synopsis:

The Bell Jar takes an extremely perceptive look at adolescent alienation. The Book follows Esther greenwood, excellent student, prize-winning writer, and socially awkward adolescent, through one summer of gradual mental breakdown, and her subsequent time in mental hospitals.

on this book:

Published shortly before her suicide, this novel is Arguably Sylvia Plath's best work. The Bell Jar is a book about being too self-reflective. Esther Greenwood posseses a hightened 'sense.' She is smarter than most people and sees through to the hypocrisies that they miss. She is constantly thinking and analyzing. Because she is so much more intelligent and perceptive, she is not accepted. She is not accepted socially but more importantly, she does not accept herself. She feels constant pressure to 'assent' while she wants to 'demur.' Her constant thinking and analyzing give way to madness. This book is probably plath's most autobiographical work.in 1979 a movie based on this novel came out, directed by larry peerce.