Esther Greenwood's distaste of life as seen in Sylvia Plath's the Bell Jar.

ABSTRACT

Lubaba, Silvia. 2017. Esther Greenwood’s Distaste of Life as Seen in Sylvia Plath’s the Bell Jar, English Department, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, State Islamic University Sunan Ampel Surabaya Surabaya.

Thesis Advisor: Sufi Ikrima Sa’adah, M. Hum

This study attempts to analyze Sylvia Plath’s novel entitled The Bell Jar. This novel tells about a girl named Esther Greenwood who has gone through a lot of things in her life. She has many bad experiences and those then influence her. Esther then lives with a lot of distaste. This study concerns to analyze the causes and the effects of Esther’s distaste for her life. The aims of this study are to understand what makes Esther has distaste of life and to find out the effect of the distaste. Therefore, this study can provide some explanations about Esther distaste of life including her distaste to men, her friends, her mother and the general social’s perspectives. Then, this also gives explanations about the effect of Esther’s distaste as what she does when her distaste showing up.

This study uses descriptive qualitative method. Things that will be done are explained as follow: the first, this will describe the causes of Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life. It will be analyzed using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis. Then, the analysis will be continued to the effect of Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life. The last part, this study will also conclude the whole analysis. After analyzing the data, the result shows up that Esther Greenwood has distaste for her life because of her unconscious mind. She got a lot of influences from her bad experiences happened on her past. Those experiences include the time she spent with her ex boyfriend, her mother, her friends, and also her opposite views toward the social perspectives. Then, the effect of Esther’s distaste is that she tends to use defense mechanisms such as denial, fantasy, reaction formation, projection, rationalization, repression, displacements, sublimation, undoing, and acting out, every time her distasteful feelings showing up.

INTISARI

Lubaba, Silvia. 2017. Esther Greenwood’s Distaste of Life as Seen in Sylvia Plath’s the Bell Jar, Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Adab dan Humaniora, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya Surabaya. Dosen Pembimbing: Sufi Ikrima Sa’adah, M. Hum

Skripsi ini berusaha menganalisa sebuah novel yang ditulis oleh Sylvia Plath berjudul The Bell Jar. Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang gadis bernama Esther Greenwood yang telah melewati banyak hal dalam hidupnya. Dalam hidupnya, ia mengalami banyak hal buruk yang mempengaruhinya. Esther kemudian hidup dengan banyak kebencian. Skripsi ini berfokus pada analisa mengenai sebab dan akibat dari kebencian Esther pada hidupnya. Tujuan dari skripsi ini adalah untuk mengerti apa yang membuat Esther membenci banyak hal dalam hidupnya dan untuk mengetahui efek yang ditimbulkan. Oleh karena itu, skripsi ini akan memberikan penjelasan tentang kebencian Esther meliputi ketidaksukaan nya pada pria, teman – temannya, ibunya, dan pandangan masyarakat secara umum. Selain itu, ini juga akan memberi penjelasan tentang efek dari kebencian Esther, seperti apa yg ia lakukan saat kebencian itu muncul dalam dirinya.

Skripsi ini menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif. Hal – hal yang akan dilakukan terurai sebagai berikut: pertama, menjelaskan tentang apa saja yang dibenci Esther kemudian menguraikan penyebabnya dan menganalisinya menggunakan teori dari Sigmund Freud. Kedua, memberi penjelasan tentang efek dari kebencian Esther. Langkah terakhir adalah memberikan kesimpulan atas analisis yg telah dilakukan. Setelah menganalisa data, kesimpulan yang didapatkan adalah bahwa kebencian Esther terhadap banyak hal diakibatkan oleh alam bawah sadarnya. Pengalaman buruknya dimasa lalu seperti saat ia bersama kekasihnya yang dulu, ibunya, teman – temannya dan tentang pandangannya yang berbeda dengan masyarakat pada umumnya mempengaruhi hidup Esther. Akibatnya, Esther sering menggunakan mekanisme pertahanan saat kebenciannya muncul, seperti penyangkalan, khayalan, pembentukan reaksi, proyeksi, rasionalisasi, represi, pemindahan, sublimasi, dan penghapusan, dan perilaku buruk.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Inside Cover Page ... i

Inside Title Page ... ii

Declaration Page... iii

Advisor’s Approval Sheet...iv

Examiner’s Approval Sheet ...v

Motto ... vi

Dedication Page ... vii

Acknowledgement ... viii

Table of Contents...x

Abstract ... xii

Intisari ... xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of Study ...1

1.2 Research Problems ...4

1.3 Objectives of Study ...5

1.4 Siginificances of Study ...5

1.5 Scope and Limitation ...6

1.6 Method of Study ...6

1.7 The Organization of the Study ...8

1.8 The Definition of Key Terms ...8

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical Framework ...10

2.2 Review of Related Studies ...18

CHAPTER III ANALYSIS 3.1 The Causes ...21

3.1.1 Esther Greenwood’s Feelings towards Men ...22

3.1.3 Esther Greenwood’s Feelings towards Her Mother ...33

3.1.4 Esther Greenwood’s Feelings towards Social’s Perspectives ...37

3.2 The Effects ...43

3.2.1 Repression ...44

3.2.2 Reaction formation ...45

3.2.3 Displacement ...47

3.2.4 Denial ...48

3.2.5 Fantasy ...50

3.2.6 Acting out ...52

3.2.7 Rationalization ...53

3.2.8 Undoing ...54

3.2.9 Sublimation ...54

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 4.1 Conclusion ...56

4.2 Suggestions ...57 WORKS CITED

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study

Ideal life is defined as the perfect life wished by many people in this world. Every people has their own ideal life. Sergio Calderon in The SIS Times “How Would an Ideal Life be?” states that an ideal life might be different for different people, depending on what people want. Some people may want to be a football player and score tons of goals, or others may want to be a businessman, and be a president. Ideal life could have different meaning to everybody but everyone agrees that ideal life should be based on happiness. As being cited in “Volume VII –In an Eastern Rose Garden” about Ideal Life the Prophet of Islam says, „Every soul has its own religion.‟(https://wahiduddin.net/mv2/VII/VII_29.htm ). This means that every individual has a certain direction, a goal to attain during life. The ideal life of someone may change as he or she grows older. When they are still children, their ideal life might be in terms of having a lot of toys, and friends. But once they grow older, their ideal life might be oriented to get a lot of money, to marry a rich person, and others. But what would likely to happen when people do not obtain their ideal life? Distaste their life?

This is what happened in a novel written by Sylvia Plath, the Bell Jar. This novel focuses on the main character named Esther Greenwood. She is a bright nineteen-year-old girl working as an editorial intern at a popular women‟s

magazine in New York City. Despite her academic promise and ambition, Esther feels isolated from society and discouraged about her future. These early

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symptoms of depression are aggravated by the pressure she feels to conform to social expectations of what a young woman should be – a virgin until marriage, and after marriage, a wife and a mother.

Abused verbally by her boss for not having a clear career focus, Esther goes on a series of dates, the last of which ends with her date attempting to assault her. Esther escapes, and returns home the next morning to her mother's house. Here, we could also see Esther who sometimes flashes back to her past

relationship with Buddy Williard. Having a bunch of problems, Esther consults Dr. Gordon, but he botches her electroshock therapy, after which Esther's behavior grows increasingly erratic. She tried to kill herself but then rescued. The novel ends in the winter of 1954 as Esther enters her exit interview, which will determine if she's ready to leave the institution.

Here, Esther is explained as the one having a mental illness. She cannot receive the reality happened in her life. In some parts, there are explanations how she actually felt oppressed by the ideal life held by the society. She was also feeling distasteful for many things in her life. She hated someone for no reason. She made an unreasonable judgment. She thought everything negatively. Then, it led her to a complicated problem regarding her mental health. As being cited in Mackenzie Patel “Psychological Analysis of the Bell Jar”, Esther was deeply falling into the chasm of despair and being further smothered by the stale air in her personal “Bell Jar”. (www.learntravelart.com/2015/06/psychological-analysis-of-the-bell-jar.html ). This complicated self – conflict of Esther Greenwood is one of the most interesting things to analyze.

