Feminism In The Bell Jar

4 Pages 909 Words

As a female in society, and especially in 1950’s America, going against the grain can be a most distressing, even dangerous feat. Woman are breed groomed and educated to be subservient to their husbands and raise their children to follow their footsteps creating a perfect patriarchal society. The Tragedy of such a society is that talented young woman such as Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath are unable to reach their potential. She lives her life as if under a bell jar. She is bright enough to see the exiting opportunities in the world, but unable to live in it because of the cage that was placed over her head by the male dominated wold.

Woman are expected to uphold chastity. Massive amounts of propaganda made them feel that if they had a sexual feeling or acted on them, they were dirty and evil. Esther receives an article from her mother explaining that the best thing for a woman to do is to not have sex because it can screw up a mans future by giving him extra responsibilities, and that it shames the family. Esther is disgusted, and rightfully so with the fact that the article says nothing about a woman’s feeling, and how sex can also ruin her life.

This double standard is depicted further in the novel through Buddy Willard. Esther becomes upset when she realizes that he has had sex on multiple occasions while she remained a virgin. She states, “ ever since I’d learned about the corruption of Buddy my virginity has weighed like a milestone around my neck.” (ch. 19- pg. 180)

With losing her virginity as a newfound goal, Esters attitude represents her need to rebel against society and its double standards, by seeking promiscuity. She becomes almost obsessed with it stating. “I couldn’t write the novel until I had sex.” She doesn’t even feel like a whole person until she does.

What Esther is really doing is standing up for her right to be given equal opportunities as men, to b...