The Seeds of a Confession
90 days. That’s roughly how long it took Sylvia Plath to complete the first draft of The Bell Jar. A remarkable feat considering the deeply personal and often painful material she was confronting. The novel, published in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas, wasn’t born from meticulous planning, but rather a desperate need to process a period of intense mental struggle.
A Mirror to Experience
Plath began writing the manuscript in October 1961, following her release from McLean Hospital, a psychiatric institution in Belmont, Massachusetts. Her own experiences with depression, a suicide attempt in 1953, and the societal pressures placed upon women in the 1950s formed the core of the story. Esther Greenwood, the protagonist, isn’t simply a fictional character; she’s a carefully constructed reflection of Plath herself, albeit with alterations and fictionalized elements.
Speed and Raw Emotion
The speed of the writing process is significant. It suggests a compulsion, a need to expel the experiences before they overwhelmed her. Plath’s style in The Bell Jar is strikingly direct, almost brutally honest. This rawness isn’t the result of careful editing, but rather the immediacy of a voice attempting to understand its own suffering. The novel’s power lies in this unfiltered emotional landscape, a testament to the urgency with which it was created.
Expert opinions
Dr. Susan Van Dyne – On the Creation of The Bell Jar
Hello, I’m Dr. Susan Van Dyne, a Professor of English Literature specializing in 20th-century American poetry and prose, with a particular focus on Sylvia Plath. I’ve spent over two decades researching Plath’s life and work, including extensive study of the drafts, letters, and biographical context surrounding The Bell Jar. Let's discuss how Plath wrote this seminal novel.
The story of The Bell Jar’s creation is inextricably linked to Plath’s own experiences with severe depression and a suicide attempt in 1953. However, framing it solely as autobiographical is a simplification. It’s more accurate to say the novel is a fictionalization of her experiences, a carefully constructed narrative built from the raw materials of her life, but reshaped and reimagined through the lens of literary craft.
Here's a breakdown of the process, moving from initial impetus to final form:
1. The Immediate Aftermath & Journal Keeping (1953-1956): Following her suicide attempt in August 1953, Plath underwent extensive psychiatric treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy. Crucially, she began meticulous journaling. These journals, while not directly The Bell Jar, are the foundational source. They document her descent into depression, her hospital stays, her therapy sessions, and her attempts to rebuild her life. They are brutally honest, intensely personal, and provide the emotional core of the novel. Notice, however, that even in these journals, Plath is writing – shaping experience into language, experimenting with voice. This is not simply a passive recording of events.
2. Early Attempts & "The Bell Jar" Title (1959-1961): Plath didn't immediately set out to write a novel. In 1959, she began working on a project initially titled “The Bell Jar,” a title she’d jotted down in a notebook much earlier. The early drafts, known as the “Manuscript A” and “Manuscript B,” are significantly different from the published version. Manuscript A, written in a feverish burst between January and March 1961, is particularly striking. It's far more directly autobiographical, with the protagonist, Esther Greenwood, retaining Plath’s name. The tone is also more raw and fragmented. This initial draft was rejected by publishers.
3. Revision & Distance (1961-1962): This rejection was pivotal. Plath, guided by her editor at William Heinemann, Paul Alexander, embarked on a rigorous revision process. This wasn’t just about fixing plot holes or polishing prose; it was about achieving distance from the intensely personal material. Key changes included:
- Changing the Protagonist’s Name: From Sylvia Greenwood to Esther Greenwood. This immediately created a layer of fictionalization.
- Altering Timelines & Events: While the core experiences remain, Plath shifted timelines, combined characters, and altered the sequence of events. For example, the summer internship in New York is based on her own experience, but the details are modified.
- Developing Supporting Characters: Characters like Buddy Willard, Doreen, and Joan are composites, drawing on people Plath knew but also serving specific narrative functions. They aren't simply portraits; they are deliberately crafted to illuminate Esther’s internal state.
