Compare and contrast the ways in which Sylvia Plath in ‘The Bell Jar’ and Tennesse Williams in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ present women with deteriorating mental health and the struggles they face.
‘The Bell Jar’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ both present characters of women with deteriorating mental health and explore the struggles they face. The novel ‘The Bell Jar’ was written and set around the 1950s and is based in New York and Boston. The play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ is set at the same time, but in New Orleans. At this time, mental illness was not understood or treated correctly, one of the common treatments used was Electroshock therapy, as experienced by Esther in ‘The Bell Jar’. People suffering from mental illnesses were also not understood and in many cases the easiest option was seen to be to send the patient away to an institution, this is what is seen to happen at the end of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. INC THE THEME OF MENTAL HEALTH IS ESPECIALLY SHOWN THROUGH THE TWO PROTAGONISTS OF EACH TEXT.
The two female protagonists are presented as very lonely and disconnected from the world and the people around them. In ‘The Bell Jar’, Esther is on the work placement that ‘thousands of other college girls wanted’ and was ‘supposed to be having the time of [her] life’ but yet still feels alone and as if she is not making the most of this experience. Plath emphasises how Esther’s mind is disconnected from her surroundings right from the beginning of the novel. The first chapter expresses Esther’s feelings towards the electrocution of the Rosenbergs and that she ‘couldn’t get them out of her mind’. This indicates that Esther is not focused on the situation she is in and that she is having rather uncontrollable thoughts as she knows that the work in New York should constantly be at the forefront of her mind, but she knows this but doesn’t seem to do anything about it. Esther’s initial concern with electrocution also foreshadows the electroshock therapy that Esther goes on to receive later in the novel. This starting topic of the novel also signifies the importance of death throughout the novel. Here it is suggested that Esther is scared but intrigued by death as she decides that being ‘burned alive along your nerves’ is the ‘worst thing in the world’. This vivid image created for the reader is one of fire and pain, reflecting of the common idea of hell, reminding that this electrocution was a punishment, almost like a living hell. This image connects the reader to the inside of Esther’s lonely mind and it is communicated what level of torment is going on in her head as she is constantly thinking about this terrible report.
Similarly, in A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams presents Blanche DuBois as a character who is very much living alone in her thoughts and constantly tormented by her thoughts and experiences with death. When Blanche first meets the other characters on the play, she resorts to telling them lies about her life, like her age and her past. She begins by telling, small, seemingly harmless lies, such as being younger than Stella but soon these lies escalate and Blanche creates an alternate reality in her head. Before coming to New Orleans Blanche met a man called Shep Huntleigh. Even though Shep Hunleigh is married and barely in contact with Blanche, he appears in her false reality as someone who is going to save Stella and herself and provide them with everything they need. This character of Shep in Blanche’s mind is a key example of something she wants but cannot have, Blanche is unable to come to terms with this and therefor tells herself that the lies about Shep are true and goes on believing this and tells it to others around her without a thought. A physical symbol of the lies which Blanche has turned into a reality is the paper lantern. Blanche refuses to let anybody see her face in harsh light, as it would reveal her true age, so she buys a paper lanterns to cover the bulb in her bedroom. This object symbolises Blanche’s inability to face reality and how she even amends the truth to other people, it doesn’t just stay in her head anymore. In scene 9 Mitch confronts Blanche about the lies that she has been telling him. During the confrontation he tears down the paper lantern, this time symbolising that the truth is being exposed and Blanche can no longer hide behind the lies. As Mitch questions her about the truth, Blanche revels she doesn’t want ‘realism’, this could even represent Blanche accepting that she is able to distinguish between the lies and the truth but could also be a sign that she is unable to do that as she has gotten so carried away by telling all the lies. She also tells Mitch that she tells ‘what ought to be true’, clarifying that Blanche is not happy with the life she is living and the stories in her head as what she wishes was true.
