Renowned for its intensity and its vivid prose, the novel. Maggie gyllenhaal beautiful and gifted, with a bright future, esther greenwood descends into depression, suicidal thoughts, and madness while interning at. However, this audio edition was a great way to reacquaint myself with the bell jar, and i really enjoyed maggie gyllenhaals narration of the story. The anniversary of sylvia plaths death is today, and to commemorate we are sharing an exclusive extended excerpt of her beloved novel the bell jar in audio, narrated by maggie. The bell jar by sylvia plath a special paperback edition to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of sylvia plaths remarkable novel. Sylvia plath the bell jar, read by maggie gyllenhaal by. The bell jar is partly autobiographical of sylvia plaths life and deals with the topics of mental illness and suicide.
Plaths husband has at one point insinuated that the bell jar might have been written as a response to many years of electroshock treatment and the scars it left. Sylvia plath masterfully draws the reader into esthers breakdown with such intensity that esthers insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Esther greenwood is brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going. I felt like esther was the personification of the darkest, most depressed and insecure part of all of us.
Published in 1963, the novel is semiautobiographical, with the names of places and. Written by sylvia plath, narrated by maggie gyllenhaal. A young woman finds her life spiraling out of control as she struggles with mental illness. The book, the bell jar, tries to show the readers the kind of society prevailing in the 1950s. The bell jar performed by maggie gyllenhaal by harper. Esther greenwood, the main character of the story, conveys this to us as she narrates her. The bell jar symbolizes mental illness and gives the novel its title.
The bell jar wikibooks, open books for an open world. Enjoy the full soundcloud experience with our free. The bell jar is a 1979 american drama film based on sylvia plaths 1963 book the bell jar. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. The bell jar takes a long, hard look at the place of sexuality in 1950s american society, and, ladies and gentleman, its not pretty. English audio book the sun also rises by ernest hemingway natural voice duration. The story yields what seems to be a raw and deeply personal account of a persons gradual slip. It was directed by larry peerce, and stars marilyn hassett and julie harris. The symbol of the bell jar in the bell jar from litcharts.
The bell jar by sylvia plath and maggie gyllenhaal audiobook. Celebrated for its darkly humorous, razorsharp portrait of 1950s society, it continues to resonate with readers today as a testament to the universal human struggle to claim ones rightful place in the world. Listen to the bell jar by sylvia plath, maggie gyllenhaal for free with a 30 day free trial. Maggie gyllenhaal captures the depressed essence of sylvia plath in her stellar performance of the bell jar. The narration by maggie gyllenhaal suited the story perfectly, i really enjoyed her voice. The bell jar chronicles the breakdown of the brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful esther greenwood, a woman slowly going under maybe for the last time sylvia plath masterfully. It was a touching, intriguing tale of mental health, and i also enjoyed the story of esthers work. The bell jar project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Sylvia plaths shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel about a woman falling into the grip of insanity. I know this is a very popular book, and im sure many of you have read it. Sylvia plath the bell jar, read by maggie gyllenhaal by canongate books published on 20150618t14. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the bell jar and what it means.
Sylvia plaths only novel, the bell jar, was published in 1963 and is a semiautobiographical account of plaths own life as a young woman struggling with depression and bipolar. Originally published under the pseudonym victoria lucas in 1963, the novel is semiautobiographical, with the names of. This has been one of the most eventful months so far. T he bell jar has proved to be a fine subject for the reading group.
Sylvia plath style sarcasm wit humor all three used to make esthers journey into madness seem almost normal and natural. This book is intended to provide help for students studying the novel the bell jar by sylvia plath, as well as create a framework for further analysis of particular chapters, characters or themes from the. The story yields what seems to be a raw and deeply personal account of a persons gradual slip into mental illness and the struggle to break free of its grasp and the accompanying social stigma. The bell jar chronicles the crackup of esther greenwood. Esther greenwood, a young woman from boston, is granted an internship at an elite magazine and moves to. The bell jar performed by maggie gyllenhaal by harper audio presents published on 20160523t19. However, this audio edition was a great way to reacquaint myself with the bell jar, and i really enjoyed maggie gyllenhaal s narration of the story. The bell jar is the only novel written by the american writer and poet sylvia plath. Plath is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, the colossus and other poems and ariel, and the bell jar, a semi. The bell jar, novel by sylvia plath, first published in january 1963 under the pseudonym victoria lucas and later released under her real name. For women, sexuality is divorced from any expression of love or passion. I find that its a lot harder to pick out a good audiobook compared to just a good. When esther greenwood wins an internship at a new york fashion magazine in 1953, she is elated. The bell jar performed by maggie gyllenhaal by harper audio.
Download and keep this book for free with a 30 day trial. She cuts off her hair, dons masculine garb, and sets out to join him in this mans army. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for. The bell jar is the story of 19yearold esther greenwood, the breakdown she experiences, and the beginnings of her recovery. Portrayals of men and limitations of women duration. It is a fine novel, as bitter and remorseless as her last poems. Maggie gyllenhaal the bell jar is sylvia plaths account of a young womans breakdown. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream it right to your computer, smartphone or tablet. The bell jar is sylvia plaths shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel of a woman falling into the grips of insanity, now available in an olive editiona lowerpriced small format edition with a hip and. But weve had so much to talk about that i fear weve rather neglected. I just wanted to show appreciation for it because i am.
Its not a wordforword reading of the book it cuts out some. The bell jar by sylvia plath is based on the authors own struggles with mental illness. It is esther s own metaphor for describing what she feels like while suffering her nervous breakdown. Read by the critically acclaimed actress maggie gyllenhaal. Book summary the bell jar is the story of 19yearold esther greenwood, the breakdown she experiences, and the beginnings of her recovery. The bell jar broke the boundaries between fiction and reality and helped cement sylvia plaths place as an enduring feminist icon. As the horrors beneath the idealized 1950s come about, a successful young woman finds herself. The protagonist is esther greenwood, a college student working in a magazine and staying in new york when the book begins. This book is in fair condition exlibrary with rfep removed. The bell jar is sylvia plaths shocking, realistic, and intensely emotional novel of a woman falling into the grips of insanity, now available in an olive editiona lowerpriced small format edition. The bell jar, by sylvia plath audio book chap2 duration. The bell jar audiobook free the bell jar audiobook download the bell jar. With marilyn hassett, julie harris, anne jackson, barbara barrie. But at the risk of adding to the obsession, and since a books cover was not something i did much interrogation of back in high school, i thought i would take the opportunity to look back at.