Esther’s Problems of Personality as an Impact of Her

Failure in Accomplishing Self-Identity:

A Psychosocial Analysis to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Attainment

of the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Literature

By

Tri Nurlianingsih

09211144012

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF LANGUANGES AND ARTS

YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

2014

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 DEDICATION

With my deepest gratitude and warmest affection, I dedicate this thesis to

my parents, Bapak Hardi Sarjono and Ibu Sarijah

and

for everyone who waits for my graduation

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 MOTTOS

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” – Nelson Mandela

"Kemenangan yang seindah-indahnya dan sesukar-sukarnya yang boleh direbut

oleh manusia ialah menundukan diri sendiri." – Ibu Kartini

“Verify, Allah will not change the (good) condition of people as long as they do

not change the state of (goodness) themselves” – Ar-Rad: 11

“I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday” – Eleanor

Roosevelt

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Alhamdulillahhi rabbil alamin; all praises to Allah SWT, the Almighty,

the most beneficial, the most merciful and the only one God who is never tired of

listening to men. Without the blessing, guidance, love and miracle from Allah

SWT, I would have never finished this thesis. Greeting and invocation are

presented to the Prophet Muhammad SAW, who has guided mankind to the right

path. I acknowledge my family, my lecturers, and my friends who have

encouraged me to finish this thesis and who have given me continous support for

me on the process of this thesis writing.

In finishing this thesis, I would like to express my thankfulness to more

people. My special appreciation and gratitude go to Bapak Sugi Iswalono, M. A.,

as my first consultant and Ibu Nandy Intan Kurnia, M.Hum, as my second

consultant and also my academic advisor for the patience, guidance, advice, care,

encouragement and support during the process of writing this thesis. I would like

to apologize for “being lost” for many times in the writing and consultation

process. Their assistance will never be able to be paid back. Moreover, I also owe

special thanks to all lectures of the English Department of Yogyakarta State

University with whom I have learned and discussed the knowledge.

My greatest gratitude is also for my beloved parents, Bapak Hardi

Sarjono and Ibu Sarijah, for their endless loves, prayers, cares, supports both

physically and financially. I would like to apologize for taking too long to finish

this thesis; and thanks to my brothers, Mas Jad and Mas Mar for being such good

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brothers who always support and take care of me though I am not a kid anymore. I

also would like to mention with thankfulness the love and encouragement of Fajar

Kurniawan, let reach our dreams and be successful together. My gratitude also

goes to all my family, near and far.

In addition, I also owe million thanks to Ibu Etik and all of the colleagues

in Realia Language Center for the advice, guidance and precious discussion. A

tremendous thank also goes to Dek Katrin Rahma, my partner in “sad and happy”

condition, who always has time to listen my jeremiad during the process of

consultation on writing this thesis. I also would like to thank Lemu Rosma

Puspitasari and Moong Hilma Aulia for being very good friends of mine during

my study in this university. Sincere gratitude also goes to Maswin Maria Wintang

for the time to proofread and grammar correction of my thesis and to all of my

friends in English Literature study programme particularly the G class and

Literature Concentration.

Finally, I realize that this thesis is far from being perfect. Therefore,

comments and suggestions are kindly accepted. Thus, I also hope that this thesis

can bring some contributions in literature study.

Yogyakarta, 20 Oktober 2014

Tri Nurlianingsih

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE .............................................................................................................. i

APPROVAL SHEET ..................................................................................... ii

RATIFICATION SHEET ............................................................................. iii

PERNYATAAN .............................................................................................. iv

DEDICATIONS ............................................................................................. v

MOTTOS ……................................................................................................ vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... xii

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1

A. Background of the Problem ...................................................................... 1

B. Research Focus……………...................................................................... 4

C. Research Question .................................................................................... 5

D. Objectives of the Problem ........................................................................ 5

E. Significance of the Research ..................................................................... 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................... 7

A. Psychosocial and Literature...................................................................... 7

B. Psychosocial Development....................................................................... 9

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C. The Stages of Development ...................................................................... 10