^^scene 9 and light and lantern add to this para (possibly add Stanley scene 5)
Blanche is also scared of being physically alone. When arriving at her sister’s home she quite quickly tells Stella that she is wrong to assume that Blanche will stay in a hotel because she has ‘got to be with somebody’ and ‘can’t be alone’. This hints at Blanche being scared of being alone and is an early suggestion that something may have happened in the past which has caused her to fear being alone and isolated. In the same scene Blanche conveys the struggle that she has been though because of ‘all these deaths’. This suggests that the reason for her suspected past isolation what that the people she had around her all died, something which isn’t her fault but would have left her alone. In the same emotional speech Blanche refers to the sound of death, stating that some deaths and ‘not always’ ‘quiet’. Later on in the play, the audience learns that Blanche is in fact referring to the death of her husband. Blanche found out that her husband was homosexual and did not react in a very pleasant way which drove her husband to kill himself using a gun. The gunshot is the sound that has really stayed with Blanche and is what she is referring to when stating that deaths are not always ‘quiet’. Another memory that Blanche has of that night relates to the music that was playing. Throughout the play it is said that Blanche can hear Varsouviana music in her head. This is used to signify any event that Blanche finds traumatic and uncomfortable, climaxing in the scene with Mitch when she even hears the gunshot. This proves that Mitch uncovering the truth was a very difficult thing for Blanche to go through as she is so unhappy with reality. Blanche struggles to be alone as she was alone and ridden with guilt after her husband’s death, this understandably makes it harder for her to cope with difficult situations and the audience begins to feel sorry for her character once they learn this.
^^^The result of her husband’s death was that she was left alone.
A motif of baths and washing is used in both of these texts. In the second chapter of The Bell Jar Plath introduces the idea of the powers of a ‘hot bath’. Esther does not know anything ‘a hot bath won’t cure’ and explains the great comfort and control she feels when she is in one. She also explains that a bath does more than just physically relax her, it makes her ‘feel’ and anything she is worrying about ‘dissolves’ and she has a clear mind. As Esther is lying in the bath she is able to memorise all the different parts of the bathroom, another sign that she is unable to focus on the important things currently happening in her life. This physical and mental detachment from the world around her is clear in showing the isolation which she is feeling while in New York. Williams also uses the idea of a hot bath but instead uses it as a way for Blanche to wash away her sins and her bad experiences. She has numerous baths throughout the play which all represent the cleansing from a certain negative part of her life. Having a bath also separates Blanche from those around her and gives her the time to be alone with the made-up reality in her head. In scene 7 Blanche’s singing in the bath can be heard from the kitchen where Stella and Stanley are. This time Blanche seems to be having a bath for a different reason and the singing draws attention to this and makes this event stand out. Although this scene is not without the underlying harsh realities as a contrast to Blanche’s cheerful singing is the conversation between Stella and Stanley as Stanley is telling Stella the truth about Blanche’s past. This points out to the reader how even in the true reality, Blanche is attempting to hide from the problems and only focus on the good things, in this case she is focused on Mitch. Another undertone to this scene are the lyrics which Blanche is singing, she is suggesting that the way she plans to have a future with Mitch is to feed him lies and hope that he believes them.
Throughout The Bell Jar, the metaphor of a bell jar is used to convey how trapped Esther is feeling in her own mind. Plath especially uses this reference towards the end of the novel when Esther’s mental health is at its worst. When Esther refers to the bell jar it is her way of communicating to the audience her feelings and thoughts regarding her own mental health as she rarely talks about her views on improvement or deterioration. When Mrs Guinea moves Esther to the private hospital Esther says that she doesn’t think it will make any difference as she would still be sat ‘under the same glass bell jar’, this suggests that at this stage in her struggle, Esther felt that even though the treatment and hospitals were bad, her mentality was worse. She is recognising that something is not right but doesn’t think that anything will help. Esther also knows that she should be grateful for Mrs Guinea’s help and kindness but she ‘couldn’t feel a thing’, this shows that Esther’s mental health is very bad but her own recognition of this shows that there is hope for improvement. Esther provides a vivid description of the ‘air’ inside this metaphorical bell jar. Plath first provides a description of the air being ‘sour’ but as Esther’s recovery progresses, the air becomes ‘open’ and ‘circulating’. At the end of the novel Esther says that the bell jar is now ‘hanging’ and ‘suspending’ which signifies to the reader that there has been an improvement in Esther’s health which herself and everyone around her have recognised. Esther has struggles from fighting an internal battle with herself. She is sometimes aware that her feelings are not ‘normal’ and sometimes cannot tell. Plath provides the bell jar as a way of communicating these feelings Esther has towards herself to the audience.
