Esthers Liberation in Sylvia Plaths Bell Jar :: Plath Bell Jar Essays

Esthers Liberation in The gong Jar On the surface The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a loosely based autobiographical accounting of a young womans search for identity that is eventually found by psychical breakdown. Because Esther Greenwoods aspirations are s captureed by traditional female roles, she must find herself through purging her mind of these restraints. Upon closer inspection, Esther plight is proxy of her contemporaries and even of many women today who over and over...(have) heard in voices of tradition and of Freudian sophistication that they could desire no greater wad than to glory in their own femininity (Friedan, 461). It is with this notion that Esther and others like her wrestled with if a woman had a problem in the 1950s and 1960s she knew that something must be ill-treat with her marriage, or with herself (464). This was coined the housewifes syndrome by a Cleveland doctor who first noticed this rationalise among young housewives. But for t hose like Esther- young, single, and educated- the problem is that society does not pronto give them any more career options other than wife/mother or secretary. Because of this, the Womens Liberation movement begins, but only subsequently Esther and her peers scram Liberated Women. The road to liberation is bumpy and sparked with electroshock treatments for Esther and others like her. Therapy is prevalent, whether it is periodic trips to a psychologist or lengthy stays in a mental institution. The end result of the treatment for many is a feeling of independence. As one woman states, It helped me develop a sense of self-worth and come to the instinct that I wasnt a bad person or worthless. My experience in therapy helped me have a better image of myself and I even started to discover better and dress in a more attractive way. In short, I had more confidence in myself (Susan, 489). For Esther, leaving therapy is like creation born again (199). She is now truly a free woman, after all. Before Esther is liberated, however, she denounces her oppressors, Buddy Willard and her mother. Both are representatives of the male controlled society Mrs. Greenwood of inhibit womens aspirations and keeping women in their traditional roles, and Buddy of sexual purity.