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This novel also talks about many things relating to Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life. Mind vs. Body is probably one of the most talked things

throughout this novel. The Bell Jar is an exploration of the divide between mind and body. When we read the whole story, we will find out how Esther loses control over her body as she grows into mental illness. She becomes unable to sleep, read, eat, or write in her own handwriting. There are many things she could not do because of her mental illness. When it grows up more, she even tries to go for suicide. Esther could not handle her own mind. This whole thing happens as part of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life. But, as everything happens for

reasons, Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life was also resulted from many kinds of condition.

There are many things which might be stored in Esther‟s mind from her childhood experience and everything happened in her past. Those things existed in her mind unconsciously. As being cited in The Unconscious Mind by John A. Bargh and Ezequil Morsella, the unconscious mind is viewed as the shadow of a “real” conscious mind (01). It is the part of mind beyond human awareness but it however motivates people words, actions, feelings. This is exactly what happened to the main character of the Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood. Esther‟s unconscious mind influences her in many ways till it seems like she does everything unconsciously. Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life could be influenced by her unconscious mind till she does something which might others think weird. Many things also influence someone‟s unconscious mind as unconscious mind is resulted from the phenomena and experiences of a person.

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The Bell Jar has been analyzed before by Zenithda Arief Fadlila. This research attempted to know how the psychological conflict of Esther Greenwood is reflected. The result of this research is that it is apparent that in The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath wants to show a psychoanalytic circumstance in which an individual encounters an inner conflict that requires resolution. The necessity of value causes the violation between Esther‟s and other person as well as the society make her different. So, she has to adapt with a normal life bypassing some medical treatments in some hospitals.

Focusing on the main character, Esther Greenwood, this study attempts to explain the causes which influence Esther Greenwood to have a distaste of life. Then, we shall also look at the defense mechanisms used by Esther as the effect of her distaste of life using Sigmund Freud‟s psychoanalysis.

1.2 Research problems

As this research will be focusing on the main character in the novel, thus, the problems can be seen as follow:

1. What are the causes of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life? 2. What are the effects of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life? 1.3 Objectives of study

Based on the problems above, the objectives of the study are aimed for:

1. Understanding the causes of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life in Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell jar

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1.4 Significances of the study

A research is supposed to have significances. Those significances are expected to give some effects or benefits for those who read this study. It is hoped to be useful for everyone. Here, the significances are divided into two categories which are theoretically and practically.

Theoretically, this research will hopefully give the reader a deep

understanding about psychoanalysis theory and how it is applied in a literary work. This is also expected to be useful for being a reference to whom who need to know about the novel itself. This research can also be studied by the students, lecturers or other people who feel interested in this novel and the theory used.

Practically, this research can also be the supporting reference for people who want to conduct a research using this subject particularly for students in university, lecturers or other researchers. It can also be a supporting source for learning and teaching process and be useful for people who want to know this novel deeply. The most important thing is that this study hopefully will be a help for everyone who is feeling distasteful of their lives to acknowledge what are the common causes and the defense mechanisms generally used by people as the effect of distaste of life.

1.5 Scope and limitation

In order to keep the analysis straight and does not go far from the topic of discussion, this study needs limitation. This will only be focused on the novel of Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell Jar and will pay full attention to the main character itself that is Esther Greenwood. It includes the psychological condition of Esther

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Greenwood as the main character in Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell Jar and the problem she has that is her distaste of life. So, this study will keep focused on the causes of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life and the defense mechanisms as the effect of her distaste of life.

1.6 Method of the study

1.6.1 Type of research

In conducting this research, qualitative method is used. This method is called qualitative method because it presents the descriptive data, in forms of words, spoken or written by people and analyzed attitudes (Moelong 3). Qualitative method is done in two ways. Those are library research and field research. Since this research will not focus on reader – response that is part of field research, so it will apply library research. One of the characteristics in doing library research is working through many books, journals, articles, and other supporting references to support the research itself. Anything including literature books, journals, and articles relates to the novel chosen that is Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell Jar will be used as the references.

1.6.2 Sources of data

The data sources that are taken in this research will be divided into two categories:

1.6.2.1 Main data source

The primary data is the main data used as the source in conducting the research. The data are taken from the novel itself that is Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell Jar.

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1.6.2.2 Supporting data source

The supporting data or also called the secondary data are used to support the primary data. The data will be taken from the other sources such as the previous studies, journals, essays, articles, or any other relevant information. 1.6.3 Method of collecting data

The method of collecting data that is used in this research is

documentation method. One prominent thing that is done is reading the novel itself repeatedly while taking a note of the novel. The secondary data also must be got by finding some other relevant sources. Here is the steps that are necessarily done. Those are:

a. Reading the novel many times or repeatedly.

b. Finding some other relevant sources that will be the secondary sources. c. Taking a note of the important parts in both primary and secondary

sources.

d. Classifying the data into two categories. Those are the causes and the effects of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life.

e. Selecting the data by rejecting the information that are not relevant to the topic of the study.

1.6.4 Method of analyzing data

This research will be focusing on a literary work. So, the action that can be done is by doing criticisms. Descriptive criticism which focuses more on the content than the structure and the style will be used. Content analysis here means that it is going to focus on the conflict or event in the literary rather than focuses

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on the elements which build the literary work itself. In analyzing the data, the proper data relating to the study is selected. Here, the character that has been chosen is Esther Greenwood. First, the researcher describes the causes of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life. It is analyzed deeply using Freud‟s psychoanalysis. Then, the analysis is continued to the effect of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life, whether for her own self or for her relationship with others. The last one is the analysis of the defense mechanism used by Esther every time her distaste feelings of her life appear. The last part, this study concludes the whole analysis.

1.7 The organization of the study

This study is divided into four chapters. The first chapter focuses on the background of the study, the statement of the problems, the objectives of the study, the significances of the study, scope and limitation, method of the study, the

organization of the study and the last is the definition of key terms. The second chapter will be focusing more on the literature review which consists of the theoretical framework and some reviews of related studies. The third part or chapter in this study is about the analysis itself. Here, the focus is on the cause of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life. Then it also explains about the defense mechanisms used by her as part of the effect of Esther‟s distaste of life. The last part which is the fourth chapter will give a conclusion about the whole discussion. 1.8 The definition of key terms

To avoid any different perceptions in in understanding this study, it is considered essential to give some of definitions of key terms used here. That is listed as follows:

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Distaste: disliking or considering someone or something to be unpleasant, disgusting, or immoral (Collins Cobuild Dictionary).

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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Theoretical framework

It is explained before that this study is going to use psychoanalysis as the theory. Psychoanalysis is firstly used by Sigmund Freud. That is why Freud is known as father of psychoanalysis. Freud stated in his book A General

Introduction to Psychoanalysis that psychoanalysis was found during his study of errors and dreams (332). The aim of psychoanalysis is that to reveal the

unconsciousness in psychic life (340).

Psychoanalysis is learned from a study of one‟s self and the personality as well. Rajeevan in the thesis entitled Yoga and Psychoanalysis: The Dynamics of Transcending the Present explained that B.A Farrell stated that psychoanalysis is considered to be a high – level theory containing various sub theories such as „levels of consciousness‟, „psychic structure of personality‟, „psychosexual development‟, „defense mechanisms‟ and „theory of instincts‟, and it serves to unify them to some areas (96).

Here, the sub theories that will be chosen is Sigmund Freud‟s concept of unconscious mind and defense mechanisms. Freud introduced three levels of consciousness. Those are conscious mind, pre – conscious mind and unconscious mind. Susan C. Cloninger in her book Theories of Personality: Understanding Person explains that the conscious mind refers to some experiences of which a person is aware, those could be memories and intentional action done by a person (34). A conscious mind is constituted by events, memories, fantasies, with the

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feeling emotions which someone is aware at the moment. While pre – conscious mind contains person‟s experiences which are actually unconscious but those could become conscious with a little effort of the person (Ryckman 36). The example of pre – conscious mind is when we may have forgotten what we have consumed for breakfast but then we could remember it by listing them for a dietician who is trying to help us in losing weight. The last level of consciousness is the unconscious mind.

