Name: The Bell Jar LP
Rating: 4.05455093429777 (1659 reviews)
ISBN: 9780060573096

Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar LP

Helen 

Francesca 

julia

Iris van der zanden

Cecilie Spangsberg

Lissy Young

Maria

Chloe Heisserer

Emma Jacobsen 

alma

clara

louane

Ecnamreh

There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra person in the room.

It's like watching Paris from an express caboose heading in the opposite direction - every second the city gets smaller and smaller, only you feel it's really you getting smaller and smaller and lonelier and lonelier, rushing away from all those lights and that excitement at about a million miles an hour.

There must be quite a few things a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them. Whenever I'm sad I'm going to die, or so nervous I can't sleep, or in love with somebody I won't be seeing for a week, I slump down just so far and then I say: ´I'll go take a hot bath.'

I meditate in the bath. The water needs to be very hot, so hot you can barely stand putting your foot in it. Then you lower yourself, inch by inch, till the water's up to your neck. […]

I never feel so much myself as when I'm in a hot bath.

[…] I don't believe in baptism or the waters of Jordan or anything like that, but I guess I feel about a hot bath the way those religious people feel about holy water. […]

The longer I lay there in the clear hot water the purer I felt, and when I stepped out at last and wrapped myself in one of the big, soft, white, hotel bath towels I felt pure and sweet as a new baby.

Ruby Emmeline Fisher

nullptr

akshita

That's one of the reasons I never wanted to get married. The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the coloured arrows from a Fourth of July rocket. 

Marie

Stavros Kosmas

Madison Bowyer

Steffi Colberg

To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream. A bad dream. I remembered everything.

I knew perfectly well the cars were making a noise, and the people in them and behind the lit windows of the buildings were making a noise, and the river was making a noise, but I couldn't hear a thing. The city hung in my window, flat as a poster, glittering and blinking, but it might just as well not have been there at all, for all the good it did me.

I knew I should be grateful to Mrs Guinea, only I couldn't feel a thing. If Mrs Guinea had given me a ticket to Europe, or a round-the-world cruise, it wouldn't have made one scrap of difference to me, because wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok - I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.

the perfectionist procrastinator syndrome

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 and 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 off-beat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and 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. 

lise jeurissen

There is nothing like puking with somebody to make you into old friends.

nikki

Macy HB

The trouble was, I hated the idea of serving men in any way. I wanted to dictate my own thrilling letters.

Hope14 

And I knew that in spite of all the roses and kisses and restaurant dinners a man showered on a woman before he married her, what he secretly wanted when the wedding service ended was for her to flatten out underneath his feet like Mrs. Willard's kitchen mat.

Sophía Allan

I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.

Beatrix

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 and 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 and 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.

haley kendall owen

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under -- maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.
(back cover)

The Bell Jar

yuvika

totally worth the hype! one of the most relatable books ever. the writing feels so natural and real that you can almost feel plath. best book to start a new year.

Talharim

A escrita da Plath é muito eficiente em demonstrar a apatia gerada pela depressão, mas sem se esquivar de demonstrar como um mundo dominado pelo masculino é diretamente responsável por gerar essa apatia. Talvez uma das primeiras obras a mostrar a depressão como uma reação ao mundo, e não algo meramente pessoal. Ainda não acho que justifica o casual e constante racismo da protagonista tho.

thya

Chanel

The deep dark spiral that is womanhood and depression. Sylvia Plath curated it so perfectly, it was utterly relatable. From the struggles of knowing your place in the world as a person and a woman, compounded by the struggles of depression, I found this novel to be so comforting, knowing Im not alone, yet so terrifying for where this spiral may lead.

