A Foucaultian Reading Of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was hailed one of the most dynamic and admiredfemale poets of the20thcentury, and her only novel—The Bell Jar was considered tobe a testing ground for her poems and has proved a great success. It chronicles anervous breakdown and consequent professional therapy in non-clinical language.And finally, it gives the reader one of the few sympathetic portraits of what happensto one who has genuinely feminist aspirations in society, of a girl who refuses to be anevent in anyone’s life. However, it is more than a feminist document, for it presentsthe enduring human concerns of the search for identity, the pain of disillusionment,and the refusal to accept defeat. As a female writer, Plath fully demonstrates theclashes between her inner spiritual world and the estranged disciplined society.Drawing upon Michel Foucault’s disciplinary power theory, especially hisconcept of panopticon and theory of subjectivity, this thesis attempts to make atentative and theoretical exploration of the discipline and punishment toward Esther inThe Bell Jar in the sense of “power mechanism”. It conducts an analysis of how theconfinement of panopticon traps Esther inside and explores the discipline andpunishment upon her. As the result of discipline, docile bodies and alienated subjectbecome the products of power. As the breakthrough Foucault makes to the traditionalpower concept, power is impossible in the absence of resistance. So Esther’sresistance to reconstruct her subjectivity is also the focus of the thesis.Chapter One is a brief introduction to Sylvia Plath and her The Bell Jar. Aliterature review of the novel is also included, consisting of three parts: Sylvia’s autobiographical novel, a feminist manifesto and a psychological research. AndMichel Foucault’s disciplinary power theory, especially his concept of panopticon andtheory of subjectivity is then introduced as the theoretical framework. Chapter Twoconducts an analysis of the confinement trapping Esther inside, e. g. panopticon,which consists of three settings: the political society in the Cold War era, Esther’shome and the asylum. On the basis of the disciplinary power theory, this chapter alsodwells upon the surveillance and punishment on Esther. Surveillance aims todiscipline. In the settings shifted from the political panopticon to the asylumpanopticon, Esther is under strict and omnipresent surveillance. As the result of notconforming to the social norms set for women, Esther is labeled as mentally ill andput into the force of punishment, including attacks on women’s body and mind. Withthe combination of Foucault’s power and subject theory, Chapter Three centers onsubjectivity under disciplinary power. Power is productive. Life under powergradually submerges Esther’ subjectivity and results in her alienation, including thesocial and psychological one. In addition, women internalize the disciplinary powerand become docile bodies. So under the power of discipline, Esther’s subjectivity islost and docile bodies of women are produced. However, through resistance, Estherreconstructs her subjectivity and finally achieves rebirth.The last chapter comes to a conclusion. From the above analysis based on theconcrete textual evidence, this thesis finds that the confinement of Esther existseverywhere, from the political environment of Cold War era, Esther’s home as aprison and the asylum where she receives treatment for her mental illness. Thesepanopticon get together to form the entrapment of power. With the help ofomnipresent surveillance and punishment, Esther loses her subjectivity and becomedocile. Power is not one-way repressive. Resistance exists everywhere in powerrelations. The reconstruction of subjectivity through resistance is possible.