The unconscious refers to a mental process of which we are not aware of (Cloninger 35). Duane P. Schultz and Sydney E. Schultz in their book entitled, Theories of Personality stated that unconscious mind contains the major motives behind our all behavior and is the repository of forces we cannot control (54). Unconscious mind itself is the largest part of people‟s mind. So, it includes all the things that are not easily available to awareness, such as our instincts, or things that we cannot bear to look at such as the memories and emotions associated with trauma. Sigmund Freud believed that most of human behaviors are caused by thoughts, ideas, and wishes that are in a person‟s brain which are not easily accessible by the conscious part of the mind.

Unconscious mind corresponds to what Freud later named as Id which is at the core of personality and completely unconscious. The diagram is explained as below:

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Figure 2.1 Freud‟s levels and structures of personality. SOURCE: From Theories of Personality, 8th ed.,by Duane P. Schultz and Sydney Ellen Schultz, p.54, Wardsworth Cengage learning. 2005.

The id represents the dark, inaccessible part of our personality just like our unconscious mind. Because the unconscious mind is inaccessible and not

available on the conscious mind, then how do we know that it exists? Jess Feist and Gregory Feist explained in their book entitled, Theories of Personality 7th Edition that Freud stated that the existence of unconscious mind could only be proved indirectly. Unconscious could be the explanation behind dreams, slips of the tongue and certain kinds of forgetting, called repression (30).

Actually, human‟s behaviors are combined by conscious and unconscious mind (Cloninger 35). These two may act together well or smoothly but the

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thoughts and behaviors. And when irrational thoughts or behaviors are on mind, people tend to use defense mechanisms to protect their self – esteem.

Defense mechanism is an unconscious activities. They are individuals; each people use different sets of defense mechanism. It is appeared unconsciously when someone has too much negative emotions which disturb the ego. Cramer in the journal entitled “Seven Pillars of Defense Mechanism Theory” stated that defense mechanisms are cognitive processes that function to protect the individual from the excessive anxiety or other negative emotions (12). As being cited by Baumeister, Dale and Sommer in Freudian Defense Mechanisms and Empirical Findings in Modern Social Psychology: Reaction Formation, Projection, Displacement, Undoing, Isolation, Sublimation, and Denial (1082), Fenichel stated that defense mechanisms are actually designed to protect self – esteem. Sigmund Freud and his daughter, Anna Freud divides those mechanisms into numbers which are listed as follows:

2.1.1 Repression

Repression is when the ego keeps and represses the unwanted desires within unconscious mind and does not let it reach on the consciousness. Sigmund Freud considered repression as the most fundamental of all defense mechanisms (Ryckman 42). Repression happens on the unconscious level. Repressed

memories are not under the conscious control of a person. 2.1.2 Reaction formation

It is the opposite action from bad behavior to good behavior or from good to bad behavior. This involves the changing the impulses which are not accepted

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socially into the opposite (Schultz 59). The example of reaction formation is when a daughter hates her mother but because the society demands affection towards parents, so such hatred will result in an anxiety for her. Therefore, the daughter then concentrates on the opposite impulse of “hate” that is love. But, that “love” is not genuine (Feist 41). Then, a child who hates a younger sister may repress it and instead feel love for the sister.

I hate sister (unconscious) I love sister (conscious) 2.1.3 Displacement

Displacement distorts the objects of the drive. It refers to changing the target of an impulse. Duane P. Schultz and Sydney Ellen Schultz explain in the book entitled Theories of Personality that if an object that satisfies an id impulse is not available, the person may shift the impulse to another object (60).The example of displacement is when a woman is angry with his brother, Tom but that instead of hitting him, she prefers harming a noisy cat. Her anger is displaced into the symbol of her brother.

2.1.4 Projection

Projection is when someone has an uncomfortable feelings then they tend to project those feelings to other people. This is like attributing someone‟s thoughts or impulses to another person (Feist 37). This kinds of defense

mechanisms reduces the person‟s anxiety by allowing the desire or the impulse without letting the ego knows it because it is projected to others. The example of this is when a man cannot accept that he has competitive or hostile feelings about an acquaintance, says, “He doesn‟t like me.”

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2.1.5 Denial

Denial is one of defense mechanisms which is very common in daily life. It is simply refusing the event occurred. It is denying a painful reality (Schultz 59). This is happened when people deny the reality and act as if her or his denial is the fact. Denial could be happened when we are told the death of our loved one. When denial is brought to the adulthood, it has a bad adaptation because denial involves the distortion of reality by the person who is doing it.

2.1.6 Fantasy

Fantasy lose the anxieties or other negative emotions by imagination. Fantasy is done by gratifying unfulfilled needs with an imaginated situations in which they are satisfied (Ewen 22). People tend to create their own fantasy world when they cannot achieve something they want. Imagining becoming a successful may lead to the feelings of success, especially when the reality is the opposite of success. In some cases, this may be beneficial since fantasy acts as a rehearsal for our future success. Thinking about an upcoming vacation, or a reward for work when it gets too stressful, is a healthy use of fantasy.

2.1.7 Acting out

Acting out is one of the defense mechanisms in which the unconscious protects itself against being uncovered by the ego. A person may perform an extreme behavior to express thoughts or feelings the person feels incapable of otherwise expressing.

(http://psychcentral.com/lib/15-common-defense-mechanisms/2/ ). So, that instead saying “I‟m angry with you”, a person who‟s acting out will throw a book or punch a hole through a wall.

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2.1.8 Rationalization

Rationalization is explaining an unacceptable behavior in an acceptable way (60). In other words, rationalization is also defined as offering a socially acceptable and apparently more or less logical explanation for an act or decision actually produced by unconscious impulses. The example of it is when we find something difficult to accept then we will make up such a logical reason why it has happened.

2.1.9 Intellectualization

Robert B. Ewen in his book entitled, An Introduction to Theories of Personality stated that intellectualization is when a person unconsciously separating threatening emotions from the associated thoughts or events and reacting on only an intellectual level (22). The example of intellectualization is when people start to repress their pain by talking about something but then failing to make progress because they do not know what they‟re talking about.

2.1.10 Undoing

This kinds of defense mechanisms is defined as adopting a behavior that negates the previous act or thought (Ewen 21). In other words, undoing is taking back the behavior or thoughts that hurtful. The example of undoing is when a man insulted her partner but then he realizes it and compliments her beauty, her charm or attractiveness. By “undoing”, a person tries to prevent a damage caused by her or his act and thoughts.

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2.1.11 Identification

Identification is defined as a process of borrowing one‟s identity with that of someone else. This defense mechanism is actually part of normal development. Boys identify with their fathers, girls identify with their mothers. Identification sometimes functions to overcome powerlessness (Cloninger 47). The example of identification is when children may identify with abusive parents or hostages with their captors.

2.1.12 Regression

In regression, there is a movement from mature behavior to immature behavior (Ryckman 43). This could be happened when the ego is threatened and the person may go back to their past as a child or their behavior become childish as they used to be. The example is when a married man who has a financial problem moves back to his family home or to their parents.

2.1.13 Sublimation

Sublimation is the refocusing of psychic energy (which Sigmund Freud believed was limited) away from negative outlets to more positive outlets. It is therefore the process of transforming libido into “socially useful” achievements (Ryckman 43). The example of sublimation is when a woman is forced to go on a restrictive diet; she becomes interested in painting and does a number of still life pictures, most of which includes fruit.

2.1.14 Compensation

The function of compensation is to enhance someone‟s self – esteem by overcoming a person‟s failure in one area of behavior through satisfaction

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achieved in another area (as cited in Simma 28). So, person who does

compensation will try to cover their weakness with their ability in another thing. (http://psychcentral.com/lib/15-common-defense-mechanisms/2/ ). The example of compensation is when a person says, “i may not know how to cook, but i can sure do the dishes! “They‟re trying to compensate for their lack skill on cooking by emphasizing their cleaning instead.

2.2 Review of related studies

In this study, there will be presented some researchers who did the

discussion on Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell Jar and other discussions related to the study. It includes the theory used in this study.

Sylvia Plath‟s the Bell Jar itself has been used by Zenithda Arief Fadlila. The research attempted to explain about the psychological conflicts of the main character Esther Greenwood. The result of this research shows that the

psychological conflicts which are unresolved lead to aggression. The necessity of value causes the violation between Esther‟s and other people. So, she has to adapt with a normal life bypassing some medical treatments in some hospitals.

