The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, is often referred to by literary critics as a “roman à clef”– meaning that the story acts as a key to the door of Plath’s existence (Fernandez 163; Taylor Kober and Ross e23 ). The story documents the ‘unbecoming’ of the main character, Esther Greenwood (Fernandez 164). Esther is a college-aged young woman who experiences a severe depressive episodes and suicidal ideation after an extensive internship in New York City. She seeks outpatient psychiatric treatment for her mental illness which is unsuccessful and then receives mandated inpatient psychiatric treatment after a suicide attempt. Many believe the novel helps readers to understand the many years of suffering leading up to Plath’s taking her own life despite the juxtaposition between the relatively positive ending assumed by The Bell Jar— where the main character, Esther, is ultimately discharged from the hospital, and she finally feels “…perfectly free”— and Plath’s own ending— where she tragically took her own life (Plath 242; Taylor Kober and Ross e23). The difference between the end of the novel and the end of Plath’s life provides both important information about the limit of reasonable literary extrapolation from a roman à clef as well as the potential idealization of Esther’s experience with psychiatric treatment.
It is important to note that while there can be extrapolations made from the novel to Sylvia Plath’s personal experiences, this analysis should not be perceived as a diagnosis or identification of that went wrong with Sylvia Plath’s treatment. Rather, it should be used as a way to understand the observations Plath was able to make on the psychiatric treatment she received and the medical community at the time. For this reason, it is important that these annotations focus on the broader systemic issues implicating confounding variables in ethical patient care— specifically in regards to gender. To clarify, this analysis should not be received as a representation of Sylvia Plath’s personal thoughts and intentions in writing this novel— those are impossible to perceive without explanation from the author herself. Rather, this analysis will be examining the way The Bell Jar is capable of bringing attention to real issues in a fictionalized setting. Additionally, this analysis will consider how Plath’s narrative can be used to more deeply understand the patient experience of psychiatric treatment and, specifically, how gender affects said experience.
Overall, The Bell Jar functions as a commentary on the perpetuation of gender oppression through psychiatric treatment. Plath depicts and characterizes the systematic enmeshing of both societal gender ideals and mentally un-wellness through the main character of Esther Greenwood (Fernandez 164-165). Moreover, Esther’s mental health treatment is received from two healthcare providers: one is an identified woman named Doctor Nolan, and one is an identified man named Doctor Gordon. The analysis of the difference in care and treatment between the two providers illuminates a more clear representation of how gender infiltrates mental illness through both patient and patient-provider experiences. Through the strategic juxtaposition of two providers and the explication of their differing genders The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, examines how psychiatric healthcare and gender interpolate. Additionally, the text utilizes narrative and linguistic differences to indicate the impact of gender on psychiatric patient-provider relationships.
