylvia Plath allegedly committed suicide shortly after the novel was first published. What I got from the ending was that the author was projecting her thoughts of going through with committing suicide by having one of her characters, Joan, do so. The fact that the ending leads us to think that Esther didn’t kill herself makes me think that Plath was fighting against the urge of taking away her own life. Sylvia Plath had two children of her own, so maybe The Bell Jar intentionally left out her struggles of raising two kids and possibly dealing with postpartum depression. I’ve actually just purchased a collection of her diaries and it’s very interesting to see how much of her personal life was translated into creating the novel.
I felt the same way about this novel somewhat reflecting Plath’s life. I think that the death of Joan and the continued life might reflect what Plath may have discovered about her life. She had two options, to take her life and be done with dealing with her illness, or continue living and not letting her illness rule her. She was probably using Esther as the main character to reflect her intentions of living her life, but also using Joan, someone is similar to Esther, as a reflection if the possibility that Plath could take her own life. It felt like Plath was saying “I want to live my life, but I can’t promise that I won’t end it”. I think she also questioned the possibility of her illness returning if she were to get better. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to follow through with her intentions.
I agree with your statement. It seemed to me that the mid twentieth century depression and suicide may have been some what of an epidemic. Sylvia Plath had based that novel on her own experiences, and which is the reason that the story was told so well. “Esther” searched for her identity, and fought the temptation of killing herself, though she had tried. Sylvia Plath did die shortly after the release of this novel in London.
I felt relieved for Esther by the ending of the novel. Throughout the novel, I felt like all she needed was someone to help her with what she was dealing with. Up until she met Dr. Nolan, no one really understood who Esther was and didn’t reach out to know how she was feeling. They just believed that her surface was who she really was. In the end, she finally got what she needed to live her life. I also think that her calmness towards dangerous situations actually protected her from possibly being trapped by her insanity again. Joan’s death didn’t set Esther back, or make her consider ending her life. Esther’s strength was her ability to process situations instead of immediately responding. Her attempts of suicide were well thought out plans, as well as her desire to lose her virginity. Even though this ability contributed to her trying to take her life, it also helped save her life.
Yes I like your statement. Esther I feel was trapped inside her own mind. She felt more like she was in a world alone, even when there were others near. I feel that she has never made it her business of felt that she could trust anyone until Dr. Nolan. She was put into many dangerous situations, and her mental illness seemed as a scapegoat for her behavior, at least from the perception of others. Esther was very intelligent despite her depression and mental illness.
When I first began reading The Bell Jar it was difficult to understand Esther’s insight. Reading about the experiences that she had gave me clarity. The flashbacks that were used in the narration assisted in drawing your attention to the reason why her thoughts were the way they were. The electrocution and her mental illness being the reason for electro shock was evident as I continued reading this novel. Esther lived in a depression, and I feel was a prisoner to her own mind. Suicide and thoughts of it were surrounding her, and in the mist she was attempting to find a way to live.
It’s interesting to wonder, as you commented elsewhere, if suicide was more prevalent in the 1950. When we look back now, we depict the 1950s and a happy time, despite evidence to the contrary. It’s not that the depressing news of suicide was everywhere, as much as Esther was tuned into it–she felt it was the only thing she could read at the peak of her depression.
Esther realizes that she hasn’t been happy since her father died. Shatoya describes her as a “prisoner to her own mind.” Do you see his death as the cause for her depression? why or why not?
I feel that Esther’s fathers death is the cause of her depression. Esther seemed to preserve the lost of her father by holding on to his memory. I feel that she may have been in tune with suicide because her mind was on it. Esther seems to be held captive to the memory of her father.