1. Trust vs. Mistrust ............................................................................. 11

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt .................................................... 12

3. Initiative vs. Guilt ............................................................................ 13

4. Industry vs. Inferiority ..................................................................... 13

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion............................................................. 14

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation ....................................................................... 15

7. Generative vs. Stagnation ................................................................ 16

8. Integrity vs. Despair ......................................................................... 16

D. The Bell Jar................................................................................................ 19

E. Conceptual Framework ............................................................................. 20

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ...................................................... 23

A. Subject of the Research ............................................................................. 23

B. Data and Sources of the Data .................................................................... 23

C. Research Instruments ................................................................................ 24

D. The Technique of Data Collections ........................................................... 24

E. Data Analysis............................................................................................. 26

F. Data Trustworthiness ................................................................................ 27

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ................ 28

A. The Stage of Psychosocial Development Esther Fails to Handle:

Identity vs. Role Confusion ............................................................... 28

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 1. Identity Diffusion………………………………………………….. 29

2. Negative Identity…………………………………………..……… 32

B. The Impact of Psychosocial Development: Intimacy vs. Isolation ......... 36

1. Intimacy Crisis…………………………………………………...... 37

2. Isolation ………………………………………………………..…. 40

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS..................................................................... 50

References ....................................................................................................... 52

Appendix ......................................................................................................... 54

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 : The Psychosocial Development Stages…...................................... 17

Figure 2 : Conceptual Framework .................................................................. 22

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 ESTHER’S PROBLEMS OF PERSONALITY AS AN IMPACT OF HER
FAILURE IN ACCOMPLISHING SELF-IDENTITY:
A PSYCHOSOCIAL ANALYSIS TO SYLVIA PLATH’S
THE BELL JAR

By Tri Nurlianingsih
09211144012

ABSTRACT

This research aims to identify which stage of the psychosocial

development is unsuccessfully handled by the main character of The Bell Jar, and
also to explain the impact of this failure to her personality. To answer the
objectives, this research used the psychosocial theory by Erikson.
This research used a qualitative research with the content analysis method.
The main source of this research was a novel entitled The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
The data were some phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and expressions used
to convey the psychosocial development of the main character and the impact of it
to her personality. The researcher became the primary instrument of this research,
while the secondary instrument was the data sheets. The data analysis was
conducted through three steps: reading and re-reading, classifying and
categorizing, analyzing and making the interrelation between the description of
the data and the theory.
The researcher finds a psychosocial crisis which occur in the main
character’s life based on Erikson’s psychosocial development theory i.e. Identity
vs. Role Confusion. In this stage, the researcher also finds that the main character
experiences two major problems of identity diffusion in her adolescence period:
identity diffusion and negative identity. The failure makes her suffers from the
identity diffusion that later on brings impact to her personality. It can be seen
through the main character’s malignancies in adulthood stage: intimacy crisis and
isolation. Because of the failure to resolve the problems in identity diffusion, at
the end it affects her personality. She becomes careless, impulsive, hopeless,
depression, rebellious and difficult to make decision.

Keywords: psychosocial development, Erikson, personality, psychosocial crisis,

The Bell Jar

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Study

Human beings are social beings. They live in groups with others and rely

on each other. This situation allows them to form societies for their survival and

creates environments where they can share knowledge. As a way to survive and

also share knowledge, people have to interact with each other. In this interaction,

they will find many kinds of social experience by attending someone’s wedding,

funeral and gather with other people in the society. Furthermore, within society

they can express their human emotions, such as love, affection, hatred, jealousy,

etc. In the society, someone will also experience the phase of transformation from

a kid, into a teenager and then become an adult.

This kind of transformation is very much influenced by values and

culture of the society where he or she lives. As a result, this person will reflect the

values and the culture of the society in his or her behavior. Thus, it will affect his

or her personality.

