Critical Insights

The Bell Jar is a highly distinctive and unusual book, and although the era of the 1950's it represents has faded and disappeared into history, the power of this novel does not dissipate. The original essays in this volume each take on a specific angle from which to examine the work. One essay discusses the issue of nature vs. nurture in the novel, while another discusses the similarities between Plath's work and Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted. The older essays provide some of the finest scholarship on The Bell Jar that has been made available over the years, and offer a wide variety of critical approaches to this work.