The research using psychoanalysis theory has been done by Yessica Farda Arum Puspitasari for the thesis entitled “The Influence of Rachel White‟s

Unconscious Mind on Her Personality Development in Emily Giffin‟s Something Borrowed”. This study attempted to analyze Rachel‟s personality development and the influence of her unconscious mind towards her personality development. The results shows that the personality of the main character, Rachel White

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develops because of her repressed feelings that are stored under her unconscious mind.

A research about defense mechanisms also has been done by Watcharapipat Simma for the thesis entitled “An Analysis of Defense

Mechanisms Used by The Main Characters in Mark Twain‟s the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Prince and the Pauper”. This study attempted to examine the reason of the main character for using the defense mechanisms and how those defense mechanisms affect them to their self – adjustment. The result shows that the characters in those two novels which are Huckleberry Finn and Edward Tudor used defense mechanisms because both of them had realistic and moral anxiety which came from their family backgrounds and their social lives.

Another research was conducted by Achmad Rozaq Nur Utomo. This study talked about “The Narrator‟s Defense Mechanisms on H.G. Wells‟ the War of the World”. The writer examined the Narrator‟s personalities and the defense mechanisms used then it was also explained how the defense mechanisms affect the Narrator‟s life. The study concludes that the Narrator was the dynamic character and went through extreme actions in order to stay alive. The Narrator experienced both internal and external conflicts. Some of defense mechanisms were used by the Narrator. Those defense mechanisms did affected the Narrator‟s life that the Narrator would keep remained focus on finding his wife and

predicting where the Martians were.

Those previous studies mentioned above are quite different with the study conducted here. What makes it different is that this analysis will deeply give the

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analysis about the causes of the main character that is Esther Greenwood for her distaste of life. Then, this will also attempt to explain about defense mechanisms as the effect of that distaste of life by using the psychoanalysis theory of Sigmund Freud.

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CHAPTER III

Esther Greenwood’s Distaste of Life as Seen in Sylvia Plath’s the Bell Jar In this chapter, this study focuses more to find out the answers of the question formulated in the research questions before. Firstly, by using Sigmund Freud‟s concept of unconscious mind, the analysis attempts to find out the causes of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life that is mostly influenced by her

unconscious mind. Secondly, the defense mechanism is applied to know about the effect of Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life.

3.1 The causes of Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life

Esther Greenwood as the main character in the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is described as a girl who has everything in her life but is easily hating everything around her. She tries to find out her own identity instead of what society or others expect from her. Esther describes herself as a girl who is trapped in the bell jar.

“I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air...The air of the bell jar wadded round me and I couldn't stir...” (98) The bell jar hung, suspended, a few feet above my head. I was open to the circulating air.” (113).

Esther Greenwood imagines herself as a girl who is trapped in the airless bell jar. She imagines herself as the one who is wadded by the bell jar. She feels hopeless as she cannot move to any places she wants. Esther could not control it.

Esther Greenwood feels like being isolated from connecting with other people and being prevented to see the world from her own perspective. Her distaste of life becomes worse until she decides to commit suicide. This analysis

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attempts to find out the causes of Esther Greenwood distaste of life which is influenced by her unconscious mind. Esther Greenwood‟s distaste of life and the causes are explained as follow:

3.1.1 Esther Greenwood‟s feelings to man

One thing that happened on Esther‟s past which gives a lot influences to her current life was when some men in her life make her disappointed. Esther had a very high expectation towards man. She always dreams of a man she wants, “I felt the first man I slept with must be intelligent, so I would respect him...I wanted somebody I didn‟t know...” (119). Esther‟s sentences implies that she wants a man who is intelligent and experienced. She wants a man that she does not know well to have such relationship with. So that, she would have a respect for him.

In fact, the opposite thing happened when she has sex with a man named Irwin who is the one she knows. Moreover, Esther also thinks that Irwin already has an affair with another woman named Olga. Irwin admits it (119). This situation disappoints Esther because this means that she does not get what she wants from Irwin.

Irwin‟s affair then unconsciously drags Esther to her memories when she had a boyfriend named Buddy Willard. Esther adored Buddy very much, “I thought he was the most wonderful boy I‟d ever seen. I‟d adored him from a distance for five years...” (28). Esther Greenwood had been adoring Buddy for a long time. She was thinking that Buddy might be the most wonderful boy she had ever seen. Buddy was very intelligent. Buddy knows a lot of things such as when Esther asked Buddy about what poem means to him, Buddy answered that a poem

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is a „piece of dust‟, he also knows much about history. However, Buddy Willard then makes her deeply disappointed when she found out that Buddy was a hypocrite.

“Buddy Willard was a hypocrite. Of course, i didn‟t know he was a hypocrite at first. And then just as he was looking at me more and more i discovered quite by accident what an awful hypocrite he was...” (28) Buddy Willard, a man whom she had been adoring for a long time was a hypocrite. Esther was not aware at first. Buddy acted out as a very innocent and pure man while the fact speaks the opposite (37). Buddy had had an affair with other women and that fact made Esther really disappointed. Esther found it out when she asked Buddy about having affair with another woman, “Suddenly, i said, “Have you ever had an affair with anyone, Buddy?” (37). Esther‟s question

explains how Esther asked Buddy about having an affair in sudden. Esther Greenwood expected Buddy to be the real innocent man who has never been in affair, “I expected him to say, “No, I have been saving myself for when I get married to somebody pure and a virgin like you.” (37). She wants Buddy to be someone who would likely saving himself until he gets married.

Buddy‟s answer was unexpected for Esther, “Well, yes, I have,” Buddy said finally. I almost fell over...” (37). Buddy Willard ever had an affair. He even slept with another woman. This fact makes Esther thinks that Buddy is not as innocent as she thinks he should be. Esther was feeling fooled by Buddy. Esther used to take everything Buddy Willard told her as the honest – to – God truth. That is why she was feeling more disappointed.

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Buddy Willard also disappoints Esther when he kissed her for the first time, “While he kissed me I kept my eyes open...so I would never forget them... “Wow, it makes me feel terrific to kiss you.” I modestly didn't say anything. “I guess you go out with a lot of boys,” Buddy said then.” (33). The sentences explain Buddy‟s unexpected reaction after he kissed Esther for the first time. Buddy explained how terrific it was to kiss Esther. Buddy also judged Esther as a girl who had been out with many boys before him while in fact Esther was a girl who kept her virginity and Buddy was the first boy she kissed. Buddy‟s comment on their first kiss disappointed Esther a lot.

Esther‟s high expectation towards men might be due to the fact that she grows up without her father who died when she was nine years old. Esther Greenwood has been losing an affection from a figure of father. When she was a child, Esther had a dream that one day she will know a lot of things from her father, since Esther‟s father was a man with a lot of knowledge such as about insects, German, Greek, and Latin (87). Yet the fact that her father died when she had not even know about those things makes her disappointed and put a high expectation for a man who comes to her life.

Besides that, her father‟s death force her to witness how her mother struggled for their life. However, she also realizes how much actually her mother hated what she was doing. Esther‟s mother teaches the shorthand and typing forcefully, because she has no choice. Esther‟s mother also hated her husband for not leaving them money till she has to work hard for raising Esther (21). This could also make Esther blames her father for dying.

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All the things happened on Esther‟s past life influence the way Esther sees a man. She seems like always having problems with every man she gets to meet. Without being realized by Esther, the things happened on her past influence her. The first thing happened was when she met some boys on street. Those men turns out to be Lenny Shepherd and Frankie.

Even before knowing Lenny and Frankie deeply, Esther has already made an anticipation, “The laughter should have warned me. It was a kind of low, know-it-all snicker...” (06). Esther‟s words implies Esther Greenwood‟s distrust to men as the part of her distaste of life. Without knowing more about the men, she has already thought that she should have been warned even by the way those men laughed.

This kinds of anticipation is resulted from her unconscious mind. The thing triggered on her mind was that when she was with Buddy Willard. Ever since she was feeling fooled by Buddy, Esther feels like she should be more careful towards men. Esther Greenwood is like having a trauma and everything on her past was stored on her mind, so unconsciously, she got the distaste of her own life.

