A clinical diagnosis of Esther's mental illness can be made by deeply exploring the literary techniques of the novel. Throughout the novel more is shown than told that is, Plath refrains from divulging information about Esther directly instead, she constructs scenes which transmit the internal character conflicts through symbolism and metaphor. The opening line of the novel: “It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer the electrocuted the Rosenbergs” (Plath, 1) reveals the novel’s essential theme and conflict: that of the individual who stands “outside looking in” with regard to their society: it is a theme of psychological rather than physical exile, though Esther identifies, via the powerful verb “electrocuted,” with the physical suffering of the Rosenbergs who were tried and executed for espionage and treason.īecause the central conflict in “the Bell Jar” is internal, Plath constructs a dynamic and multi-faceted character whose preoccupations range from fashion, to dating, to the themes of great literature and to the essential meanings of life and death.

Instead, her literary interpretation of mental illness functions to expand the clinical understanding of mental disorders by providing cognitive insight into the experienced phenomena of mental illness. Urn:oclc:671917647 Scandate 20110914004144 Scanner expressing a personal encounter with metal illness, Plath, through the character of Esther, presents a 'case study' in clinical depression and bipolar disorder without resorting to clinical diagnoses or psychological language or theories.

OL879294W Page-progression lr Page_number_confidence 86.96 Pages 186 Ppi 514 Related-external-id urn:isbn:0773674837

Urn:lcp:crabbesjourney00bell:epub:63ccf0a7-36cd-4432-8809-9affc3a501fc Extramarc University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (PZ) Foldoutcount 0 Identifier crabbesjourney00bell Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t26983s59 Isbn 9780316088374Ġ316088374 Lccn 87080051 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary OL2414813M Openlibrary_edition Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 19:00:09 Boxid IA140020 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City Boston Donorīostonpubliclibrary Edition 1st U.S.

Crabbe by william bell