Greg Talbot

More than any literary artist I’ve encountered, Plath’s work is inseparable from her personal life. Plath herself says in the end of book interview (published in the Harper Perennial Modern classics edition), that the “Bell jar” is a collection of personal stories, with colorful additions and literary add-ins. The troubling events of self-harm, deterioration, electroshock therapy and suicide, are all events documented as having occurred to Plath. The “Bell Jar” is well written, and not rapturously mad, suggesting the work of a diligent and efficient mind; but in all honesty, it strikes me as a work produced by someone profoundly disturbed. There is a peculiar haunted sense with the novel that I’ve encountered with some albums such as Joy Division’s “Closer” or Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon”. All of these are the work of an artist who has touched something that pulls them away from life and self-preservation. I really didn’t expect the first half to be so colorful. Esther’s character is so modern. Feminist, intelligent, and a little hipster in a 1950s way. Quiet but deep minded. The partying, drinking, flirtations all give us an understanding of who she is. In many ways, it is a coming of age novel. How does she square her career ambitions, her interest in a man, and guide her own way from college. Seems pretty relevant today. You could imagine Esther and her collegiate friends a tv show like “Girls” or other hip tv show. Prepare to be blindsided by turn that the book takes halfway through. Okay, yes, I kinda knew we were headed for darker territory, but Plath takes us to bleakness and desolation so quickly. It’s truly one of the most dark literary experiences I’ve experienced. Esther’s suicide attempts, the perversion of nature, the anxious/schizophrenic observations. The tone is nonplussed, sharp, it disturbs. Was not really sure if the character Joan was real or a hallucination for a while. When I imagine her character sitting on the beach, looking out to the ocean as a gigantic grave, with whalebones… it gives me the creeps still. The book is cold to the end. But we are left with the idea that Esther can change, she is given the chance to present herself. We are reminded that she is surrounded by people trying to help her, even if her character is largely self-absorbed and uncommunicative. Plath’s work as a writer is better exemplified in her soaring and gut-wrenching poetry (see “Ariel”), but the Bell Jar is a worthy accomplishment. It’s confessional tone, it’s brutal unsentimental and willingness to walk the reader through a devastating mental breakdown, requires the work of a great writer. That Plath can gave so much earnestness and never flinches demands our gratitude and respect.

I was supposed to be having the time of my life. When Esther Greenwood wins an internship on a New York fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated, believing she will finally realise her dream to become a writer. But in between the cocktail parties and piles of manuscripts, Esther's life begins to slide out of control. She finds herself spiralling into serious depression as she grapples with difficult relationships and a society which refuses to take her aspirations seriously. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath's only novel, was originally published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. The novel is partially based on Plath's own life and descent into mental illness, and has become a modern classic.

A very good portrayal of mental illness but the homophobia and racism was so not justified. At certain points, I myself, began to question my sanity because I felt like I was going insane along Esther so had to take a pause. The fig tree and the neurotic paras won me over. A very very sad yet true reality of mental illness.

Esther Greenwood, una joven de los suburbios de Boston, llega a Nueva York para hacer una pasantía en una famosa revista. La oportunidad equivale a vislumbrar las puertas del Olimpo. Estamos a mediados de la década del cincuenta y la persecución del éxito gobierna la vida de la ciudad. Sin embargo, nada de eso puede disfrutarse sin asimilarse a esa cultura. Que indica un lugar prefijado para las mujeres: glorificar la liviandad y el glamour, entregarse felizmente a los brazos de la frivolidad y más tarde convertirse en madres.
Esther no está hecha para adorar esa secuencia.  Y su regreso a casa, a lo que debería ser un remanso y un reencuentro, tampoco la recompone. De algún modo ha quedado marcada por la experiencia de lo insustancial de la vida. Su destino, que una vez pareció una línea recta, es ahora un laberinto. Su sentimiento dominante es esa angustiosa levedad que oscurece lo trivial, lo amoroso y lo trascendente.
Clásico de la literatura del siglo XX, La campana de cristal es el emocionante relato de una joven que lucha por encontrar su identidad. Para hallarla debe atravesar la malla de hierro de las convenciones sociales y los fantasmas, para nada amables, que se levantan de no respetarlas. La escritura de Sylvia Plath, a la vez fría y conmovedora, retrata la desorientación de Esther con una sensibilidad aguda que asombra en cada página. El dolor de la soledad y el desamparo no se piensan igual después de leer esta novela.  

Source: http://www.edhasa.com.ar/libro.php?ean=9789876283526&t=La+campana+de+cristal

La campana de cristal

La autora logró hacerme parte de sus anécdotas, de sus pensamientos y de aquello que no siempre se atreve a decir en voz alta. Mientras avanzaba en sus páginas, tuve la sensación de acompañarla, de comprender sus dudas, sus anhelos y sus contradicciones.

Conocer la lucha de una mujer que, desde afuera, parece tener todo lo que cualquiera podría desear, pero que en el fondo anhela algo más, algo distinto, resulta hermoso, inquietante y profundamente sincero. Es un recordatorio de que la plenitud no siempre coincide con las expectativas ajenas, y de que escuchar la propia voz suele ser el desafío más difícil.

