The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath, Struggles between Buddy, Doreen, and within herself.

In The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath writes about Esther Greenwood, a young woman at a womens college. Esther lived a sheltered life. Her father died while she was still young and her mother tried to protect her as much as possible. Esther went off to the womens college in New York City to lead a new life. There she met Doreen, the wild girl, who drank, smoked cigarettes, slept with different men every night, and …

…rhaps Esthers many attempts to fit into the inner circle of society depict the costly consequence of emotional and social detachment, yet Esther does not begin to recover until she realizes the differences between her creative world and the outside society. Furthermore, it is Esthers lack of identity that dramatizes the irony and symbolism in the novel. Only when Esther begins to stand outside her own world, does she truly begin to see inside herself.