Blog 2 Josh W.
As I have read this book, I find Esther more and more unsimpathetic. She goes on and on about how life is terrible, always complaining or blindly judging others without digging deep into them at all. She feels both sorry and unsorry for the Rosenbergs simply because she feels like she relates to them in a really unbalanced way. They're going to die by electrocution and she feels a jolt-like sensationat certain points. These are not the same and for anyone who thinks they are is either a person who madly desires attention and affection only to toss it away, or just an idiot. I don't find her "intelect" to be anything authentic but more like someone quoting a wikipedia article now. What I find most for lack of a better word, annoying, is her constant talk of suicide which by the numerous "attempts" and plans she makes, seems to me more like a very unsettling way to pass the time. Considering the setting of the novel and the author, I can sympathize a little about the situation women were in but Esther makes it immposible for me to pity her specifically. A person can be unhappy or just plain miserable but I would say its almost immposible to due so all the time. There are too many (I would expect everyone at this point would expect me to say wonderful, but I'm not going to) quirky things in the world for Esther to always be What I can only call single-minded, completely self absorbed, and somewhat hateful of every situation she finds herself in. And in seeing this in esther,I must ask the question of why doesn't she turn all this anger and frustration into motivation to create something satisfying. But then I remember that some people like being like Esther is in a paradoxical sort of way. It is a choice that everyone makes regardless of their situation. I mean, even a depressed person like Sylvia Plath managed to write a book before she died.
Wow, I feel like this is really harsh.
ReplyDeleteEsther is an extremely complex character. I find it hard to believe that an introspective reader, regardless of who they are or where they come from, wouldn't be able to find at least one part of Esther's many parts with which he can identify. That's what makes this story so affecting.
I am especially confused by one of your remarks: "Considering the setting of the novel and the author, I can sympathize a little about the situation women were in but Esther makes it immposible for me to pity her specifically." What exactly do you mean by this? Please explain if you can.
MD
Josh--I really appreciate your honesty. And you've put your finger on some very important issues. There are aspects of Esther that are indeed unattractive and meant to be so--her treatment of Doreen, for example; her desire to always be the "first," even when it comes to losing one's virginity. Don't forget that Esther is young--this is not a finished, mature person who has found her place in life. She has also been hurt in the past--read the scene in which she visits her father's graveyard, a loss that she has never coped with or been allowed to cope with (her mother called his death a "merciful thing"; well, it wasn't for Esther). What Plath gives us--and this is very interesting from a literary point of view--a fragile, flawed person who only knows what she doesn't want but doesn't have the strength to free herself from her passivity.
ReplyDeleteAbout creating something worthwhile... Esther does try. See the novel about "Elaine" she is contemplating in chapter 10. But she can't write it. She is too ill. At that point, this doesn't seem to be a matter of choice anymore, would you agree?
Which brings me to another question--that of Plath's involvement in the narrative. Would you extend your critique to her as well? Or would you grant her a level of artistic sophistication, one that allowed her to create such a character as Esther? Or would you argue that Esther is one-dimensional?