According to Larsen and Buss (in Mayer, 2007: 1) “Personality is the set

of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized

and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and

adaptations to, the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments”. Personality

is the uniqueness side of a person which can differentiate one person from

another. Saying that someone is easy going is to mention one way in which he or

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she is different from others who are shy. Besides, personality can also show

people’s similarity. Shy people are similar to each other in that they are anxious in

social situations, particularly situations in which there is an audience focusing

attention on them. Therefore, since personality is something that a person carries

with himself or herself over time and from one situation to the next, it will

influence his or her action, feeling, thought, interaction and reaction to his or her

circumstance. In other words, it can be said that personality affects someone’s

feeling, perception and behavior.

People’s psychological development and personality attract so many

experts to study and do research. There are so many references of theory related to

human personality and psychological development, one of them is Erikson’s

theory. He proposes psychosocial theory. It is a theory about the impact of social

experience across the whole lifespan. He declares that people will experience

crisis in every stage of their psychosocial development which significantly affect

their psychological development and personality. Some people will find a way to

solve the crisis, but some others will not. Those who cannot successfully pass the

crisis of his or her psychosocial development will face a personality problem. By

using this theory, the researchers will have an opportunity to have a different way

in analyzing personality of a certain character in literary works. Moreover, by

understanding the personality of the character, the researcher believes that readers

will not only achieve the meaning of the story, but also understand the human

psychosocial development.
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Speaking of literary works and personality, there are so many works

discussing about psychosocial development that influence personality, one of

them is the novel written by Sylvia Plath entitled The Bell Jar. As an American

poet, novelist and short story writer, she is able to describe vividly her

psychosocial’s problem in her one and only autobiographical novel. This novel

tells about her experience when she suffers from depression in the age of 20 and

even her several attempts to commit suicide.

The story narrates the experience of the main character named Esther

Greenwood who fails to complete one of the psychosocial development stage in

her life. She is a college girl from Massachusetts. She wins a prize to travel to

New York and works as a guest editor in a famous magazine. In New York, she

and eleven other college girls get many kind of gifts and invited to a lot of parties.

However, she does not feel happy and she cannot enjoy her ‘new’ life. Moreover,

she has to face various problems which then make her suddenly unable to eat,

bath, read, write and even sleep. Her mother who worries very much about her

condition decides to take her to a psychiatrist named Dr. Gordon. He is the one

who recommends electric shock therapy for Esther. However, the therapy

worsened her condition. It makes her unstable and decides to commit suicide.

In fact, The Bell Jar is a story of someone who has to face psychosocial

development crisis in which this person cannot successfully completing the

particular stage of her psychosocial development. As the consequence, she cannot

pass through the next stage of her psychosocial development. This case may

happen to any people in this world and it can lead them to commit suicide in order
 4

to escape from their problems. In The Bell Jar, the main character experiences

psychosocial development crisis that leads to her personality problem. Those are

the factors that make the researcher wants to conduct a study to identify and

analyze in which stage of psychosocial development the main character of the

novel is unable to handle. Moreover, the researcher also tries to analyze the effect

of it to her personality.

B. Research Focus

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is an example of literary work that in

particular deals with psychosocial development and the impact of it towards

someone’s personality that can be analyzed by using psychosocial theory. In this

research, the researcher uses psychosocial theory developed by Erikson (1950).

This theory focuses on psychosocial development of a person. Erikson’s theory

basically asserts that people experience crisis in the eight stages of psychosocial

development which significantly affect their psychological development and

personality.

The researcher analyzes the main character in The Bell Jar named Esther

Greenwood, who fails to handle crisis in a particular stage of the psychosocial

development in her life. As a result, she cannot pass through the next stage of

psychosocial development and it affects her personality. Her personality problems

are noticeable when she suddenly has no ability to read, write or sleep. She even

stops bathing. She then continues to attempt suicide at least three times before

receiving proper help. Therefore, the researcher decides to examine her

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psychosocial development because the researcher is interested to reveal in which

stage of psychological development Esther unsuccessfully handles the crisis.