Esther Greenwood also was being judgmental towards men, “He was the type of fellow I can't stand. I'm five feet ten in my stocking feet... so I'll look shorter, and I feel gawky and morbid as somebody in a sideshow.” (06). She judged a man based on what she sees. She hates someone who is shorter than her because it will make her lower her position that she will look shorter. Esther

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Greenwood hates this kind of situation. She hates adjusting her height just to comfort a shorter man. This situation makes Esther looks inferior.

Esther Greenwood even dislikes the way a man looking at one of her friends named Doreen, “He kept staring at her the way people stare at the great white macaw in the zoo, waiting for it to say something human.” (07). She

describes that the man‟s stare is like animal stare who is ready to swallow its prey. That man is Lenny Shepherd, the one whom she met along with Frankie. After their first meeting, Doreen and Lenny Shepherd have a relationship. Esther also hates that relationship.

“The two of them didn't even stop jitterbugging during the intervals. I felt myself shrinking to a small black dot against all those red and white rugs and that pine paneling.” (10)

Esther Greenwood and Doreen made a visit to Lenny Shepherd‟s house. Since Doreen and Lenny Shepherd were in love, they spent most of their time together and this makes Esther felt disgusted. She was feeling like being the isolated and unimportant person next to them, “There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra person in the room.” (10). From Esther‟s sentences, we can know that she was feeling as if being marginalized because of Doreen keeps jitterbugging with Lenny Shepherd.

Another thing that adds up to Esther‟s distaste of life is when she meets a man named Marco. Esther Greenwood labels Marco as a woman –hater, “I could tell Marco was a woman-hater, because in spite of all the models and TV starlets

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in the room that night he paid attention to nobody but me.” (56). This happened when Marco only pays attention to her and ignores other women. She easily decides to say that Marco is a man who hates women.

“I began to see why woman-haters could make such fools of women. Woman – haters were like gods: invulnerable and chock-full of power. They descended, and then they disappeared. You could never catch one.” (56)

In Esther‟s perspective, men whom she labelled as a woman – hater are like Gods. They cannot be harmed and full of power. But once they disappear, no one will be able to catch them. Woman – haters could make women fooled because they seem untouchable. Her meeting with Marco then brings Esther back to her past when Buddy also treated her as his only girl yet in fact Buddy also had other women. Moreover, Marco also gives a bad impression to Esther when he grabbed Esther‟s hand tightly till it makes a thumbprint on Esther‟s arm.

“Marco's small, flickering smile reminded me of a snake I'd teased in the Bronx Zoo. When I tapped my finger on the stout cage glass the snake had opened its clockwork jaws and seemed to smile. Then it struck and struck and struck at the invisible pane till I moved off...” (56)

Here, Esther Greenwood thinks about Marco‟s smile as if when she looks at a snake in a zoo she ever visited before. When she gets closer to it and tease the snake, it looks like the snake smiled to her but then it keeps striking and striking till she disappeared. Same goes to Marco. Marco looks nice when she smiles to Esther but she also feels like Marco is ready to strike her.

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As being explained before that Esther Greenwood is a type of girl who is easily hating and judging on something. She judges every men around her easily without knowing them deeply. Esther Greenwood‟s distasteful feelings towards men is resulted from her unconscious mind. Esther Greenwood has been hurt by a man named Buddy Willard. Buddy was acting as a very pure man, yet he was a hypocrite. Esther‟s disappointment then influences her in her way of seeing something, in this case is the way she sees a man.

Esther Greenwood‟s distaste towards men also can be seen when she met Doctor Gordon for the first time. “I hated him the minute I walked in through the door...” (68). From Esther‟s statement, she already has a distaste towards Doctor Gordon even though she had not seen him even for once. It is caused by her experiences in the past that she got hurt by some men including Buddy and the fact that her father died when she was nine also influence her. She hates an intelligent man like Buddy. She got a lot of disappointment from him. This could be the reason why she hates an intelligent man like Doctor Gordon.

3.1.2 Esther Greenwood‟s feelings to her friends

Esther lives in New York along with some of her friends who have won a fashion magazine contest, by writing essays and stories and poems and fashion blurbs. Those girls included Esther Greenwood to get a job in New York for a month. Esther made two friends there. Those are Betsy and Doreen. Unfortunately, Esther is considering Doreen as one of her problems.

“Doreen came from a society girls' college down South and had bright white hair standing out in a cotton candy fluff round her head and blue

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eyes like transparent agate marbles, hard and polished and just about indestructible, and a mouth set in a sort of perpetual sneer...She could tell some good jokes on them if she wanted to.” (04)

Doreen‟s physical appearance is even disturbing for Esther Greenwood. She is described as a girl who comes from a college in the South. She has eyes like transparent agate marbles. She smiles as if she is mocking on someone. Esther could not stand with it. In Esther‟s perspective, Doreen is a very silly girl who will tell a joke to everyone she wants. Doreen always gives more attention to Esther. It is done by Doreen when she only talks to Esther and whispers a witty sarcastic remarks to Esther under her breath. This makes Esther feels like she is much more superior that anyone else, “Doreen singled me out right away. She made me feel I was that much sharper than the others...” (04).

Esther Greenwood is holding everything she dislikes about Doreen in her heart, but this grows more and more, that day by day Doreen is seen as a bad girl in Esther‟s eyes. Esther becomes someone who has no more feeling to Doreen who was very close with her and even becoming her one and only friend in New York.

“Doreen looked terrific. She was wearing a strapless white lace dress zipped up over a snug corset affair that curved her in at the middle and bulged her out again spectacularly above and below, and her skin had a bronzy polish under the pale dusting powder. She smelled strong as a whole perfume store...” (06)

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Slowly, everything about Doreen seems wrong in Esther‟s perspective. When Esther Greenwood and Doreen go to a party, they are stuck in the theater – hour rush. Their cab sat wedged in back of Betsy's cab and in front of a cab with four of the other girls, and nothing moves. At that time, Esther realizes how terrific Doreen is as a girl. Doreen is indeed a type of a girl who is acting out differently from the other girls even in her way she dresses up. This is more like a very nauseating thing for Esther Greenwood because at that time Doreen was too much in her dressing while Esther just wore forty dollars dress she bought before going to New York.

Another friend of Esther Greenwood who also lives with her in New York is a girl named Betsy who comes from Kansas. This is not very different from the way Doreen treats Esther Greenwood. Betsy always wants to do a lot of things with Esther, “Betsy was always asking me to do things with her and the other girls as if she were trying to save me in some way...” (05). From Esther‟s sentences, Betsy is a type of friend who acts out as if she will always be there for Esther and do everything for her.

Esther Greenwood recalls her memories when both Betsy and her were called over to the office of a TV producer. At the time, Betsy enthusiastically told the producer about male and female corn in Kansas (04). In Esther‟s eyes, Betsy got too excited only because of a corn which is not even fun for her. That thing makes Betsy did looks silly to Esther. Later, on the Beauty Editor, Betsy even cut her hair and became a cover girl. This makes Esther feels jealous.

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Esther Greenwood‟s other friends in hotel also look distracting for her. The girls who are living with her are coming from a wealthy family and Esther has a distasteful feeling to this condition, “These girls looked awfully bored to me. I saw them on the sunroof, yawning and painting their nails.... I talked with one of them, and she was bored with yachts and bored with flying... Girls like that make me sick.” (04). Those girls look boring for Esther Greenwood. All of their

activities seem so boring and silly. They like to paint their nails and make their skin as tanned as possible. She even talked with one of the girls and that girl told Esther how she has been feeling bored going vacation to other countries. And this kind of girl makes Esther sick.

Esther Greenwood also feels jealous of those friends who easily go to everywhere they want even go skiing in overseas. Esther Greenwood cannot speak when she is with her friends in the hotel.

“Girls like that make me sick. I'm so jealous I can't speak. Nineteen years, and I hadn't been out of New England except for this trip to New York. It was my first big chance, but here I was, sitting back and letting it run through my fingers like so much water.” (04)

Esther has a jealousy feeling to the other girls who are indeed coming from a high class society. She has not ever been anywhere except New York. The jealousy grows more when Esther cannot even do anything in New York. She is just sitting there as someone who gets a scholarship prize in New York while other girls can go everywhere they want.

