What it meant to be a woman
The negative effects of perfection experienced by Esther Greenwood in The
Bell Jar
Around 1920, women in the United States got the right to vote which was a huge
change in how society sees women. Feminism has been on the rise since the 19th
century. Because of this, women slowly but surely gained more and more freedom
and privileges, yet there are still some standards for women to conform to in order to
be considered the ideal woman for men. The Bell Jar shows in a very gruesome and
depressing way the negative effects of these standards for women to strive for. The
Bell Jar does this by following Esther Greenwood, who spirals into a deep depression
and attempted suicide multiple times. With the help of a first person perspective
revealing the thoughts that Esther has about herself, the reader is shown that she
knows she does not perfectly fit into this box that society has made for women. This
essay will show three examples where you can see that Esther’s mental health is
declining because she does not fully conform to society’s standards of the perfect
woman.
Firstly, Esther’s academic strengths do not match the academic strengths of a perfect
woman. For example, Esther is exceptional at chemistry, physics and botany.
“... I had already taken a course in botany and done very well. I never
answered one test question wrong the whole year…” (Plath, 1963, p. 31)
((Analysis))
“I may have made a straight A in physics …” (Plath, 1963, p. 32)
((Analysis))
“She knew and I knew perfectly well I would get a straight A again in the
chemistry course …” (Plath, 1963, p. 33)
((Analysis))
However, Esther really wants to study English literature and work in a publishing
house.
The negative effects of perfection experienced by Esther Greenwood in The
Bell Jar
Around 1920, women in the United States got the right to vote which was a huge
change in how society sees women. Feminism has been on the rise since the 19th
century. Because of this, women slowly but surely gained more and more freedom
and privileges, yet there are still some standards for women to conform to in order to
be considered the ideal woman for men. The Bell Jar shows in a very gruesome and
depressing way the negative effects of these standards for women to strive for. The
Bell Jar does this by following Esther Greenwood, who spirals into a deep depression
and attempted suicide multiple times. With the help of a first person perspective
revealing the thoughts that Esther has about herself, the reader is shown that she
knows she does not perfectly fit into this box that society has made for women. This
essay will show three examples where you can see that Esther’s mental health is
declining because she does not fully conform to society’s standards of the perfect
woman.
Firstly, Esther’s academic strengths do not match the academic strengths of a perfect
woman. For example, Esther is exceptional at chemistry, physics and botany.
“... I had already taken a course in botany and done very well. I never
answered one test question wrong the whole year…” (Plath, 1963, p. 31)
((Analysis))
“I may have made a straight A in physics …” (Plath, 1963, p. 32)
((Analysis))
“She knew and I knew perfectly well I would get a straight A again in the
chemistry course …” (Plath, 1963, p. 33)
((Analysis))
However, Esther really wants to study English literature and work in a publishing
house.
