The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath Chapters 78

The Bell Jar By: Sylvia Plath Chapters 7&8 By: Stephanie & Megan

Main Idea Main idea: The role of women in the 1950’s To Get you thinking! How might you think the roles of women in the 1950 s limit Esther?

Symbols: doubt, Ski Slopes Doubt is a symbol throughout the chapters 7 -8 as Esther works herself up about what she wants for a husband but brings herself down by thinking that she cannot have that. For example when she was laying in bed with Constatin she thought about what he would be like for a husband , which leads to her thinking about being brainwashed, and all the cooking, cleaning and children. The ski slopes are a symbol of everything going down hill for Esther. After Esther went skiing with Buddy everything has gotten worse for her and is crippling. This also shows the strength and determination of Esther as she was determined to get back up and go back to the top to try it again, and this is also be the symbol of Esther loving the pain of getting hurt. Its also the first thoughts of Esther of death because she thinks that if something happened there is a possibility of dying.

Themes: Appearances, Loving Buddy Willard Appearances are a theme throughout chapter 7 and 8 as they show much they mean to Esther and how it shows that she has grown to be materialistic. This also shows how Esther is limited in her society as she believes that her identity is only created by her school success and part of her schools success is her appearance. Loving Buddy Willard is also a theme in chapters 7 and 8 as Esther contemplates is she has loved Buddy ever since they were younger and had always dreamed of marrying him, but when she has the chance she lets it slip through he fingers, by saying no. …. . This leaves us thinking does Esther know what love is ?

Passage #1 …. The Fig Tree! Ø I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet. ~Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, Chapter 7 (pg 81)

The Fig Tree …. The significance of the Fig tree is that Ether associates with every opportunity she has in her life. “One fig was a husband a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out” The fig tree represents everything that Esther can do with her life and be the girl she wants to be and not some 1950 s stereotype that her mother thinks she should be. This is limiting to Esther as she fells like she can only pick one fig and the one she has chosen is what she will live with for the rest of her life, because all the other options have died off.

The Fig Tree Cont…. This idea has been influenced by the people that Esther looks up to for example Jay Cee is the best editor, and Esther looks up to her because at one point Esther wants to be a editor Jay Cee has oppressed the image of a strong career women, but she does not have her own family. Esther family also influences that fact of only being able to choose one fig as Mrs. Willard and Mrs. Greenwood, Is a house wife and that’s their job. Esther sees everyone around her with one soul job in life, which is why she thinks she can only choose one fig that represents her life choice. The fig tree limits ether as in her view she only looks at herself by all the things she cannot do; shorthand, dance, ski, speak another languages.

The Fig Tree Represents all the life choices that Esther has Esther is Represented by The Fig tree as a life…. . What would happen if you took away something that is necessary for the tree, would it survive without it or would it die? The Fig Tree limits Esther by having society pressure to pick a fig (life choice or a career)

Passage #2 …. Different worlds Ø “ It said in an article my mother had cut of the Readers Digest and mailed to me at collage. This article was written by a married women lawyer with children and called “ In Defense Of Chasity” The main point of the article was that a man’s world is different from a women's world and a man’s emotions are different from a women's emotions and inly marriage could bring the two sets of emotions together properly. My mother said that it was something a girl didn’t know about till it was too late, so she had to take the advice of people who were already experts, like a married women” (pg 85)

Different worlds Cont… The Significance of this passage is how Esther mother is pushing Society's expectations onto Esther with staying pure till marriage and to have a family of her own. Esther doesn’t want to stay pure until marriage she wants to be adventures and not be the 1950 s girl, she wants to experience things on her own, and not by learning by the advice of others. Ø Esther doesn’t like the idea of the double sex standards. “men wanted to be pure for their wives, and even if they weren't pure they wanted to be the ones to teach their wives about sex. ” (pg 85) Esther doesn’t think that it is fair that she has to stay pure for a man who may or may not even be pure, Esther wants to experience sex on her own before she is married, for the fact she wants to be adventurous, also that it would transform her and because she wants to get even with Buddy Willard.

Different worlds …. Ø This passage is also significant in the way that it makes Esther think about her thoughts and feelings of pressures of societies expectations. “ I couldn’t stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double life, one pure and one not” (pg 86) This also makes Esther think about herself and how difficult she thinks it is going to be able to find a man who will stay pure. This leads ether to think she shouldn’t stay pure and to marry someone who is not pure either The article also makes Esther see how pureness has been a big issue that everyone believes in but also how it separates and divides everyone. Ø “ Instead of the world being divided up into Catholics and protestants or republicans and democrats or white and black men and women, I saw the worlds divided into people who had slept with somebody and people who hadn’t and this seemed to be the only really significant difference between one person and another” (pg 86) This shows how pureness is a great issues and this affects her even more when Esther meets constantin’s friend Eric talks about women and how they act similar to animals Ø “ he thought it was disgusting the way all the girls at my collage stood around on the porches under the porch lights and in the bushes in plain view, necking madly before the one o’clock curfew, so everybody passing by could see them. A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly and what are we? Animals. ( pg 82) Esther feels limited by the feeling of pressure by her family to get married and have children

Passage 3…. Marry Me? ? ? Ø “ Buddy sat down beside me. He put his arm around my waist and brushed the hair from my ear. I didn’t move. Then I heard him whisper, ‘how would you like to be Mrs. Buddy Willard? ’ I had an impulse to laugh. ”

Marry Me? ? ? The importance of this passage is that one of Esther's ‘dreams’ have came true. She had always thought that she liked Buddy Willard and said that she would marry him one day. When Esther has the opportunity right in front of her she refuses. Shows whenever Esther has an opportunity it slips through her hands. Esther is afraid of marriage as she feels like it brain washes women. Ø “So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about as numb as a slave in a tolerant state. ” The thought of marriage and Esther goes back to the double sex standard and how she knows that Buddy has slept with another woman which will always bug her, as Esther wants mutually equal things. Ø “If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell. I'll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days. ”

Marry Me Cont… Buddy and marriage is limiting to Esther because she wants mutual equal things, and in the 1950 s that wasn’t seen as possible. Ø Relationships are supposed to be meaningful, but with everyone Esther only finds faults. “ As soon as he came to love me I would find fault after fault, the way I did with buddy Willard and the boys before him. (pg 87)

Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Why do you think that Esther's mom would send Esther the article form the news paper clipping instead of explaining to Esther thoughts of the expectations to her daughter? Why do you think that Esther’s mom is sending her the news paper article? Why do you think that Esther feels like she is limited to only pick one fig? Do you think that Buddy realizes that Esther is not the stereotypical girl that society wants her to be? Do you think that Esther’s era is coming to an end? Why do you think that Esther only lists off thing she is not good at? Explain.