RELATIONSHIPS
Esther’s longest and most significant relationship in her life is that with her mother. Esther’s mother is first present in the novel when Esther returns home once her work placement in New York has ended. This is when Esther’s health begins to get noticeably worse and she ends up seeking treatment. Esther’s mother is supportive of her and wants to do what she can to help, which includes paying a large amount of money for her to be treated. Although Esther’s mother may sometimes seem as if she understands what is happening to Esther, there are some moments where Plath displays her mother’s lack of understanding but the reader is able to understand the difficult situation that she is in and that she isn’t to blame for not completely understanding what Esther is having to deal with. After Esther first visits Doctor Gordon, her mother ‘sighs’ when Esther tells her that she needs to return and then she complains that ‘Doctor Gordon costs twenty-five dollars an hour’ which seems unreasonable to her but she goes on to pay what she needs in order to have a daughter who is not suffering. It also appears in this statement as if Esther’s mother assumed that Esther’s recovery would be short and simple, perhaps even only needing one visit to the doctor. During the 1950s in America new treatments were developing for people who suffered from mental illnesses, but many of these treatments did not actually improve the health of the patient or were used incorrectly. Most of society lacked knowledge about mental health and even considered it not to be a true illness because it was not visible and thought that it was someone’s choice about what they thought. This common mindset is communicated by Plath through Esther’s mother. She makes a comment to Esther saying that Esther could ‘decide to be alright’. This suggests that Esther has the choice of whether or not to get better and perhaps doesn’t need any treatment. Esther’s mother has a large say in what treatment her daughter receives, especially when she is paying for it, but although she does not properly understand what is wrong with Esther, she never refuses her any treatment and tried to provide what the doctors advise is best. When Esther is at the beach with her old friends she is discussing a play with Cal. Esther argues that ‘of course his mother killed him’, this could be a way of her conveying her opinion on her own mother and how she thinks that, although her mother is trying her best to help, she is actually making things worse.
Similar to Esther’s relationship with her mother, Blanche’s relationship with her sister Stella is the longest relationship she has and at the beginning of the play it is the only relationship she has. Plath uses this sister relationship to reveal the character traits of both of the women. When Blanche first arrives at Stella’s home in New Orleans, she does not show the kindness to Stella that would expected. Blanche criticizes Stella for not complementing her appearance but then she tells Stella that she has ‘put on some weight’ and causes her to feel embarrassed about her home. This portrays Blanche in a selfish and hypocritical way as the early impression for the audience; she expects all nice things from Stella but is rude to her in return. In regards to Blanche’s mental health, Stella is caring and wants to do what’s best for her sister, although her future with Stanley stops her from doing this. The audience is told that Stella ‘couldn’t believe [Blanche’s] story’ that Stanley raped her, this is a choice she makes because otherwise her future with Stanley and her new baby would be ruined. In this same scene it is revealed that Stella has made the decision for Blanche to be taken away to an asylum as she can no longer have her living with her and those around her have begun to fear for her health. This is ironic as, similar to Blanche’s alternate reality in her head, Stella is now living a life based on a lie as she chooses not to believe that Stanley raped Blanche and sends Blanche away as a possible way of removing the guilt of this decision. If Blanche was living with Stella and Stanley then, not only would she feel unwanted and uncomfortable, but Stella would be constantly reminded of what happened and that she chose not to do anything about it. Sending Blanche away also gives the message to the other characters that nothing Blanche says is true, which isn’t always the case as she told Stella about the rape. Through the relationship with Stella, Blanche is portrayed as misunderstood and disregarded and she struggles because of Stella’s want of an easy life and to fit in with the norms of society. Stella left Belle Reve and now sends Blanche away which caused her to be isolated and she chooses not to believe the truth as it would cause too many complications.
