Reading The Bell Jar in 2025: Why Sylvia Plath’s Classic Still Matters for Mental Health Awareness

The Mask of ‘Having It All’

“I was supposed to be having the time of my life.”

Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar is brilliant, beautiful, immensely talented, and wildly successful—a college student who lands a month-long guest editor position at a New York magazine. On paper, she’s living the kind of life most people would envy. But what if all those labels were just a mask? A mask hides the pain and struggles of her mental illness. And when that mask finally cracks—during her summer internship—it hits hard.

The truth is, many of us wear similar masks. Under the labels of perfect grades, Instagram feeds, social status, and friend circles, we hide our vulnerabilities. And in a world that’s more connected than ever, the constant comparisons make that mask feel even heavier. That’s why reading The Bell Jar in 2025 still hits. It reminds us that mental health isn’t something to hide behind—it’s something to acknowledge, nurture, and talk about.

The Reality of Mental Health Access: Then Vs Now

“The floor seemed wonderfully solid. It was comforting to know I had fallen and could fall no farther.”

When The Bell Jar was written, mental health awareness was minimal, and the support systems we take for granted today were almost nonexistent. People struggled to recognise the signs of mental health challenges, and there was little understanding of how to approach them with care, empathy, and compassion.

Esther Greenwood’s experiences—and Sylvia Plath’s own struggles—highlight the isolation, confusion, and fear that often accompany mental health struggles, showing how deeply personal and misunderstood they were. Also, the options for their treatment weren’t great at the time either. They had to deal with limited options available, like electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and modified insulin treatment, which left them with more trauma than before.

Reading The Bell Jar in 2025 still hits hard because, despite advances in mental health awareness and the proliferation of resources, access is not universal. Financial barriers, geographical limitations, and systemic inequalities mean that many people still cannot reach the help they need. It is still considered a taboo to get mental help in most parts of the world. This classic reminds us that mental health challenges are not tied to privilege or opportunity—they can affect anyone, anywhere.

Challenging Norms With Unapologetic Expression

“So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about as numb as a slave in a totalitarian state.”

Sylvia Plath’s work has always pushed back against the rigid, patriarchal expectations of how women “should” be. By giving voice to her true self, Plath created a norm for generations of women to recognise the parts of themselves that had been suppressed, ignored, or dismissed—those very parts that often take a toll on mental health.

The Bell Jar still reminds us that feminist self-expression is not just about breaking societal expectations—it’s about embracing our complexity, demanding our right to exist fully, and acknowledging that every facet of our emotional selves matters. Plath’s courage continues to inspire women to confront their inner worlds unapologetically, and to understand that vulnerability, defiance, and self-expression are all acts of feminist power.

Also read: Sylvia Plath and the Struggle for Women’s Identity: Lessons for a New Generation

Opening the Window on Women’s Mental Health

We all know that Sylvia Plath was a victim of her suicidal tendencies. Back then, women’s mental health was barely studied, and their physical health was often overlooked, too. Sylvia’s life, her poetry, her journals, and her novel became a rare window into understanding women’s mental health. Over time, psychiatrists, mental health institutions, scholars and experts began referring to her work to better grasp the unique ways mental illnesses manifest in women.

And that’s exactly why The Bell Jar still matters today—it’s not just a classic, it’s a lens into women’s minds and emotions, one that continues to inform, resonate, and remind us that these conversations are as vital now as they ever were.

What We Can Learn From The Bell Jar Today

The world couldn’t save Sylvia from the turmoil and broken parts of her life. We lost her far too early, at just 30, to suicide—a tragic reminder of how fragile life can be when mental health struggles go unseen or unspoken.

But even in her short life, Sylvia left behind lessons that continue to resonate. She showed generations of artists, women, creatives, and anyone grappling with mental illness that it’s okay to feel deeply, to question norms, and to confront emotions unapologetically. She taught us that acknowledging pain, rather than hiding it, can be a radical act of honesty and self-empowerment. Her work reminds us that mental health matters, that emotions are valid, and that breaking the silence is often the first step toward understanding and healing.

To everyone reading this blog: take Sylvia’s courage to heart. Let her story remind you to check in with yourself and others, to embrace your emotions without shame, and to create space for honesty in your own life.

Your next read: 10 Lesser-Known Facts About Sylvia Plath That Reveal the Woman Behind the Poet