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Then, another distaste of Esther also shows up because of one of her friends named Joan Gilling. Joan stole Buddy from Esther because Buddy said that he would go to prom with Joan. “Oh, I can't do that. I'm up here for the Sophomore Prom with Joan...” (31). At that time, Buddy met Esther and talked to her, but Esther was disappointed when Buddy said that actually he went to meet Joan so that was why he was there. This then could result in Esther‟s distaste towards Joan Gilling.

Those kinds of situation of Esther and her friends including Doreen and Betsy and also Joan lead her to distasteful feeling to her friends. In Doreen‟s case, Esther was close with her but then things about Doreen make her sick. At that night, she realizes how actually she dislikes Doreen as a friend. When Doreen got back home in a drunken condition, Esther wanted to avoid her but she could not help but bringing Doreen back to her room. Doreen turns out into a troublesome girl for Esther until she decides that she has no more feeling to Doreen as a friend. At the same time, Esther thinks that has more similarity to her than Doreen (13). Esther mind goes back to the time when Doreen made her feeling superior then day by day, Doreen always makes Esther feeling disappointed. Slowly she hates Doreen.

The things that happened to Esther Greenwood every time she spends her time with her friends are unexpected for her. She dislikes that fact that her friends have so many things which she does not have. She also dislikes that a man she adored was turning into her friend than her. Esther Greenwood‟s jealousy influences her that she shows up her distaste to them.

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3.1.3 Esther Greenwood‟s feelings to her mother

Esther Greenwood is only raised by her mother. Ever since her father died when she was nine, Esther spends most of her time witnessing her mother

struggles for their life as a family. Esther loves her mother for raising her but on the other side, Esther Greenwood also has distasteful feeling to her mother.

One thing that causes Esther‟s distasteful feeling toward her mother is her mother‟s reaction when she goes back home for the first time after spending some time working in New York. Living in New York affects her mental condition badly. She loses control of herself. Esther‟s emotion becomes unstable. When Esther finally meets her mom, her mom‟s words surprised her,“you didn't make that writing course.” The air punched out of my stomach.” (60). Instead of

worrying over Esther‟s condition, her mom nags about how Esther does not make it into the writing course which she has been dreaming of. Her mother‟s reaction on her coming home must have disappointed Esther a lot.

Esther Greenwood‟s mother is actually a type of mother who always talks to her daughter sweetly. However, there are also many times when she does not tell the truth to Esther, “My mother took care never to tell me to do anything. She would only reason with me sweetly...” (64). From Esther‟s words, her mom is described as a woman who says everything nicely in front of Esther. She never asks Esther Greenwood to do anything, but she also does not tell the exact truth to Esther.

When Esther Greenwood has to do a treatment by psychiatrist for her mental‟s health, her mother seems disappointed with the condition of her daughter

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as being reported by the psychiatrist named Doctor Gordon. Esther‟s mom said, “Doctor Gordon doesn't think you've improved at all. He thinks you should have some shock treatments at his private hospital in Walton.” (72). Her sentences implies that Esther has to have some shock treatments in the private hospital in Walton because Esther does not show any improvement at all. Esther feels disappointed because of this news. She does hope that her mother will always tell her the truth.

“Esther: does he mean live there? Mother: no (her chin quivered)

Esther: (i thought she must be lying) you tell me the truth or i‟ll never speak to you again

Mother: don‟t i always tell you the truth? (burst into tears)” (72)

From those conversation, Esther begs her mother to tell the truth about the shock treatments that she is going to experience. Then, with raised tone, her mother said that she always tells the truth to Esther. Esther‟s mother bursts into tears. This little fight could also influence the way Esther thinks about her mother later.

One day, deeply in her heart, Esther does not want to continue her treatments anymore but her mother keeps positioning her in a situation which is not easy to decide. Her mom keeps insisting that Esther will do it again later. She says that her daughter will not give up in doing treatments (77). Another causes of Esther‟s distasteful feeling to her mother shows up when EstherGreenwood‟s father was dead when she was nine years old. “My mother hadn't cried either. She

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had just smiled and said what a merciful thing it was for him he had died...” (88). In Esther‟s eyes, her mother was not even feeling sad when her father was dead. She even smiled at that time.

It contrasts with Esther Greenwood who grows with her hopes for her life that one day her father would teach her all about insects since it was his specialty when he was on university (87). Esther Greenwood wanted her father to teach her about German, Greek, and Latin. Those wishes suddenly disappeared when her father died. And the fact that her mother did not even feel sad may also

disappoints her.

One day, Esther Greenwood wanted to go to the Catholic Church herself. She knows that committing suicide is a great sin for a Catholic so she hopes that the Catholic Church will help her find way to do redemption. She went to her mother asking how to be a nun. But her mother‟s answer seems so disappointed for her, “My mother had laughed at me, “Do you think they'll take somebody like you, right off the bat?” (87). her mother laughed at her. She wanted her mother‟s support but the fact that her mother laughed at her caught her off guard. Her answer seems to place Esther in a very low condition.

All of the things relating to Esther Greenwood‟s mother then grow in Esther‟s mind as a distaste. The things she has been holding up about her mother started from how her mother never understands her well as a daughter until how her mother reacted towards her father‟s dead blow up in a form of distaste. The peak was that when Esther was on shock treatment. Slowly, she hates her mother. Her unconscious mind plays the role.

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While she is still in the treatments, Esther Greenwood hates her mother‟s visits. She wants to be alone while having her treatments, “I hated these visits.” (107). From her sentence, Esther dislikes her mother and the time her mother visits her. Even though her mother is the only one to come at that time, “That afternoon my mother had come to visit me. My mother was only one in a long stream of visitors...” (106), Esther Greenwood never likes those visits at all.

Esther Greenwood thinks that her mother is the worst. As being explained before that Esther‟s mother is a type of mother who always talks sweetly to her daughter, “My mother was the worst. She never scolded me, but kept begging me, with a sorrowful face, to tell her what she had done wrong...” (107). She hates her mother for always begging and saying everything to her with a sorrowful face. She always asks Esther to tell her what she has done wrong. Esther dislikes her mother for many things. She hates her mother for not understanding her feelings well and also for acting out as a very good mother when she does not even know what her daughter wants.

“That was a silly thing for her to do,” I said to Doctor Nolan. Doctor Nolan nodded. She seemed to know what I meant. “I hate her,” I said, and waited for the blow to fall. But Doctor Nolan only smiled at me as if something had pleased her very, very much, and said, “I suppose you do.” (107)

One day, Esther Greenwood‟s mother brought her roses. Esther asked her to save the roses for Esther‟s funeral. But then, her mother‟s face puckered and she was about to cry. Esther was thinking that what has been done by her mom

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looks so silly after everything that has happened between her mom and herself. Then, she said to her psychiatrist named Doctor Nolan that she hates her mother.

Esther Greenwood‟s distasteful feeling to her mother grows slowly. Even though Esther spends her days by knowing how hard her mother struggling for their life, but the way her mother treats her disappoints her. As a daughter, Esther Greenwood had nothing to do. She is just a daughter after all. It is impossible for her to be a rebellious person. This is then stored in her mind and she throws it in a form of distaste to her mother.

3.1.4 Esther Greenwood‟s feelings to the social perspectives

As a girl who grows up normally, Esther always has her own dreams towards the society. She hopes that the society will have the same perspective as her. But then, she gets very disappointed that in the fact there are many things exist in the society which are the opposite of her own point of view.

One thing that opposes her point of view when Esther Greenwood was still in relationship with Buddy Willard, he ever showed Esther a cadaver. Esther cannot help but always remember it.

“I kept hearing about the Rosenbergs over the radio and at the office till I couldn't get them out of my mind. It was like the first time I saw a

cadaver... floated up behind my eggs and bacon at breakfast and behind the face of Buddy Willard, who was responsible for my seeing it in the first place...” (03).

From the sentences above, we can see how Esther‟s first experience of seeing cadaver influences her life later. Esther Greenwood says that Buddy

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Willard was responsible for this situation, “I started out by dressing in a white coat and sitting on a tall stool in a room with four cadavers, while Buddy and his friends cut them up... These cadavers were so unhuman...” (33). Ever since she saw the cadaver, she always feels as if she is carrying that cadaver‟s head around. She also has a feeling as if there is a cadaver in her breakfast menu. This is very disturbing for her.

