The Bell Jar: A Woman's Attempt To Be A True Poet

A Woman’s Attempt to Be a True Poet In Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, written in 1971, Esther Greenwood is the main character who strives to become a writer by walking, or exercising Flaneurie. Flaneurie is an idea by Walter Benjamin that a poet needs to walk and capture his or her surroundings. Esther tries to become a true writer by acting on this concept while pursuing an internship in New York, but this opportunity is taken from her. Ms. Greenwood says “I thought if I walked the streets of New York by myself all night something of the city’s mystery and magnificence might rub off on me” (167), however, she is stopped by a woman beater named Marco (108). Despite her desire to be a poet, Esther is unable to “walk” in the way she wants, because she is kept stationary by the society she lives in. Ladies’ Day, Esther’s internship provider and a magazine, made it difficult for the interns to wonder as they pleased and this did not satisfy Esther. Ladies’ Day ensured that the interns never had to walk anywhere they went while in New York. On the way to an organized party Esther says, “Our cab sat wedged in back of Betsy’s cab” (7); likewise, on the way to a movie she

In the novel, Esther tells of how her mother advises that English is not a desirable major. Esther says, “My mother kept telling me nobody wanted a plain English major” (76). This wise woman does not realize that she is discouraging her daughter from chasing her dreams by telling Esther that her chosen profession is worthless. Her mom goes further by advising her to begin learning a different skill. Her mom constantly said, “But an English major who knew shorthand was something else again” (76). Almost as if Esther must pick up shorthand to receive a job, because an English major that did not know shorthand would not get anywhere in life. A mom is an extremely influential person in a child’s life and each statement has an enormous