The Bell Jar

Happy Spring my fellow bibliophiles! Even as I write this, it is raining lightly outside, a cool breeze is blowing in the window, and I am sipping on a cup of tea; it is perfect. Anyway, I recently got to delve into another treasure from my list, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I know I have said this about several books before, but this one honestly changed my life. I must say, this is one of those books that came at just the right time of my life. 

This book tells the tale of a young girl trying to discover what she wants in life; the only problem is that she wants everything, all at the same time. She wants to live in the country and the city, wants to be single and married, wants to travel, wants to stay home. And this intense desire for the world drives her slowly into madness. It eventually leads her to a suicide attempt and a hard recovery afterwards.

The pure genius of this book is that Plath portrays this descent into insanity in such a way that the reader does not really feel her insanity is truly insane. Rather, it makes sense, as if there was no other option for the character but madness. It makes her lunacy seem rational. The reason why I loved this book so much is that I could relate to the character in many ways. Now, before you start judging me, let me explain. No, I am not insane (or maybe I am and just don’t know it), but I could relate to her desire for everything all at the same time. It is the story of my life every single day. Most people long for security and routine; this is not me. I get bored with routine, with jobs, even with where I live. Recently, I have discovered that I will never be the person suited for an office job. I want to travel, to own my own business, to write, to do everything and experience all that I can before I die. Reading this book made me realize that I am not alone in this desire. Sylvia Plath addresses an issue I feel many people face in their life, especially in their twenties. There is so much confusion and pressure to figure out exactly where life is going and what they want to do for the rest of their life. But this book discusses the fact that many people actually have no idea what they want. And that’s okay.

With all that is going on in my life right now, this book touched me deeply. I no longer feel alone in my daily struggle to figure out where I am headed. There are many others out there that feel the same way that I do. If you are one of those people or if you just want a glimpse into how people like that think, read The Bell Jar. I promise you will thank me later. Until next time, happy reading!