Sylvia Plath Effect in Trauma Narrative in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

Abstract

This research paper intents to focus on the trauma narrative of the woman in America who endure various mental struggles and through which many scientific theories are applied like serotonin theory, Theory of suicide, Mental health theories. This is also the scrutinization of Psychoanalytical Criticism. This manifest the so called ‘Sylvia Plath effect’ the term which was termed in the year 2001 by psychologist James C. Kaufman, which says about the phenomenon that poets are more susceptible to mental illness than other creative writers. The patriarchal notion upon woman and the conventional lifestyle which the protagonist was against and thoughts about her future all are esmplasted in the novel. The protagonist thinks that anyway she is going to get her mental illness again at anytime and the bell jar could fall upon her. The mission of this research paper is to tell that Sylvia’s character Esther Greenwood overcomes mental illness and lead her life in a healthy way since the ending is given in the hands of readers as a open end. Unlike Sylvia’s life her character got a life at the end.