Un libro íntimo, honesto y lleno de sensibilidad, que invita a preguntarnos qué significa realmente vivir una vida que nos pertenezca.

Maria Camila Arbelaez Arango

La autora logró hacerme parte de sus anécdotas, de sus pensamientos y de aquello que no siempre se atreve a decir en voz alta. Mientras avanzaba en sus páginas, tuve la sensación de acompañarla, de comprender sus dudas, sus anhelos y sus contradicciones.

Conocer la lucha de una mujer que, desde afuera, parece tener todo lo que cualquiera podría desear, pero que en el fondo anhela algo más, algo distinto, resulta hermoso, inquietante y profundamente sincero. Es un recordatorio de que la plenitud no siempre coincide con las expectativas ajenas, y de que escuchar la propia voz suele ser el desafío más difícil.

Un libro íntimo, honesto y lleno de sensibilidad, que invita a preguntarnos qué significa realmente vivir una vida que nos pertenezca.

This eBook edition of "The Bell Jar (Unabridged)" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Esther Greenwood, a young woman from the suburbs of Boston, gains a summer internship at a prominent magazine in New York City, under editor Jay Cee; however, Esther is neither stimulated nor excited by either the big city or the glamorous culture and lifestyle that girls her age are expected to idolize and emulate. She instead finds her experience to be frightening and disorienting. From hereafter her mental state keeps deteriorating until she starts feeling helpless as if being kept inside a glass bell jar! The Bell Jar is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical, with the names of places and people changed. The book is often regarded as a roman à clef because the protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels Plath's own experiences with what may have been clinical depression or bipolar II disorder. Plath died by suicide a month after its first UK publication. The novel was published under Plath's name for the first time in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971, in accordance with the wishes of both Plath's husband, Ted Hughes, and her mother.

The Bell Jar (Unabridged)

Karolina Zizkova

cass

i’m obsessed with the way she writes. it truly feels like i am just reading the thoughts of a girl who doesn’t understand. this book is really great, so so so clever. however, whilst i think it's not a bad book, her poetry is much more full and possesses this brilliance that this novel seems to fall short of reaching.

lytia

wilu lim

I saw someone say that the book is written in a style called "stream of consciousness" and maybe that's why it kept my attention because it wasn't too focused on one thing and often drifted.
Although it wasn't necessarily emotional, it's still very depressing mainly because of Plath's real life and the semi-autobiograpgical nature of the novel.
Got quite confused at the end but I think that's mainly because I sort of lost interest after <spoiler> she was admitted to the asylum</spoiler> and stopped reading it properly.
Though of course it must be said that Plath is such a brilliant mind and her poetic style is so beautiful to read.

Jennifer

This was a five star book until the end. It did not go as I thought it would. I loved most of this story. 

The Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under -- maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther's breakdown with such intensity that Esther's insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic.

Source: https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060886646/

So sharp!it really is a bad bad dream!!and I need a brainwash now urgently!!!

martian1138

raw, unflinching, and vulnerable. one of the most poignant pictures of mental illness i’ve ever read. sylvia plath was generational.

eden ☮

I understand why people like it but the racism and some of her remarks I could not ignore. 

Olivia Rousseau 

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Bell Jar" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Esther Greenwood, a young woman from the suburbs of Boston, gains a summer internship at a prominent magazine in New York City, under editor Jay Cee; however, Esther is neither stimulated nor excited by either the big city or the glamorous culture and lifestyle that girls her age are expected to idolize and emulate. She instead finds her experience to be frightening and disorienting. From hereafter her mental state keeps deteriorating until she starts feeling helpless as if being kept inside a glass bell jar! The Bell Jar is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical, with the names of places and people changed. The book is often regarded as a roman à clef because the protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels Plath's own experiences with what may have been clinical depression or bipolar II disorder. Plath died by suicide a month after its first UK publication. The novel was published under Plath's name for the first time in 1967 and was not published in the United States until 1971, in accordance with the wishes of both Plath's husband, Ted Hughes, and her mother.

jana 

not as life changing as i’d been led to believe, although i can see how it would be for the time

evie coxon

Although people say its all depressing, the first half is full of almost comical satire about the society.  

The tone of writing changes with the how esther is feeling. During depression, the writing feels absolutely devoid of any feelings, and changes as she recovers into more beautiful quotes, quite literally depicting how depression feels in real time. 