Both of these texts explore the harsh topic of rape and sexual assault. Scene 10 in A Streetcar Named Desire opens with Blanche sitting alone, drinking ‘fairly heavily’ and talking to people who are not really in the room with her. This is a clear symbol of her deteriorating mental health and emphasises her extreme loneliness. She also breaks a mirror after looking at her reflection. This is after Mitch had removed the paper lantern from the bulb so she can be seen in detail and the anger in the action of smashing the mirror conveys Blanche’s unhappiness with the truth and her true appearance. Stanley arrives home feeling triumphant and powerful at the news of his wife giving birth to his son, Blanche, on the other hand, is the most vulnerable and fragile that she has been so far in the play. Stanley decides to confront Blanche about the lies she has been telling, this is the last piece of truth which is uncovered for Blanche, who at this stage has lost grasp of what is reality and what is her ‘imagination’. Stanley psychologically weakens Blanche by tormenting her with the truth she fears so much, the scene has taken the descending turn which will lead to Stanley raping Blanche. Williams portrays Blanche as still having one last strength in her when she attempts to fight Stanley back, but inevitably he shuts this down and continues his domination over her. Stanley using the word ‘imagination’ when confronting Blanche is effective as it has childlike connotations and heightens Blanche’s vulnerability and gives Stanley the power over her, like the obvious physical advantage a grown man would have over a young child. In this scene Williams also uses references to animals to describe Stanley. Blanche calls Stanley a ‘snake’ and then he ‘springs towards her’ these are just two of the animalistic tendencies of Stanley which are mentioned throughout the whole play. By comparing Stanley to an animal, Williams is removing human qualities, like compassion, from his character in the build-up to him raping Blanche.
Esther has a similar experience when Doreen convinces her to come to an event with some of her friends. When Esther first meets Marco he grabs her arm so hard that it bruises and ‘gripped [her] hand in such a way [she] had to choose between following him onto the floor or having [her] arm torn off’. These physical actions should have been alarming to Esther and hinted at potential danger. Esther not detecting something suspicious about Marco from their first meeting emphasises her detachment from reality. Esther states that Marco reminds her of a ‘snake’ she had seen in a zoo, this mirrors the effect of Williams referring to Stanley as having animal-like characteristics and removes the human qualities from Marco before he commits the awful act of violence and causes Esther to feel powerless. Similar to Blanche, Esther attempts to fight back and stop Marco from what he is doing but she is only partly successful, this could be Plath’s way of commenting on the unfair treatment of women in society, even if a woman tries to fight back, she will always be overpowered by a man. Esther reacts to what has just happened to her is by returning to the hotel and throwing her clothes off of the roof symbolising her effort to eliminate the bad experiences she has had since moving to New York and could possibly suggest an effort at removing her identity and her femininity. Removing those qualities would remove the aspects of Esther’s character which made it possible for the rape to take place, this signifies Plath’s critical view on society as well as Esther’s critical view on herself. With The Bell Jar being a semi-autobiographical novel, Plath is able to express her life experiences as well as her views on society through the character of Esther. The rape scene is an important part of this as Plath can discretely convey her views on the role of women in society and inequality between genders.