The thing happened on her past with Buddy then makes Esther Greenwood feels bothered by the fact that she has to be surrounded by the news about the electrocution of Rosenbergs. She does not know why but every time she hears about the Rosenbergs, she feels sick of it. Actually, Esther‟s distaste is caused by her unconscious mind which she could not express it when she was with Buddy Willard. Buddy showed her a cadaver. Esther‟s mind goes back to her past unconsciously. At that time, Esther could not express her disgusted feeling towards a cadaver because she was with Buddy then it is stored in her unconscious mind.

Another thing that opposes her view is when Buddy Willard was inviting Esther Greenwood to go to hospital because Esther kept begging him to show her the interesting sights of hospital. In the hospital, he showed Esther how a baby was born by the mother.

“I was so struck by the sight of the table where they were lifting the woman I didn't say a word. It looked like some awful torture table, with these metal stirrups sticking up in mid-air at one end and all sorts of instruments and wires and tubes I couldn't make out properly at the

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other... I heard the scissors close on the woman's skin like cloth and the blood began to run down -- a fierce, bright red.” (34-35)

Buddy showed Esther Greenwood a sight when a mother delivered her baby. Esther considered the process of baby – bearing as a very awful situation. It was very scary in Esther Greenwood‟s eyes. Later Buddy explained to Esther that the mother is under drug so she would not feel the pain of bearing a baby, “Buddy told me the woman was on a drug that would make her forget she'd had any pain...” (35).

Here, Buddy Willard gave an explanation to Esther how a woman who is bearing will not feel the pain because she is on drug. However, she will still realize what is going on that she was swearing and groaning when the baby was born. But seeing how the woman kept groaning when she was bearing her baby makes her think that the mother must still have felt the pain because she would not groan if she could not feel anything.

That situation makes Esther Greenwood hates the fact that a woman should bear the pain she gets from bearing a baby. This kind of Esther‟s distasteful feeling is resulted from her past when she was shown by Buddy

Willard the process of bearing a baby in the hospital, “I thought if you had to have all that pain anyway you might just as well stay awake.” (35). Esther Greenwood states that she does not like the idea that a woman should be under drug to forget the pain of bearing a baby because no matter what, she will always feel the pain. She has a different thinking with the society in general.

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When Esther‟s mental condition gets worse, Esther Greenwood receives a treatments and she has to say in the hospital until the treatments done. Some people even go visiting her including her mother, her brother, and some people on her past including a man named George Bakewell. Deeply on her heart, Esther does not want to stay at the hospital, “I felt silly in my sage-green volunteer's uniform, and superfluous, unlike the white-uniformed doctors and nurses...” (85). Esther does not want to be staying at the hospital because the uniform which she wears looks so silly on her. Her clothes are green and it makes her looks stupid.

“Esther: Why can't I see a mirror? (I had been dressed in a

sheath, striped gray and white, like mattress ticking, with a wide, shiny red belt, and they had propped me up in an armchair.) Esther: Why can't I?

The nurse: Because you better not. (The nurse shut the lid of the overnight case with a little snap.)

Esther: Why?

The nurse: Because you don't look very pretty. Esther: Oh, just let me see.” (92)

Those are the conversations between Esther Greenwood and one of the nurses on the hospital, the place she has to be staying in for getting the treatments. After being visited by a man named George Bakewell who has known her since a long time then now he is working in the hospital, Esther asks the nurse to give her a mirror. She wants to know her reflection through the mirror. But then, the nurse says to Esther Greenwood not to look into the mirror because she looks so bad.

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Esther keeps looking into the mirror and she does feel so bad. This makes Esther feels distaste of being visited by others.

Esther does not like being visited by other people. She wants peace, “I hated these visits. I hated these visits, because I kept feeling the visitors measuring my fat and stringy hair...” (107). Those sentences state that Esther Greenwood does not like being visited. She keeps having feeling that those people who visit her always measure her physical appearance. She feels that those people always measure her fat and her messy hair. This is very disturbing for Esther Greenwood.

Actually, one of the causes of Esther‟s mental illness is her past

experience with Buddy Willard. This influences later Esther in seeing something relating to virginity. Esther was being overhyped towards Buddy Willard. Till then, Buddy makes her disappointed. In Esther‟s eyes, Buddy has lost his virginity and it was unexpected for her, “And that's how Buddy had lost his pureness and his virginity... At first I thought he must have slept with the waitress only the once, but when I asked how many times, just to make sure, he said he couldn't

remember” (37). Esther feels more disappointed when Buddy did not even

remember how many times he slept with other women. Something about it makes Esther sick since Buddy was pretending as a very pure man while in fact, he is not even able to keep his virginity.

This makes Esther states how she actually does not agree with the

perspective of the society about a woman‟s virginity. Generally, the society sees a pureness is a must for a woman. Esther thinks that when a woman has been

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struggling to defend her pureness or virginity, but it turns out that the man she is marrying with has been doing sex with another women, it will be unfair for the woman. This is why she does not agree with the general opinion about the purity of a woman.

At that time, Esther Greenwood was reading an article “In Defense of Chastity”. The article was written by a married woman lawyer with children. The article was talking about the reasons why a girl should not sleep with anybody before her husband and this could be only after getting married. The article tried to persuade people how a man always wants a pure woman to be his wife. Men want their wives to have sex for the first time with them (42-43).

Esther shows her disagreement with the article she read. Everything

sounds so skeptical. She does not agree that a woman should be virgin before their married because it will be ridiculous if one day after married, the one who is not virgin is the man, just like what happened to Esther and Buddy, “It might be nice to be pure and then to marry a pure man, but what if he suddenly confessed he wasn't pure after we were married, the way Buddy Willard had?...” (43). Buddy was acting out as an innocent man until Esther finds him ever slept with some women. This will make the woman disappointed and this is absolutely unfair for woman.

Esther Greenwood also hates the situation she is currently living in. In the first chapter of the novel, it explains how Esther feels uncomfortable towards the electrocution of the Rosenbergs, “the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I'm stupid about executions.

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The idea of being electrocuted makes me sick, and that's all there was to read about in the papers...” (01).

Here, we can see how Esther dislikes the situation around her. She is sick with how the situation is constructed towards the electrocution of the Rosenbergs. Esther cannot avoid it because every day what she sees is only the Rosenbergs on the cover of every papers‟ headlines. She feels like being electrocuted is the worst thing to ever happen for people.

The last thing that is a little bit bothering for Esther Greenwood is the world itself. This summarizes the whole thing above as her distaste to the society or the situation around her. As being entitled the Bell Jar, Esther also thinks her world as being isolated in the bell jar. Everything is a bad dream for her.

“A bad dream. To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream. A bad dream. I remembered everything.” (124)

As someone who feels like being trapped in the bell jar, Esther Greenwood explains this world as a bad dream. She hates everything as the whole of it. And all of Esther‟s distasteful feeling is caused by her unconscious mind which she is unaware of (Cloninger 35).

3.2 The effects of Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life

Esther Greenwood lives her life with a lot of distaste. Those distasteful feelings are caused by her unconscious mind which is influenced by Esther‟s disappointment towards many kinds of thing in her life, such as her

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to the way her social surrounding sees something which is different from her own perspectives.

Esther Greenwood might be freely to have her distaste in her life, but as a girl who lives along with the society, Esther‟s distasteful feelings cannot be fully expressed since it may put her in both anxiety and conflict with others because Esther‟s distaste would disturb her life and it also will make her relationship gets worse with other people. As the effect of this, Esther Greenwood then tends to use defense mechanisms in her daily life. Sigmund Freud and his daughter, Anna Freud divided defense mechanisms into some. Below is explained some kinds of defense mechanisms used by Esther Greenwood every time her distasteful feelings showed up.

3.2.1 Repression

Repression is a very common defense mechanism to do. It is done by repressing thoughts and feelings of a person. Repression was done by Esther when she does not let her feelings about her mom shows up. As being explained before that Esther has a distasteful feelings to her mother as a result of Esther‟s disappointment to her mother. In fact, Esther keeps repressing it unconsciously so that it will not reach her conscious mind. She dislikes her mom‟s visits when she is on her treatments in hospital. But in fact, Esther does not say to her that she dislikes her visits, she repressed her feelings because she knows once she lets it comes to the reality, this will result in a conflict between her and her mom.

