\u201cThe Bell Jar<\/a>\u201d is an account of a young woman\u2019s nervous breakdown. It follows protagonist Esther Greenwood during her depressive episode, treatment and recovery.<\/p>\n The novel is generally classed as semi-autobiographical. Although it is a piece of fiction, it is very closely based on the author\u2019s own breakdown. Some sources<\/a> go as far as to say that Plath only changed the names of people and places \u2014 her experiences remain the same.<\/p>\n On the surface, \u201cThe Bell Jar\u201d is the story of a young woman dealing with some very real mental health<\/a> concerns. Looking at the bigger picture, however, the book considers what it was like to be a woman in 1950s America.<\/p>\n It\u2019s about Esther\u2019s struggle to be the \u2018right\u2019 sort of woman and her need to live up to the heavy expectations placed on her by her contemporaries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bell Jar\u201d is often touted as a depressing, morose read. But while Esther\u2019s depression<\/a> is at the center of the novel, there\u2019s a lot more to it than that. The book is witty and funny and searingly honest.<\/p>\n So, does \u201cThe Bell Jar\u201d hold up over 60 years after it was first published? What lessons can we learn from Sylvia Plath\u2019s only full-length novel? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bell Jar\u201d starts in the summer of 1953. Esther Greenwood, the book\u2019s protagonist and narrator, is taking part in a prestigious summer program at a famous magazine in New York.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a hot month of glamor, parties and dates, but Esther doesn\u2019t feel like herself. She struggles to connect to the experience. The book often flashes back to Esther\u2019s college year, as well as her romantic relationship with \u2018perfect\u2019 medical student Buddy Willard.<\/p>\n Esther returns home from New York preoccupied with the kind of woman she should be. She contemplates virginity, motherhood and marriage \u2014 and whether she wants these things or whether she wants to pursue a career.<\/p>\n Her mental health soon deteriorates and, after a failed electro-shock treatment, she attempts to kill herself. She is admitted to a city psychiatric hospital but soon moves to a private asylum where she begins to recover.<\/p>\n Esther\u2019s new psychiatrist, Doctor Nolan, encourages her to stop receiving visitors and gives her the freedom to explore who she is. The book ends with Esther\u2019s final interview at the hospital. We are led to assume that she will soon go on to resume her \u2018normal\u2019 life.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Bell Jar\u201d reminds me of \u201cGirl, Interrupted<\/a>\u201d by Susanna Kaysen, who spent some time in Maclean, the same hospital as Plath.<\/p>\n<\/div>\u2018The Bell Jar\u2019 Book Summary: A Young Woman\u2019s Breakdown and Journey to Recovery<\/h2>\n