Madness and Resistance under the Flashback and Juxtaposition—Spatial Narration in The Bell Jar

Abstract

The Bell Jar, the only novel by American poet and writer Sylvia Plath, vividly portrays the marginalized experience of American women in the mid-20th century and depicts the struggles of female intellectuals in constructing their own identities.This paper, by using the concepts of flashback and juxtaposition in spatial narration theory, explores three key aspects: the physical spatial changes in the whole story, the interplay between psychological and physical spaces under flashbacks and juxtaposition, and the protagonist Esther’s resistance against the male-dominated society and her awakening of female consciousness in the bell jar. It analyzes how Esther’s psychological space evolves within the ever-shifting physical spaces, leading to her feelings of helplessness, despair, and madness. Furthermore, it examines how through her rebellious madness, Esther achieves her awakening of female consciousness, constructs her own identity as a female intellectual, and raises her voice in a male-dominated society oppressive at the time.