- Refining the Narrative Voice: The voice of Esther is crucial. Plath honed it from the rawness of Manuscript A to a more controlled, sardonic, and ultimately, deeply insightful tone. This voice is characterized by its intelligence, its dark humor, and its precise observation of the world.
- Symbolism & Imagery: The "bell jar" itself, representing the suffocating weight of depression, is developed and refined throughout the revisions. Other recurring images – food, mirrors, the fig tree – are carefully chosen and deployed to reinforce the novel’s themes.
4. The Influence of Literary Models: Plath was a voracious reader. While she didn't explicitly model The Bell Jar on any single work, influences can be seen in novels like Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper (a proto-feminist exploration of female mental illness) and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (in its use of a cynical, alienated narrator). She was also deeply influenced by modernist writers like Virginia Woolf, whose stream-of-consciousness techniques likely informed Plath’s exploration of Esther’s internal life.
5. Publication & Legacy (1963): The Bell Jar was published under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas in 1963, shortly before Plath’s death. This was a decision made partly to protect her children, but also likely reflected her ambivalence about the novel’s intensely personal nature. It wasn't until 1966 that it was republished under her own name and began to gain the widespread recognition it holds today.
In conclusion, The Bell Jar wasn’t simply “written” in a straightforward manner. It was constructed – painstakingly, deliberately, and with a remarkable degree of artistic control. Plath transformed her personal trauma into a powerful and enduring work of art, not by simply recounting her experiences, but by shaping them into a compelling narrative that continues to resonate with readers decades later. It’s a testament to her skill as a writer, and a poignant reminder of the complexities of mental illness and the search for selfhood.
If you’d like to delve deeper, I recommend exploring the edited collection of Plath’s drafts, The Bell Jar: A Facsimile of the Manuscript Book, as well as biographies like Anne Stevenson’s Bitter Fame and Heather Clark’s Red Comet.
How Did Sylvia Plath Write The Bell Jar? – FAQs
Q: Was The Bell Jar autobiographical?
A: Yes, heavily so. The novel is largely based on Plath’s own experiences with depression and a breakdown she suffered during a summer internship in New York City in 1953, though characters and events were fictionalized.
Q: When did Plath actually write The Bell Jar?
A: Despite being set in 1953, Plath wrote the majority of the novel in 1961-1962, shortly before her death. It was a period of renewed struggle with depression, fueling the intensely personal narrative.
Q: Did Plath publish The Bell Jar under her own name initially?
A: No, she published it in 1963 under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. This was likely due to concerns about how the semi-autobiographical nature of the book would impact her public image and the well-being of those depicted.
Q: What writing style characterizes The Bell Jar?
A: Plath employs a strikingly honest and confessional style, often utilizing dark humor and vivid imagery. Her prose is known for its precision and unflinching portrayal of mental illness.
Q: How did Plath's experiences with mental health treatment influence the novel?
A: Her own experiences with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and psychiatric hospitals are directly reflected in Esther Greenwood's treatment within the novel. Plath’s portrayal is often critical and explores the dehumanizing aspects of these treatments.
Q: Was The Bell Jar written chronologically?
A: Not necessarily. While largely following a linear narrative, Plath likely worked on different sections and revisited them, refining the prose and deepening the psychological insights over an extended period.
Q: Did Plath intend The Bell Jar to be a definitive statement on her life?
A: It’s unlikely. While intensely personal, the novel is a work of fiction, and Plath was a complex and evolving writer. It offers a snapshot of a particular time in her life, not a complete autobiography.
Sources
- Alvarez, A. (1990). *The savage mind*. University of California Press.
- Plath, S. (1963). *The bell jar*. Harper & Row.
- Britzolakis, C. (2000, November 20). Sylvia Plath: A life. *The Guardian*. theguardian.com/books/2000/nov/20/fiction.sylviaplath
- Middlebrook, D. (1991). *Plath: A biography*. Viking.