Moreover, the researcher also analyzes the impact of psychosocial development

toward Esther’s personality.

In this research, the researcher uses Erikson’s psychosocial theory (1950)

in order to reveal in which stage of psychosocial development Esther is unable to

handle the crisis and to find out the impact of it to her personality. This research is

limited and all related to the main character of The Bell Jar.

C. Research Question

The main two questions to be answered in the research related to the issue

of problem of personality in The Bell Jar are:

1. In which stage of psychosocial development does Esther unsuccessfully

handle the crisis?

2. What impact does the failure has on Esther’s personality?

D. Objectives of the Research

Based on the background of study and the research questions mentioned

above, the objectives of this research are as follows:

1. to identify in which stage of the psychosocial development Esther is

unsuccessfully handled the crisis.

2. to explain the impact of the failure in accomplishing the stage of

psychosocial development toward Esther’s personality.

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E. Significance of the Research

This research is expected to give some contributions to the following

elements:

1. Academically, this research can be a reference upon Erikson’s psychosocial

literary criticism in dealing with humans beings’ psychological development

through literary works. By giving relevant information about the

psychological development in someone’s life, this research is hoped to be

useful and beneficial to gain the understanding of applying psychosocial

theories, especially for the students of English Literature in Yogyakarta

State University.

2. Practically, the readers may also understand more about personality

problems. Thus, the readers will be able to take some lessons to avoid the

emergence of any personality problems case in their life.

 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Psychosocial and Literature

Literature is actually a reflection of the real world. The issues depicted in

literary work also happen in real life. According to Siswanto (1993:19), a literary

work is a result of human’s conscious contemplation and imagination of things

that he or she knows, avoids, feels, responds and imagines. It is delivered to

public through language as the medium. That is why the problems or issues in a

certain literary work have similarities to the circumstances outside of the literary

work. Siswanto explains further that literary work is a mirror of the real world. It

is either purely a mirror of the real world or the mirror of the real world mixed

with the imagination and contemplation of the author (1993: 19). To be able to

appreciate literature, approach is one of the basic principles to be used as an

instrument; one of them is determined by the purpose and what will be revealed

on the literary work. There are several approaches that can be used to understand

literary works; one of them is social psychology approach.

Social psychology approach or psychosocial is a branch of psychology

which discuses about individual’s behavior in a social context. According to

Baron, Byrne & Suls (in Brown, 2005: 5) psychosocial is “the scientific field that

seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social

situations”. Therefore, it looks at human behavior as influenced by other people

and the context in which this behavior occurs. Social psychologists are mostly

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interested in identifying the factors that shape individuals’ thought and behavior.

It is primarily, relating to the actions, feelings, beliefs and thoughts about others.

Siswantoro (2005: 29-30) states that literature and psychology are different

in category. Literature is related to drama, fiction, poetry and essay and it is

classified as work of art. In the other hand, psychology refers to the scientific

study of human behavior and mental processes. Although they are different, both

of those subjects have some similarities, i.e. both depart from human and life as

sources of study. Furthermore, psychology studies about human behavior and

human behavior cannot be separated from the aspects of life that are wrapped and

coloring his or her behavior. Siswantoro (2005: 29-30) explains further that

psychology literary emerges as a bridge to connect psychology to literary study.

To be more specific, it studies about psychological phenomenon experienced by a

certain character in a literary work and his or her responds or reaction toward

himself or herself and the environment around him or her. Thus, the symptoms of

psychological crisis can be revealed through the behavior of the character in a

literary work.

Freud as the founder of psychoanalysis also has several reasons why he is

interested in using psychoanalysis to analyze literary works. According to

Iswalono (2008: 3) in his research entitled “Blance Dan dan Stanley, Dua Alter-

Ego Tennessee Williams dalam A Streetcar Named Desire: Sebuah Tinjauan

Psikoanalisis”, Freud’s interest in the use of psychoanalysis to analyze literary

works rooted in two aspects. First, psychoanalysis is a method of interrogation of

the human psyche that is entirely based on the actions of listening to the patient.
 9

Therefore, it is clear that Freud realizes that language can be seen as an area that

he should observe closely and in the same time he also can use it as a healing tool

for his psychoanalysis patient. Thus, as an art of language, literature is closely

related to the discussion of psychoanalysis since it also has a correlation with the

unconscious mind.

