Esther and Plath's Weaknesses Exposed in The Bell Jar The glass from which a bell jar is constructed is thick and suffocating, intended to preserve its ornamental content but instead there traps stale air. The thickness of the bell's glass prevents the prisoner from seeing clearly through the distortion. Sylvia Plath writes with extreme conviction, as The Bell Jar is essentially her autobiography. The apt title symbolizes not only her suffocation and mental illness, but also the internal struggle of Plath's alter ego and novel protagonist Esther Greenwood. The novel illustrates the theme of confinement by highlighting the weaknesses of both Esther and Plath. Esther's first statement, "It was a strange, sultry summer, the summer they struck the Rosenbergs" (1) sets the tone for the novel and establishes her concern with death. It hints at no remorse for the loss of life, but rather focuses on the wonder of the execution. This style allows the reader to see the development of the confinement; that is, Esther's concern with death traps her within herself. Perhaps it is his excessive analysis of situations that causes the manifestations of his psyche; he constantly flings himself between multiple possibilities, searching for the most fruitful option. The theme of the novel is constantly shown as Esther's mental battle against herself, a direct result of her mental illness. It's obvious that Esther is at a crossroads and feels torn apart by life. She best describes her feelings with the following passage: "I saw myself in the fork of this fig tree, starving, just because I couldn't decide which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each one... .... in the center of the sheet......she is a strong person. Works Cited and Consulted: Brennan, Sheila M. "Popular Images of American Women in the 1950s." Women's Rights Law Reporter 14 (1992): 41- , Elizabeth. Writers and Their Work. Plymouth, UK: Northcote, 1998. Evans, Sara M. Women's Role Models in America: Free-Simon, 1989. Friedan, Betty Twentieth Anniversary Edition. 1983.Nizer, Louis The Implosion Conspiracy New York: Doubelday, 1973.Plath, Sylvia 1963. London: Faber, 1966 Joyce Milton, ed. Stevenson, Anne Bitter: A Life of Sylvia Plath London: Viking-Penguin, 1989. Linda. Sylvia Plath: a biography. New York: Simone, 1987.