One integral metaphor within The Bell Jar is that of the fig tree, which Esther uses to describe her life. She envisions her life as a fig tree spreading out its branches into various futures she could have. One branch symbolizes what society expects of her: to have a husband, children, and a “happy home” (Plath 84). Other branches symbolize a combination of what society expects of her and what she expects of herself: to be a “famous poet,” a “brilliant professor,” or an “amazing editor” (Plath 84-85). Lastly, other branches reflect her innermost desires that will only please herself: to travel, have “a pack of…lovers with queer names and offbeat professions” and to be an Olympian (Plath 85). Esther feels torn between which life she wants to
…show more content…
However, she does not begin to have clinical symptoms until she is forced to confront her own thoughts and is alienated because she returns home from college and her summer internship. While in her internship, Esther sought to conform to a new city way of life that left her apathetic and empty. In New York, Esther’s highest priority is to fit in with those around her; however after some time she begins to seek autonomy. This contradiction leaves her feeling isolated, particularly because she does not adequately conform to city life (Axelrod 134). When Esther returns home, her feelings of alienation and isolation intensify because of deep-rooted insecurities which she can no longer distract herself from. Without distractions, Esther is obliged to face the reality of her inner strife, which is the division of the id, ego, and the superego. The division is so unsettling to her that she stops washing her hair, cannot sleep, and is constantly plagued by thoughts of utter bleakness and despair to the point where she must begin seeing a new doctor in order to assuage her symptoms (Plath 142). In their article, “Seeing through The Bell Jar: Investigating Linguistic Patterns of Psychological Disorder,” Daniel Hunt and Ronald Carter argue that The Bell Jar does not only show the classic signs of mental illness through Esther’s behavior, such as “lack of interest in …show more content…
The article, “Beyond the Metaphor of the Pendulum: Electroconvulsive Therapy, Psychoanalysis, and the Styles of American Psychiatry” by Jonathan Sadowsky discusses psychoanalysis and electroconvulsive therapy in metaphorical terms. It asserts that according to much of post-World War II literature, psychiatrists in the twentieth century often used electroconvulsive therapy in order to cure their patients based on the belief that it would benefit both the patient and society, but in reality, it only controls the protagonist (2). In The Bell Jar, Esther is forced to undergo electroconvulsive therapy in order to subdue her feelings of depression, but it fails to calm her inner turmoil between the id, ego, and superego. She describes her first experience with electroconvulsive therapy as “Then something bent down and took hold of me and shook me like the end of the world . . . with each flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break and the sap fly out of me like a split plant . . . I wondered what terrible thing it was that I had done” (Plath 161). Esther sees the therapy as a form of punishment that only physically hurts her instead of curing her mental illness as it is allegedly supposed to
However, she does not begin to have clinical symptoms until she is forced to confront her own thoughts and is alienated because she returns home from college and her summer internship. While in her internship, Esther sought to conform to a new city way of life that left her apathetic and empty. In New York, Esther’s highest priority is to fit in with those around her; however after some time she begins to seek autonomy. This contradiction leaves her feeling isolated, particularly because she does not adequately conform to city life (Axelrod 134). When Esther returns home, her feelings of alienation and isolation intensify because of deep-rooted insecurities which she can no longer distract herself from. Without distractions, Esther is obliged to face the reality of her inner strife, which is the division of the id, ego, and the superego. The division is so unsettling to her that she stops washing her hair, cannot sleep, and is constantly plagued by thoughts of utter bleakness and despair to the point where she must begin seeing a new doctor in order to assuage her symptoms (Plath 142). In their article, “Seeing through The Bell Jar: Investigating Linguistic Patterns of Psychological Disorder,” Daniel Hunt and Ronald Carter argue that The Bell Jar does not only show the classic signs of mental illness through Esther’s behavior, such as “lack of interest in …show more content…
The article, “Beyond the Metaphor of the Pendulum: Electroconvulsive Therapy, Psychoanalysis, and the Styles of American Psychiatry” by Jonathan Sadowsky discusses psychoanalysis and electroconvulsive therapy in metaphorical terms. It asserts that according to much of post-World War II literature, psychiatrists in the twentieth century often used electroconvulsive therapy in order to cure their patients based on the belief that it would benefit both the patient and society, but in reality, it only controls the protagonist (2). In The Bell Jar, Esther is forced to undergo electroconvulsive therapy in order to subdue her feelings of depression, but it fails to calm her inner turmoil between the id, ego, and superego. She describes her first experience with electroconvulsive therapy as “Then something bent down and took hold of me and shook me like the end of the world . . . with each flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break and the sap fly out of me like a split plant . . . I wondered what terrible thing it was that I had done” (Plath 161). Esther sees the therapy as a form of punishment that only physically hurts her instead of curing her mental illness as it is allegedly supposed to