"How did I know that someday - at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere - the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldn't descend again?"

One of my favorite books... THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath was mentioned in the chapter about Gender and Sexuality in our text by Kean and Campbell. Don't ask me what the book is about page-by-page (I read it some time in High School...), but from what I remember it's about Esther Greenwood's spiral down in life. The book starts out with her internship in New York City and ends with her in a mental hospital. Esther becomes depressed and suicidal. In the text, they explain Esther as being confused about who she is "'supposed to be' according to the gender roles of America in the 1950s." (216). I knew Esther had a lot of inner struggles, but never saw it as her having to fit into gender roles, specifically. It's interesting to re-analyze a book you've read in the past. I always find that required readings in High School and middle school often go unnoticed...