Esther Greenwood has a life so many would be envious of – she’s interning at a New York magazine, a hostel full of girlfriends, and a college boyfriend who wants to marry. But on her last night in the city, she’s assaulted. She returns to her mother’s home confused and frustrated, especially after learning she wasn’t accepted to the academic program she applied for. Esther begins to spiral into depression and those closest to her become concerned and urge her to see help.
The Bell Jar is poet Sylvia Plath’s only novel and is somewhat autobiographical. Plath explores mental illness and various treatments loosely based on her own experience with depression and shock treatments in the 1950’s and 60’s. This work is an honest look at this experience from the patient’s perspective – an angle not typically shown. Fear, pain, and confusion are common for EST patients and Plath depicts them well in this book.
I give The Bell Jar 5 out of 5 stars. The narrative around mental health is honest and does not sugar coat a very difficult topic. While the conversations were hard to follow at times, they were very relatable. I also appreciate the real look inside mental institutions of this era and treatment protocols.
This book is a great read for those who have walked through depression and their loved ones. I would also recommend this as required reading for medical professionals treating these patients. Given the discussions of assault, sex, and mental health, this book would be best for more mature readers over the age of 16.
I chose The Bell Jar for the Booklist Queen prompt “a character with a disability”. I have avoided this book for quite a while because of my own mental health struggles. 19 years ago, I spent a few weeks in a hospital for depression where I witnessed several of the other patients after they underwent EST and the side effects of other treatments or medications. Plath’s own medical treatment and eventual suicide have marred her legacy for some critics, but I can feel her pain in her writing and it gives it an authenticity.
If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health, I urge you to call the National Alliance on Mental Illness Hotline at 1-800-950-NAMI or text 62640. Today may be dark, but the sun will eventually shine again.
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Independence, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Current audio book: The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
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