The Bell Jar

The bell jar depicts Plath’s depression and feelings of being trapped. Bell jars are commonly used to preserve flowers or food, preventing them from decomposing. They are used in science as well, as amateur vacuums and for simple experiments such as demonstrating that the propagation of sound is mediated by air as sound inside of a bell jar fades (Nedungadi). This is an interesting circumstance as it strengthens the feeling of being confined. It conveys the paradox of Plath pouring her emotions into her work but at the same time her words fading away as she was a woman in the 1950’s. It also portrays the fact that despite clearly being tortured by her mental health condition she never got the help she needed.

In Lady Lazarus, Plath describes being unwrapped in front of a crowd of spectators, “her contempt for her audience reflects the self-hatred impelling her self-exposure” (Schwartz 156). The common theme of preservation is also noteworthy as Plath wanted the opposite for herself. The bell jar kept her from ending her life, preserving her unwanted body for too long. The bell jar also acts as “a sheet of glass between her and reality” (Holbrook 80); it displays the distortion in female identity and expectations as well as in herself.

Plath did not like mirrors or glass for this reason; she thought that by sheeting mirrors she would keep “the distorted images of the dead from returning to the mind” (Schwartz 167). Subsequently, the bell jar reveals, both, Plath’s demise and salvation (or in this case, unwanted preservation), depicting her tragedy of being stuck in a limbo throughout her life. In my illustration, Plath’s drowning symbolizes how deeply Plath felt emotions and how it suffocated her. It also alludes to the multiple times she tried to end her life but failed, again, imprisoned by life. The water turns into words and verses that depict her deep emotions and how she associated words as a substitute of love (Wilson 37), as well as commemorating her exquisitely mournful works. Phrases such as “her dead body wears the smile of accomplishment” or “Is there no way out of the mind?” depict how infuriated she was with life and how she would see death as an achievement. The white tulips adorning her desolation illustrate the calmness that awaits her after death. The flowers descend with the river of emotion until they fill the scene and the river subsides. This is in reference to her poem, Tulips, where Plath mentions that she does not want any flowers, as the red tulips she has gotten remind her too much of her wounds. She indicates how the whiteness of her room brings her tranquility (Plath). The color white personifies the purity and calmness that Plath seeks; therefore, it seemed appropriate to include it and have the flowers overtake the river, as after everything she had to deal with, one can only hope that she has reached the peacefulness she deserves.