Summary and Reviews of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

1

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions. The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers—goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street corner and at the fusty, peanut-smelling mouth of every subway. It had nothing to do with me, but I couldn't help wondering what it would be like, being burned alive all along your nerves.

I thought it must be the worst thing in the world.

New York was bad enough. By nine in the morning the fake, country-wet freshness that somehow seeped in overnight evaporated like the tail end of a sweet dream. Mirage-gray at the bottom of their granite canyons, the hot streets wavered in the sun, the car tops sizzled and glittered, and the dry, cindery dust blew into my eyes and down my throat.

I kept hearing about the Rosenbergs over the radio and at the office till I couldn't get them out of ...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. What factors, components, and stages of Esther Greenwood's descent into depression and madness are specified? How inevitable is that descent?
2. In a letter while at college, Plath wrote that "I've gone around for most of my life as in the rarefied atmosphere under a bell jar." Is this the primary meaning of the novel's titular bell jar? What other meanings does "the bell jar" have?
3. What terms does Esther use to describe herself? How does she compare or contrast herself with Doreen and others in New York City, or with Joan and other patients in the hospital?
4. What instances and images of distortion occur in the novel? What are their contexts and significance? Does Esther achieve a clear, undistorted view of herself?
5. Are Esther's attitudes toward...

Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

See what our members are saying about this book in our Community Forum.

To what audience would you recommend Cursed Daughters? Is there another book or author you feel addresses related themes or who writes in a similar style?
...pressures of family expectations would like this book. For similar picks, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven definitely comes to mind as well as The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Both explore the pressures of social and family conformity and mental health issues including self identity crises.
-Jo_S

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The Forgotten Book Club Reading list
...Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion The Tempest by William Shakespeare The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes Lord of the Flies by Williams Golding Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray Brave...
-kim.kovacs

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What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/16/2025)
...bia of the 1950's. She is trying to find her identity but is suffocating as she tries to be the perfect wife at a time when women were misunderstood. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is often referred to in the context of the book. I don't know if this book is for everyone, however it reveals the progress and understanding of the...
-Lynne_G

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