One of the realizations that really affected Esther’s view of the world was when she realized that there was a clear sexual double standard between men and women. Even today, when men perform sexual acts with girls they are often praised but when women do the same, they are called “sluts” or “whores” if they are not married.
Esther first experienced this double standard when Buddy Willard confessed to having slept with another girl, even though he had always acted like the innocent one in the relationship. She describes how his mother really cares about virginity before marriage: “... Mrs. Willard was a real fanatic about virginity for men and women both. When I first went to her house for supper she gave me a queer, shrewd, searching look, and I knew she was trying to tell whether I was a virgin or not” (Plath 71). Buddy later says that he is still friends with his mom, probably because she doesn’t care as much about his virginity than his girlfriends. When Esther realizes this unfairness, she rightfully gets mad and thinks about getting even by sleeping with someone else. I think that this is a really strong decision for Esther to make, because she doesn’t care about what society will think if she has sex, she just wants to do it for the experience.
After this moment in the book, Esther’s view on the world changes and I think that it is part of what made her feel like she was living in a bell jar. If she did what she wanted to do, society would judge her so she felt trapped. Of course, a lot of other things affected her, but I think that this realization was a big deal for Esther and affected her actions throughout the rest of the book.
There's maybe an unintended resonance here with the phrase "gets mad" in relation to her realization of Buddy's "hypocrisy": it both makes her angry AND contributes to her incipient "madness," or the idea that this perception of a deep hypocrisy at the root of standards of propriety in American culture "drives her crazy."
ReplyDeleteWith this in mind, it's important to consider the crucial role of Dr. Nolan in "treating" her mental illness in part by prescribing birth control and helping her confidently dismiss the sexual double standard as "propaganda!"
The sexual double standard is a big part in Esther's life, an I think that the other part of it is that there is part in society that (a) is accepted by everyone, but (b) can't be broken or changed without serious consequences. Part of Esther's frustration, I think, is that she will be socially punished for losing her virginity because of the double standard, but she is forced to accept Buddy's past without any anger or frustration. the unchanging aspect of the rule is wat bothers Esther more than anything else.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. The sexual double standard is something that really affects Esther, and is something that really makes her isolated from society, because she is the only girl that seems to actually not be okay with it.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy how you pointed out that the same themes that contributed too the mental health issues of a young women in 1963 in a troubling novel about depression and misogyny are still present in society, and our high school, today.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right in that this moment with Buddy is certainly one of the leading causes. As Esther reflects, she is getting increasingly more judgmental of it as she can now look back in hindsight and see that memory was the tip of the iceberg in her disillusionment.
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