Distorted Interpersonal Relationship In The Bell Jar From The Psychoanalytic Perspective

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) is a famous American confessional writer. Her only novel The Bell Jar tells a story of a young female college student, describing the process of her mental breakdown and her final recovery. The story is mostly based on her real experience in her 20s.It is obvious that The Bell Jar contains psychoanalytic characteristics, and there are several researches done from this perspective. However, former psychoanalytic researches focus on the protagonist only, and ignore the relationships between the main characters. Besides, former researches only pay attention to the application of Freudian theories in the novel, and ignore the negative influence of these theories. Therefore, this thesis discusses the interpersonal relationships in the novel from the Freudian psychoanalytic perspective, and reveals the negative influence caused by the inadequacy of Freudian theories, and points out the practical significance of the novel in our society in China nowadays.