Topic #4: Text-Connection
As I found isolation and detachment to be the prevailing motifs within The Bell Jar, I see a vague yet promising association between The Bell Jar and the film The Dreamers, by Bernardo Bertolucci. Though very different in context, isolation from society and from oneself exist predominantly as the themes within each. Though the protagonists within The Dreamers neither suffer from mental disorders nor follow similar a plotline as Esther Greenwood, they find themselves crawling deeper and deeper into their own imagination, unaware of the outside world pressing in from all around. Just like Esther’s only true glimpses of society are through newspaper headlines and magazines, the viewer only glimpses fleeting images outside of their isolated habitats. In the film, an American exchange-student named Matthew studying in France befriends a pair of twins, Isabelle and Theo. As their friendship grows, he notices the extremely intimate relationship between the twins, who claim that they were originally conjoined at the shoulder (which is impossible, as they are opposite sexes. However, glimpses of scars can be seen, creating a sense of isolation from self in the paradox). He is drawn into their world and falls in love with them, and the three, acting as a single entity, isolate themselves from the reality of the 1968 student rebellions. Much like Esther, who finds herself diverting from the norm of women during the age and falling deeper into her own mind, they find themselves unable to separate. However, Esther’s growing disembodiment from herself, (such as when she repeatedly fails to recognize herself in mirrors) is relatable to the growing rift between Theo and Matthew. Both lead to ultimate destruction as they succumb to reality of society around them.
The idea of isolationism, as you mention, is extremely prevelant in this novel. I like the connections you made to The Dreamers, and the concept of Esther beginning to divert into a place of disembodiment. We see the idea of isolationsim in many contexts: war, society, and family. In the case of The Bell Jar, she is in fact isolated within her own brain, unable to breach the self she used to be. In the typical isolated circumstance, one can at least find solice in sanctity of one's own mind, this is not the case for Esther. To be in a position where your mind cannot recognize your face, that is an alone that seems unbearable.
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