Social Asphyxiation-Belljar

A detailed Summary of Social Asphyxiation-Belljar

"Women belong in the kitchen", a colloquial phrase used in many cultures to paste the role of women right smack in their faces. What brought about such a confining and discriminatory conception of women's lives? It may date back to the earliest days of mankind when women gathered berries for supper and cared for the children while the physically powerful men hunted game and brought home the kill. Was the hearth women's place to begin with because they were "naturally unfit for the harsh conditions of hunting and manly activities?" Were they perceived as perfectly suited for sitting around, caring for children and churning butter? Perhaps, but what was it specifically about the 1950's that encouraged this one-tracked reality? In the post world war two era, soldiers returned home from battle and needed jobs. Women were encouraged to leave the workplace and once again become housewives who cared only for the welfare of their families. The nation wanted a return to a non-progressive "normalcy." In Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar, the main character Esther gets a glimpse of this stilted existence and feels cornered. The social and economic conditions that existed in the 1950's coupled with centuries of sexism created the co

I tried to imagine what it would be like if Constantine were my husband.

Esther was a victim of a time and place that did not suit her. She spent her time in a role that she hoped would lead to the pinnacle of existence. Yet she was never satisfied. Esther viewed the world in such an idiosyncratic way that it was too hard for her to ever pretend to be enjoying herself. The pressures that the culture of the 1950's exerted upon her were so suffocating that she could not manage everyday life. She did have psychological problems of her own, but they were amplified by the stifling and repressive society that existed. In the more progressive and liberal society that we live in today, Esther would have adapted easily and would have been considered an amazing and talented person.

I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke

ntext for Esther's breakdown. Mental instability and a traumatic sexual incident pushed her over the brink and led to her demise.

To me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and

Toast and coffee and dawdling about in my nightgown and curlers after

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Bell Jar, , York Pg, Pg89 Esther, Sylvia Plath's, existed 1950's, dirty plates, country club,

Approximate Word count = 1319
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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