An Existentialist Interpretation Of The Existence Predicament Of The Protagonist In The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar,a semi-autobiographical novel by American Confessional poetess Sylvia Plath,tells about the protagonist Esther's existence predicament when the patriarchal culture prevails in the 1950 s America.From the perspective of Sartre's existentialism,the thesis points out that the bell jar imagery results from the protagonist's alienation caused by the protagonist's overemphasis on Others' gazes rather than the restrictions of external forces.The protagonist Esther,overvaluing Others' gazes,becomes alienated by Others of patriarchal society and gets trapped into the self-lost predicament.She tries to escape from her predicament by imagination and suicide,but her self-deceptive escapism intensifies her alienation by erasing her existence and possibilities of self-creation.Esther finally abandons alienated self,breaks the suffocating bell jar,returns to the society,and reconstructs herself by free choice under Dr.Nolan's encouragement,but the writer Plath imprisons herself to the bell jar and loses her authentic self forever.The thesis analyzes the mental confusion when one gives more weights to Others' gazes and is unable to balance the relation between “I” and “Other”.It's useless to escape from the bell jar in a self-deceptive way.Instead,one should break the bell jar by free choices to obtain real freedom and authentic self.The thesis also makes a conclusion that the protagonist,though the novel is considered as Plath's autobiographical novel,is just Plath's ideal self.The writer fails to break the imprisonment of the bell jar and finally escapes from the bell jar by committing suicide.