Its a novel worth reading! The story doesn't fail to surprise after each page.

Mind you it does have some racist remarks!

Although people say its all depressing, the first half is full of almost comical satire about the society.  

The tone of writing changes with the how esther is feeling. During depression, the writing feels absolutely devoid of any feelings, and changes as she recovers into more beautiful quotes, quite literally depicting how depression feels in real time. 

Its a novel worth reading! The story doesn't fail to surprise after each page.

Mind you it does have some racist remarks!

Essence

Una nueva edición de la novela icónica de Sylvia Plath, con traducción inédita de Eugenia Vázquez Nacarino y prólogo de Aixa de la Cruz, que da una nueva lectura en pleno reflujo de la más reciente oleada feminista. «Respiré profundamente y escuché el antiguo estribillo de mi corazón. Yo soy, yo soy, yo soy». Esta es la historia de una chica que tiene todo lo que una joven puede desear en el Nueva York de los años cincuenta: una carrera prometedora, un pretendiente que estudia medicina y toda una vida por delante. Esther Greenwood ha ganado una beca para trabajar en una revista de moda en la gran ciudad y siente que por fin podrá realizar su sueño de ser escritora. Pero entre cócteles, noches de fiesta y pilas de manuscritos descubre una sociedad que repudia las aspiraciones de las mujeres y su vida empieza a desmoronarse. Esther -alter egode la autora- se encierra en sí misma, como si estuviera atrapada en una campana de cristal: respirando continuamente el mismo aire viciado y sin posibilidad de escapar. Más de cincuenta años después de su publicación original, La campana de cristal se ha convertido en un clásico moderno, y las palabras de Plath, con la nueva traducción de Eugenia Vázquez Nacarino, conservan todo su impacto. Esta obra icónica, como dice Aixa de la Cruz en el prólogo, «viaja al presente como una corriente eléctrica y nos interpela de tú a tú, sin mediaciones». La crítica ha dicho... «Sylvia Plath no es un genio cualquiera, su sombra caliente rodea las gargantas de miles de lectores, de aspirantes a poeta y de adolescentes que quieren ser como ella: hermosa, fuerte, brutal [...]. Plath es un mito, sí. Plath es una musa. Plath es una marca que preside nuestras estanterías.» Luna Miguel «La novela en clave dolorosamente gráfica de Sylvia Plath, en la que una mujer lucha por su propia identidad ante la presión social, es un texto esencial en el feminismo angloamericano.» The Guardian «Mantiene su poder después de cinco décadas.» The Telegraph «Sylvia Plath se convirtió para mucha gente en una figura extraliteraria, en una heroína de las contradicciones: alguien que se enfrentó al horror, con el que supo crear algo, pero que también la destruyó.» The New Yorker «Esta novela contempla la locura del mundo y el mundo de la locura y nos fuerza a considerar el gran interrogante planteado en toda ficción verdaderamente realista: ¿qué es la realidad y cómo podemos enfrentarnos a ella?» The New York Times Books Review

Lo sentí bastante familiar, como si una parte de Esther viviera dentro de mí; sentí que no solo estaba acompañando a Esther con sus sentimientos negativos sino que ella también me estaba acompañando a mí, si bien las razones detrás de nuestras tristezas difieren bastante, la manera en la que se ven representadas es bastante similar, y me hace sentir menos miserable no ser la única persona con esta carga emocional

La traducción al español súper me causó conflictos a ratos, las decisiones de usar ciertas palabras me sacó full de onda; siento que hubiera conectado mucho más de haberlo leído en inglés 

Manis

Lo sentí bastante familiar, como si una parte de Esther viviera dentro de mí; sentí que no solo estaba acompañando a Esther con sus sentimientos negativos sino que ella también me estaba acompañando a mí, si bien las razones detrás de nuestras tristezas difieren bastante, la manera en la que se ven representadas es bastante similar, y me hace sentir menos miserable no ser la única persona con esta carga emocional

La traducción al español súper me causó conflictos a ratos, las decisiones de usar ciertas palabras me sacó full de onda; siento que hubiera conectado mucho más de haberlo leído en inglés 

i’m no stranger to the bell jar. i first read it in my sophomore year of high school, then saw the recent hype and reread it a couple more times, and i'm just trying to figure out what the hell the hype is about. did we read the same book? because this was insane.

before i rip into it, i can see why this is considered a classic. it’s beautifully written, and some could say sylvia was ahead of her time. there are a lot of memorable quotes, and yes, the fig tree passage is nice (i guess). but i find it despicable how so many people dub this as feminist literature—how they claim all modern women can relate to and benefit from it.

 talking about?? because i am black, and i’m sure many other WOC wouldn’t appreciate this book being pushed as some savior of modern womanhood. fuck sylvia, fuck esther, and FUCK that fig tree. this was not written for women of color—she wrote this for the women who looked like her. look at these quotes and tell me she was thinking of us when she wrote this:

“a big, smudgy-eyed Chinese woman staring idiotically into my face.”