During Esther’s treatment she encounters a number of medical professionals, including two doctors who have a significant influence of her treatment. Esther’s first doctor was Doctor Gordon who referred her to receive her first electrotherapy. He is also part of a private hospital full of ‘awful dead people’, this signifies that his patients do not look any better after receiving the treatment he offers and in fact they look ‘dead’. This could refer to their lifeless minds or their physical appearance as the patients were also ‘not moving’. Plath portrays Doctor Gordon as a doctor who is merely treating a group of patients rather than individual people. They all receive unsuccessful treatment but nothing seems to be done about it. This means that Doctor Gordon does not form any meaningful relationships with any of his patients which may also hinder their recovery. In contrast to Doctor Gordon Esther’s second doctor, Doctor Nolan, gives Esther the help and treatment she really needs to end her suffering. Esther is surprised when she finds out that her doctor is a woman but soon learns that she is very kind and caring and understands the trauma that Esther has been through so far. Esther is able to feel comfortable in the new hospital because of the reassurance given to her by Doctor Nolan as she receives her improved treatment. Esther’s struggle with isolation while being in the hospital is also improved as she is allowed to go out and interact with other people in the hospital which contributes to her recovery.
A challenge for both Esther and Blanche is finding ways to end or improve their constant mental suffering. Blanche had developed the habit of ‘drinking heavily’ as a way of escaping her reality and focusing on the reality she had created in her imagination. This alternate reality was based on lies and exaggerations which she had told to those around her and then began to believe herself. By the end of the play Blanche is completely unable to distinguish between what is real and what she has created. The alcohol meant that Blanche could get away from the reality around her but it actually worsened her mental suffering as it encouraged her to develop this out of control imagination and enhanced her belief in the lies. When Stanley hits Stella, Blanche quickly suggests that the two of them run away from Stanley and go and live with her friend Shep Huntley, who’s true relationship with Blanche is exaggerated in her head and wouldn’t be a viable option for escape. This advice that she gives to Stella suggests that she uses running away as a way to escape bad situations. Here Plath portrays Blanche as someone who does not cope well in bad situations and would prefer to run away than to deal with the problem. This could suggest the stem for Blanche’s mental deterioration and portrays her as a fragile character.
For Esther, her main escape from her worst amount of suffering is suicide. Throughout the novel Esther makes numerous suicide attempts as she sees it as the only way to end her constant mental suffering. Her first attempt comes after her traumatic electroshock therapy given by Doctor Gordon. While recounting this first experience Esther mentions that she thought ‘it would be easy’. This emphasises the lack of emotion and desperation that Esther felt. This first attempt also takes place in her bath which links back to her love for a hot bath while she was in New York and she thought there wasn’t anything a hot bath couldn’t cure, in this case the bath is curing her suffering by contributing to her suicide attempt. On her second attempt Esther observed that ‘[her] body had all sorts of little tricks’ to stop her from being successful. This could convey that there is still part of Esther which is able to feel emotions and is stopping her from completely following these attempts through. Esther talking about her ‘body’ is as if she considers her brain disconnected from her body, as if they are completely separate things. Esther is clearly aware that mental health is a different thing from physical health but she has to harm her physical health by committing suicide in order to stop the mental suffering. Esther’s next suicide attempt was by trying to drown herself but she failed because she ‘popped up like a cork’. This imagery is very contrasting to the intensity of the situation that Esther is in. The comparison of her drowning body to a cork trivialises the situation and proves that Esther has little capacity to feel the correct emotions for the things she experiences. Esther previously suggested that ‘drowning must be the kindest way to die’ and when she explains the events of her final failed suicide attempt she describes her overdose as a ‘sweeping tide’ which ‘rushed [her] to sleep’ and refers to ‘pebbles’ and ‘shells’. This is another fairly happy and positive image which contrasts with the bad situation. This water imagery and reference to a beach ties with Esther’s view that ‘drowning must be the kindest way to die’, it is as if she is using this to distract herself from what is happening and imagining that she is not dying from an unpleasant overdose but that she is relaxed and surrounded by water. This presents Esther as the same creative person that she was in the beginning of the novel. She is still able to think of creative things and use that skill to distance herself from what is happening around her. These suicide attempts strongly convey to the reader just how much Esther is suffering and how hopeless she feels.