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Siddhanta Full Paper
Siddhanta Full Paper
In this seminar paper, we shall analyse the disabled female experience by analysing
mental health as “a disability” in relation to a comparative analysis between Esther
Greenwood and Bertha Mason. Both heroines, in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Charlotte
Brontë’s Jane Eyre, respectively, move through societal norms and personal issues related to
mental health issues. The study uses feminist literary analysis and disability studies to analyse
the characters’ experiences. It looks at the narrative choices that Plath and Brontë make,
giving us insight into how these representations either reinforce or question popular
conceptions of mental health as a disability. It also goes ahead to examine the effects that
such portrayals have on perceptions of women with mental health issues in society. In other
terms, this comparative study helps illuminate the intricacies of gender versus mental health
against societal backdrop all seen through Esther Greenwood and Jane Eyre’s eyes. This
study aims to shed light on the representation of disabled female experience wherein critical
analysis on growing mental health and gender narratives should be encouraged.
The paper intends to examine and justify the aforementioned topic by a thorough
analysis of the characters of Esther Greenwood in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Bertha
Mason in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and also through examination of secondary resources.
Through the ages, in the rich tapestry of literature and beyond it, mental illness was
one such dimension that used to be depicted rather subtly and changeably. In fact, by
carefully studying individuals’ relationship with their surroundings we look at a dynamic
process – an
artistic portrayal influencing readers trying rest its criticism on life as seen through individual
imagination while adjusting this focus to reflected This exploration comes out as even more
significant if one includes the depiction of disabled female protagonists. Our focus for this
study is on the realms of Esther Greenwood in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Bertha Mason
in Charlotte Brontë’s eponymous novel Jane Eyre, with insistence on discovering mental
health recognition patterns present within these narratives.
As an individual suffering from depression herself, Plath makes use of a major female
character, Esther Greenwood as the ‘mascot figure’ of disabled women who have to struggle
against people to comprehend the magnitude of life that hinders them. Plath, using Esther’s
travels, tackles pathologizing of a human mind and untangles the social norms gnarl holding
Esther bound. By observing Esther’s memory, we enter the labyrinth of her soul admiring
how shallow societal pressures affect her state of mind and inability to find a true self in the
jungle.
This paper does not only fill the temporal gap between these two characters but also
makes readers think of how the thoughts on mental illness became more complicated. In this
regard, our exploration of the tragic fall into the “bell jar” experienced by Esther in Plath’s
story and Bertha Mason’s quest for self-realization, allows developing an awareness of
resilience, agency and vulnerabilities that characterize disabled women. Studying both
characters offers a fascinating canvas for discussing mental health representation in literature.
Textual analysis
The representation of mental health problems in literature from a female point of view has
been deemed to experience significant research interests among scholars. This paper seeks to
analyse and compare the representations of mental health in two iconic female characters in
the novels:
Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre. This analysis, through a
study of the characters from these two novels, Esther Greenwood and Bertha Mason, aims to
shed light on some insights into issues pertaining mental conditions among women in the
society setting during this time.
This quote is a reflection on the inner battles Esther faces in her journey to solve depression
and identity crisis. Additionally, Plath uses symbolism and metaphor to make Esther’s mental
state more evident. For instance, the “bell jar” motif repeats throughout the novel and is used
as a symbol for Esther’s mind prison. These literary devices used by Plath allows the readers
to sympathize with Esther in her plight and deal with issues of gender roles as well as mental
disorders. In the novel we could also find instances when Esther returns from her guest
editorship in New York City, she edges nearer to severe nervous breakdown and lose control
over her body and mind. When she tries to read, her “eyes sank through an alphabet soup of
letters” (Plath 147) and when she tries to write a letter, her “hand made big, jerky letters like
those of a child” (Plath 154).
What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it
grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild
animal. (Bronte 31)
Bertha is a Creole woman from Jamaica, which inevitably puts her in the most
marginalized position within an extremely rigid social order. Her madness represents the
societal fears regarding race, gender and colonialism as well as it is thought of as a stigma
attached with mental illness. The intersections of power, privilege and mental health in
Victorian society is interrogated through the character of Bertha. In the novel, Rochester
resorts to a traditional method of confinement which further contrasts with Jane who is a
representation of a more updated and sympathetic views on madness. She defends Bertha,
calling her an “unfortunate lady” and reminding Rochester that Bertha “cannot help being
mad.” (Bronte 29)
Although their narrative contexts and literary styles are different, Esther Greenwood
and Bertha Mason are comparable in terms of the portrayal of mental illness. Both characters
struggle with alienation and despair, confined in the dark walls of patriarchal norms set by
society. Esther’s odyssey symbolizes the plights of women in mid-twentieth century America
and Bertha is imprisoned as a representation to enumerate how marginalized people suffered
under Victorian England. Still, Esther’s story provides an opportunity for a more detailed
study of her psychiatric personal journey while Bertha is still mysteriously enigmatic figure
sharing little about herself. This contrast also brings into light the different ways of
portraying mental health issues in literature, as well as discusses the complications involved
with representing female madness within historical and cultural frameworks. Although the
reader can see much of Esther’s hardships to sympathize with her, Bertha remains veiled in
vague ambivalence for speculations and analyst. By comparing Esther Greenwood with
Bertha Mason, one can discover more about the changing representations of mental health in
art and its correlation to gender, race, social norms.