“the face in the mirror looks like a sick Indian.”

“dusky as a bleached-blonde negress.”

“they're squat…they're ugly as Aztecs.”

i'm not even going to provide context for these, just sit there and take it in.

the amount of racism and other -isms littered throughout this book is insane, and so many people try to excuse it by saying, oh, it was written in the 1960s. the 1960s?? you mean during the civil rights movement?? did your brain slip from your thick skull down to your ass? i didn’t know being mentally ill was an excuse for being a disgusting racist—i guess i’ve been living my life all wrong. stop trying to impress the dead. if she was conscious and intelligent enough to write this shitshow—along with loads of other work—then she was intelligent enough to know right from wrong. she simply didn’t care.

in all seriousness, this was a huge disappointment, and i can’t help but feel a pang of hurt. how can this be so widely enjoyed? i’m genuinely confused, and if this question applies to you, i’d love to hear your answer. how could i possibly relate to the themes of womanhood, identity, and mental health when she would most likely refer to me as a “negress” if i appeared in front of her? such an incredible letdown.

sundus

 updated review 1/16


i’m no stranger to the bell jar. i first read it in my sophomore year of high school, then saw the recent hype and reread it a couple more times, and i'm just trying to figure out what the hell the hype is about. did we read the same book? because this was insane.

before i rip into it, i can see why this is considered a classic. it’s beautifully written, and some could say sylvia was ahead of her time. there are a lot of memorable quotes, and yes, the fig tree passage is nice (i guess). but i find it despicable how so many people dub this as feminist literature—how they claim all modern women can relate to and benefit from it.

what women are you talking about?? because i am black, and i’m sure many other WOC wouldn’t appreciate this book being pushed as some savior of modern womanhood. fuck sylvia, fuck esther, and FUCK that fig tree. this was not written for women of color—she wrote this for the women who looked like her. look at these quotes and tell me she was thinking of us when she wrote this:

“a big, smudgy-eyed Chinese woman staring idiotically into my face.”

“the face in the mirror looks like a sick Indian.”

“dusky as a bleached-blonde negress.”

“they're squat…they're ugly as Aztecs.”

i'm not even going to provide context for these, just sit there and take it in.

the amount of racism and other -isms littered throughout this book is insane, and so many people try to excuse it by saying, oh, it was written in the 1960s. the 1960s?? you mean during the civil rights movement?? did your brain slip from your thick skull down to your ass? i didn’t know being mentally ill was an excuse for being a disgusting racist—i guess i’ve been living my life all wrong. stop trying to impress the dead. if she was conscious and intelligent enough to write this shitshow—along with loads of other work—then she was intelligent enough to know right from wrong. she simply didn’t care.

in all seriousness, this was a huge disappointment, and i can’t help but feel a pang of hurt. how can this be so widely enjoyed? i’m genuinely confused, and if this question applies to you, i’d love to hear your answer. how could i possibly relate to the themes of womanhood, identity, and mental health when she would most likely refer to me as a “negress” if i appeared in front of her? such an incredible letdown.

It started off good until it’s not. The raw depiction of mental illness might be triggering for some people. There are certainly chapters that made me question where is the plot going but it was an enjoyable read after all.

Alisha

Campana de Cristal / the Bell Jar

finished the book 15min before new year's.....

this was such a raw experience, i could see and especially feel what Esther was experiencing. Sylvia was able to put into words some feelings that i once had, which was validating but also heartbreaking. 

this was fascinatingly sad, not my best summer read choice but i dont regret it one bit

micaela

finished the book 15min before new year's.....

this was such a raw experience, i could see and especially feel what Esther was experiencing. Sylvia was able to put into words some feelings that i once had, which was validating but also heartbreaking. 

this was fascinatingly sad, not my best summer read choice but i dont regret it one bit

The Bell Jar LP

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