Post 2
Sylvia Plath's depictions of suicide and her descent into "madness" are extremely articulated in her story The Bell Jar. I think that one particular aspect of her descent into madness is the plain-ness of suburbia and the symbolization of some of Esther's depressive elements as a symptom of aggressive capitalist expansion with a disregard to the social progression of women.
Suburbia has been demonstrated to contribute to the depression and social malaise of residents (1, 2) and I believe that the effect of suburbia on Esther is not much different. It is shown in the text that the mental struggles that Esther faces during her stay at home is significantly worse in comparison to that in New York; we note her odd meal behavior and insomnia, just to name a few. I think in recognizing the causes of these symptoms, there are three likely "candidates": 1) a continuation of the anxieties of her New York trip, 2) complications to her pre existing illness through the effects of suburbia, or 3) rejection from her summer program.
Personally, I believe that "candidates" 1 and 2 are the most likely in combination for a few reasons. Esther is described as never having experience a "summer in the suburbs" before, and if we note that her anxieties from the New York trip are because of her inexperience/first time in such a situation, we could extrapolate that the fact that because Esther has to face yet another unfamiliar situation, her illness could be worsened. Additionally, I also think that suburbia also represents the conventional and "boring" aspect of life that Esther may despise. First, her description of Dodo Conway (the conventional wife!) shows her genuine disgust in regards to how such a person could be debased to an 'egg-laying machine'. Esther had also planned to write a book or to read Finnegans Wake but the pure environment of suburbia seems to imply that the environment is incapable of supplying any sort of creativity: after writing two sentences about the feeling of sitting at home in boredom, she again "sat [...] for about an hour, trying to think what would come next". Additionally, Esther also mentions that her inability to write was due to the fact that she did not have "experience", explicitly demonstrating that suburbia fails to supply and even drain Esther's writing ability from her and really embodies the monotony and lameness that I believe Esther despises.
Suburbia not only represents lameness in Ester's eyes, but generally also symbolizes the acceleration of capitalism and the push for creating designated "living areas'' outside a city. Given the fact that Dodo Conway is described as so inhuman and that she is stuck within the suburbs, capitalism is coupled with the social stagnation of women (something that Esther shows discomfort with in later passages). A continuous cycle of these vicious forces could easily degrade the mental state of Esther. As how a broken bridge can only become more broken, Esther could only become more mentally distressed.
1: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0149718981900574
2: https://www3.nd.edu/~adutt/activities/documents/oliver-hapconf_000.pdf
I agree: she certainly doesn't state "I had never spent a summer in the suburbs before" with any kind of excitement or anticipation of a new experience. There's a sense of doom, of her having a pretty good idea of what "summer in the suburbs" will entail for her--apart from the intellectual and creative community she has sought out for herself at college and in these summer programs. We get the impression that she has *ensured* that she hasn't HAD TO spend a summer in the suburbs before--by design and intention--as if she KNOWS something of the hazards involved. Like for Alison Bechdel, college represents a valuable kind of freedom from the tightly packed, homogeneous context of the suburbs (or the small town), where everyone knows everyone and Dodo Conway just going about her daily routine seems to be tormenting Esther by taunting her with the baby carriage. The city or college campus represents a kind of intellectual and creative freedom--a context where people write and read poetry, for example--while the suburbs are not at all conducive to writing a novel, or a thesis on a novel.
ReplyDeleteI like how you used actual data that supports Esther’s emotions while she’s staying in the suburban neighborhood. I agree with your first and second reasons for why her mental state worsens, but I think your third “candidate” also makes sense. Her rejection from the summer writing program almost traps her even more. Her not being able to go to the program to pursue writing and having to stay in the suburban world instead is like a symbol for what her life would be like if she followed the path of traditional marriage. Maybe her rejection symbolizes how the suburban neighborhood also prevents from pursuing her ambitions. I liked your post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I agree with how negativity suburbia effected Esther and you really articulate that. Your blame of this on capitalism is really interesting, and that these designated living areas like the suburbs don't spark creativity. Esthers place in the world is definitely not in suburbia.
ReplyDeleteI like how you laid out your reasoning, and I agree with the causes of Esthers deteriorate mental state. I especially agree that the "lameness" of suburbia was a major contributing factor, considering how much Esther likes to try things. Throughout her trip in New York, we see Esther trying things: meeting Lenny with Doreen, going to the movie with Betsy, and more. Then, when she gets home, she wants to do stuff, but just lays in her bed. Furthermore, her inability to write because of her lack of experiences and motivation could further contribute to her illness, because it is a medium she likes so much. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you used real data to make your point about how suburbia definitely does not inspire creativity and passion, and some people simply do not thrive in it mentally and need to get out, just how Esther wants off the path society wants her to take. Good post!
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