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Disillusion In Esther's The Bell Jar

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Esther's social inadequacy is furthered, due to Plath's self-critical presentation of the character. Esther does not fit into the definition of an American like Betsy a “Pollyanna cowgirl,” patriotic and optimistic. This could be caused by Esther's German background. The common thread of disillusion is apparent in The Bell Jar due to Esther's increasing lack of identity and unfamiliarity with herself. This is manifested when she sees a disembodied version of herself "a big, smudgy-eyed Chinese woman", feeling as though she is “melting into the shadows like the negative of a person I’d never seen before in my life." The woman she sees is herself but she fails to recognize this due to her loss of identity. Dividing herself from the world Esther …show more content…

I wanted to dictate my own thrilling letters.” Her deflated expectations are representative of ‘Buddy,’ causing her to create 'hate’ and dislike towards a man she once loved. Esther loathes ‘serving’ men as she believes that it causes her own marginalisation; men can reinvent themselves and women can’t. This can also be seen in The Lady of the House of Love, “the beastly forebears on the walls condemn her to perpetual repetition of their passions,” social oppression is illustrated within her natural drives and “passions.” The male sadist whom saves her can only see her as a “mechanism” making it apparent that the Countess’ gender is her own weakness, condemning her to be seen as a …show more content…

Sade’s satirist work articulates unconventional moral beliefs turning sexuality into violent exploitation; seemingly rejoicing in the torture of women. As a result Carter’s work seeks to portray two female stereotypes; predators or victims. The female narrator in The Erl King does not fit the archetypes of an innocent victim or an evil predator. She can be classified as a victim as the Erl King traps her and aims to keep her in his "wall of cages”, however in subversion of the 'helpless' perceived view of women, she approaches him willingly. Being conscious of the "skirts of women have lost themselves in the wood", knowing she could be placed into a situation of "grievous harm". This can be explained by the 'death instinct theory' developed by Freud, stating that all 'individuals have a drive to return to the inorganic state from which they emerged’ (Kastenbaum) illustrating why the narrator shows no signs of fear on embarking on murdering the King. The death instinct empowers a sense of love to any concept or form of death available, rejecting any aspects of life. Drawing Esther's attraction towards death, as she has a fear of life. This can be seen when Buddy presents himself in the nude, Esther refers to his genitals as "turkey necks and turkey gizzards," applying humour to this metaphor of death referring genitalia to be dead pieces of birds. Contrasting life giving

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