The Bell JarBy: Sylvia Plath 'A literary rite of passage.' The Times 'Plath changed our world.' Guardian Esther is supposed to be having the time of her life. Her internship at a fashion magazine is a whirl of cocktail parties and dinner dates in the shimmering city. But why doesn't she feel anything? Back home in the suburbs, she is trapped inside a suffocating bell jar. She can't write her novel; her boyfriend is a hypocrite; there seems no point in getting out