Then, as a part of her distaste to her friends around her, Esther then throws a repression towards her feeling for Joan Gilling. This could be resulted by her

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distaste to her friends on her past including Doreen, Betsy. When she meets Joan on the hospital for treatment, she does some talks with Joan. They talk about the time when Joan will leave the hospital.

“Joan grew wistful "You'll come visit me, won't you, Esther?” “Of course.”

But I thought, “Not likely.” (118)

Esther does not let her feeling that she will not visit Joan comes to her conscious mind. She repressed her thoughts. Here, Esther does the repression by saying another statement to Joan. So, she does not let what is really on her mind comes in reality.

3.2.2 Reaction formation

Esther Greenwood also experienced a movement from a good behavior to bad behavior because of her distaste of life. Esther did reaction formation when she lets a man named Constantin seduced her. “I felt so fine by the time we came to the yogurt and strawberry jam that I decided I would let Constantin seduce me...” (41). She was with Constantin who is an interpreter. Before, Esther was a type of girl who thought that virginity is everything (120). She will not lose her virginity before getting married.

Esther was going to keep herself for her husband later, but her

disappointment towards Buddy which then grows in a form of distaste changes her perspective. After knowing that Buddy has had an affair with other women, she also wants to sleep with somebody, and in this time, it is Constantin. Clearly,

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there is a shift of Esther‟s behavior from good behavior to bad behavior by letting her being seduced by Constantin.

Esther also performed reaction formation when she was with Buddy Willard. Esther has known how hypocrite Buddy is but she keeps treating Buddy as a man who should be praised. She takes everything told by Buddy as if it is the right thing to do. “My trouble was i took everything Buddy Willard told me as the honest – God –truth...” (30). Then, even after knowing how bad Buddy is, Esther still acts as if he is a good man when she visited Buddy in the sanatorium. She still pretends to smile in front of Buddy Willard (47-48). Esther was adoring Buddy very much but after she knows how hypocrite Buddy is, she still treats him well but it was not coming from her heart. She was just pretending. Things done by Esther here is more socially acceptable. So, Esther‟s good treatments to Buddy here does not come sincerely from her heart. Her “love” for Buddy therefore is not genuine.

Just like what happened to Esther‟s distaste towards Buddy, Esther also showed reaction formation when she treats her mother well even though Esther has been feeling disappointed with her mother since she was a child. Deeply, in her heart she feels disappointed because her mother did not cry for her father‟s death (88). Here, Esther tries to change her distaste into something more

acceptable because treating a mother well is a good thing and well – received by all people. Same thing goes to Esther‟s treatment to her friends. Even though she has been feeling uncomfortable with some of her friends, she still gives them a good treatment because that is more acceptable.

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3.2.3 Displacement

Esther Greenwood sometimes does displacement relating to her distaste to other people or things. First, regarding to her distaste to men, Esther has a habit of looking at men down. She would criticize their appearances. Here is the situation when she met Constantin, the simultaneous interpreter of Mrs. Willard. “Probably Mrs. Willard's simultaneous interpreter would be short and ugly and I would come to look down on him in the end the way I looked down on Buddy Willard. This thought gave me a certain satisfaction...” (28). Esther displaces her distasteful feelings for Buddy Willard to other men, in this case is a UN interpreter named Constantin. In Esther‟s mind, Constantin, as someone who she does not know at first, could be another man to throw her distasteful feeling.

Another displacement by Esther was when she really enjoys watching people in crucial situations. “I liked looking on at other people in crucial situations. If there was a road accident or a street fight or a baby pickled in a laboratory jar for me to look at, I'd stop and look so hard I never forgot it...” (09). Esther stated this when she was with Doreen, Lenny Shepherd and Frankie. This could be the effect of Esther‟s distaste to her friends.

Esther has friends in New York yet she could not help but always feels like inferior every time she is with her friends. She feels like being isolated while watching Doreen and Lenny Shepherd clinging one to another. This is why she likes looking at people‟s crucial situations because that is how she learns. She cannot learn otherwise that way (09). She displaces her distasteful feelings to her friends by enjoying looking at other people being in crucial situations.

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As someone who frequently hides her feelings and thoughts, Esther Greenwood indeed does displacement a lot. When she dislikes being surrounded by the news about the Rosenbergs execution. Esther displaces her feelings by buying some uncomfortable clothes (03). She does not realize and know why she keeps buying clothes. But, this could be a displacementacre by Esther Greenwood as she dislikes to be surrounded by the situation where the news about the

Rosenbergs‟ execution keep showing up.

Then, as being explained before that Esther Greenwood also has distaste to the visits she received when she is on her treatment at hospital. Esther was visited often by her mother and even other people she does not want to meet.

Unexpectedly, she was also visited by a man named George Bakewell. As the effect of this distaste, Esther projects her uncomfortable feelings to the nurse of the hospital. She did something rudely to the hospital‟s nurse (96-97). She did it on purpose because she did not like being in the hospital and got visited by many people.

3.2.4 Denial

Esther Greenwood sometimes denies the reality happened in her life. She mostly performs denial when her distasteful feelings to men show up. The example of it was when she met Lenny Shepherd and Frankie on her way to the party with Doreen. Full of anticipation, Esther feels that she has to be careful with those two men only by looking at the way they laughed (06). But then, a moment after that, Esther also denies her own feeling and reduces her distaste by stating

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 4.1 Conclusion

The analysis of this research focuses more on the causes and the effects of Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life. The novel itself tells about the life of a girl named Esther Greenwood who struggles in her life and faces many things when

she has to move to New York and has to deal with a lot of things happened. Esther

has a problem that is her distaste towards some things including men, her mother,

her friends, and the social’s perspectives.

After analyzing the novel, it is concluded that Esther’s distaste is caused

by her unconscious mind. Esther’s distasteful feelings towards men is caused

mostly by a man named Buddy Willard. Buddy Willard cheated on her even

though at that time he treated Esther as the one and only girl. This then makes

Esther hates a man named Marco who also treats her as if she is the special one.

Esther Greenwood also hates her friends because she is uncomfortable with how

her friends treated her. Esther feels like being betrayed by her friend named Joan

Gilling.

Then Esther’s distaste to her mom is mostly caused by the way her mother treats her. She always begs Esther to do things she does not want to do such as

doing treatments in the hospital. Then, Esther’s hates to the social perspective is

caused by her past that she was ever shown a cadaver by Buddy on the hospital so

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Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life also shows effect. In this case, she uses defense mechanisms every time her distasteful feelings show up. Esther

Greenwood uses repression when she is with Joan Gilling. She does not let her

feelings about Joan shows up, Esther represses it. Esther also uses reaction

formation relating to her hates to her mother. She still loves her mother but not

with her sincere heart. Esther Greenwood shows displacement when she throws

her distasteful feelings toward Buddy Willard to another man named Constantin.

Denial is used by Esther when she denies that Buddy indeed had an affair with

another woman but she denied it by saying that the woman seduced Buddy first.

Esther Greenwood als uses fantasy when she imagines her boss, Jay Cee

as her mother because she dislikes her own mother. She also does not wash

herself and even tries to commit suicide as a part of acting out by her. Esther uses

rationalization when she rationalizes her hate to the social perspectives about woman’s virginity. Undoing is done by Esther when she first hates Betsy but then receives her because she resembles Betsy more than her other friends. Lastly,

Esther does sublimation when she feels broken heart then she works harder.

Esther uses those defense mechanisms every time her distaste towards men, her

friends, her mother, and the social’s perspectives show up.

4.2 Suggestion

The Bell Jar is a novel that was written in the post – modern era. This novel contains so many things that can be analyzed while the thing analyzed in

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psychological condition of Buddy Willard, Esther’s ex boyfriend, who influence Esther a lot. Buddy Willard has a very complex personality such as narcissism

that can be researched deeply. This novel also has many difficult words which

cannot be found in dictionary, so it indeed needs more thinking to find the other

issues from it. One of the most interesting thing that can also be analyzed here

about Esther is that character of Esther Greenwood which is very complicated to

understand.

It has been mentioned before that the analysis of this study concerns more on the causes and effect of Esther Greenwood’s distaste of life. So, in order to comprehend the whole study, it is better for the reader to read the novel not only

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