The character portrayal of Esther and Bertha is taken up by various adaptations across
film, television & theatre. These adaptations often transform and modernize their characters,
reflecting contemporary perspectives on disability and mental illness. The study of
adaptations by analysing how these depict Esther and Bertha, offers a perspective into the
changing cultural perceptions on disability as well as mental health. The media images of
Esther and Bertha help to develop disability and mental illness stories as a cultural construct.
These images can work to subvert or reaffirm the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding mental
health problems. Critical analysis of the cultural significance behind these portrayals provides
deeper insight into wider societal perceptions concerning disability women and how media
influence perceives their plights. The way that media present the characters of Esther and
Bertha should be more dignified to better understand them, as well as appreciate disabled
individuals’ lives.
Sylvia Plath and Charlotte Brontë undermine societal conceptions of mental illness
through their stories while also providing trenchant commentaries on how people expect
individuals to behave. This is why Esther’s narrative may be considered a particularly
effective charge against gendered notions and the limited offerings in women-related
treatment that was characteristic of mid-century America. Esther’s journey is one of the best
illustrations for how societal pressures can damage individual minds, and invariably calling
on everyone to foster empathy, awareness and advocacy towards mental health issues. While
on the other hand Bertha’s character presents an opportunity for readers to question issues of
race, gender and mental health in Victorian England. Though marginalised in the text,
Bertha’s presence dominates and conflicts with traditional ideals of femininity and sanity. By
denying the audience access to Bertha’s perspective, Brontë underlines that marginalized
voices remain suppressed and encourages readers to reflect on their role in sustaining societal
imbalances. Gender, class and race are some of the intersectional identities depicted by Esther
Greenwood and Bertha Mason. Esther is a middle-class, and white woman, who tries to find
her way around the society’s demands for women in 1950. Bertha, however, is Creole woman
from Jamaica whose racial and colonial background deepens the depiction of “madwoman in
an attic”. Comparing how these identity markers intersect with disability and mental illness,
can illuminate character dynamics even further. The gender-specific role expectations and
societal pressures expect women to comply with patriarchal norms and the lack of
opportunities and privileges for women define a set of life events which resulted in mental
illness development.
In the interim, Bertha is portrayed as a woman of Color that adds racial othering and
exoticism to her representation with madness being yet another layer in this complicated
presentation. Race, gender, and class are intersecting issues that affect the way society treats
them or how much resources they can access to treat their conditions. An intersectional
approach to the lived experiences of Esther and Bertha provides a deeper insight into what it
means to be woman with disability. Recognizing their shared identities allows us to
understand that the issues of mental illness and disability are complex. This intersectional
perspective is critical in drawing attention to specific issues of psychological services and
representation for disabled women with various cultural backgrounds
Work cited:
Abrams, M. H., and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 10th ed.
Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012.
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 1847. Reprint, Toronto: Broadview Press, 1999.
Budick, E. Miller. “The Feminist Discourse of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar.” College English,
vol. 49, no. 8, 1987, pp. 872–885. JSTOR.
Hughes, G, Haley. “Mental Illness and Human Dignity in Jane Eyre”. UNM Digital
Repository. 2021. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&contex
t=ugresearchaward_2022.
Maple, Jeni. “The Intersection of Feminism and Disability Theory in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell
Jar”. UCLA Thinking Gender Papers. 2009. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/16j6q39s
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. New York: Harper and Row, 1971.
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. Al Haines and Mark Akrigg. 1963. Faded page,
https://www.fadedpage.com/link.php?file=20160540-a5.pdf. PDF download.
Bio note
Dhritishna Jiri Pachani is a final year student of master’s degree in the department of English
at Jagannath Barooah University. She has written several research papers on various issues
and topics and has also presented her paper in an international conference organised by
Dibrugarh University. Her research interests include gender studies and north-eastern
literature. She is an avid learner, constantly exploring various avenues to advance her career
in academics following her post-graduation.