The second reason is based on the existences of dreams, fantasies and

myths as fundamental materials. “Dream” is a manifestation of someone’s desire.

All of human’s desires are under the control of the id, if those desires are

repressed, their manifestation will appear unconsciously in forms of fantasy, day

dream, dream or slip of the tongue.

B. Psychosocial Development

Erikson shows his agreement toward many of Freud’s theory such as

psychological structures, the early stages of childhood development, and the

unconscious. However, he rejects Freud's effort to explain personality only on the

basis of sexuality. He believes that childhood is very important in developing

personality and the personality will continue to expand further than five years of

age. In addition, Erikson develops Freud’s work by describing stages of

development. It includes all of the human lifespan, from infancy through old age

(in Fleming, 2004: 3). Erikson introduces an eight stages model of psychosocial

development which focuses on the influences of the surrounding social

environment to individual’s personality and behavior.

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According to Fleming (2004: 3), Erikson can be called as an ego

psychologist. It is because “he thought of the ego as something more than a check

on the demands of the id and a moderator between the id and the superego”.

Furthermore, the ego has its own life and though partly conscious and partly

unconscious, the ego more obviously represents the whole personality than does

the id. As stated in an article entitled “Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial

Development” (2007, p.2), ego identity is one of the major elements of Erikson’s

psychosocial stage theory. Ego identity itself is “the conscious sense of self that

develop through social interaction”. Erikson explains that someone’s ego identity

will constantly change as a result of new experience and information that he or

she gains in daily interaction with other people. “Erikson stressed the importance

of social interactions in development, as opposed to Freud’s emphasis on

development as a psychosexual process” (Fleming, 2004: 3).

C. The Stages of Development

Erikson states that every stage of development has its own unique

challenges. He calls these challenges as crises. Erikson believes that “these crises

of the ego presented challenges to one’s individual identity” (in Fleming, 2004: 3-

4). According to Erikson (in Brown and Lowis, 2003: 416-17) if someone

succeeds to complete each of the psychosocial stages, he or she will have a

healthy personality and successful interaction with others. Failure to successfully

complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and

therefore he or she will have a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. The
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balance outcome is necessary to have a healthy personality development. This

balance outcome is called as ‘basic virtue or basic strength’. Someone will extend

a tendency of mental problems if he or she fails to go through a psychological

crisis stage. The following are the eight stages of Erikson’s psychosocial

development:

1. Trust vs. Mistrust

The first stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development occurs

between birth and one year of age. This stage is the most fundamental stage in

life. In this stage, Erikson's theory centers on the infant's essential needs. This

essential needs is being met by the parents. The newborn depends on the parents,

especially the mother, for food, sustenance, and comfort. The parents and

interaction with the other child will bring understanding and perceptive of world

and civilization to the child. If the parents expose the child to warmth, regularity,

and dependable affection, the infant's vision of the world will be one of trust. If

the parents fail to provide a safe environment and to meet the child's essential

need it will lead to a sense of mistrust.

According to Erik Erikson in an article entitled “Erik Erikson’s Stages of

Psychosocial Development” (2007, p.4), learning other people especially the

caregivers who will frequently satisfy the basic needs is the main development

chore in infancy. If those caregivers become consistent sources of food, comfort,

and affection, an infant learns trust- that others are dependable and reliable. If they

are neglectful or abusive, the infant will learn mistrust. It will give an infant a
 12

perspective that the world is in an undependable, unpredictable, and possibly

dangerous place.

Erikson believes that the child’s development of trust depends on mother

figure. It means that the mother plays an important role in this stage and it is not

only by meeting the child’s basic comfort and nurturance needs, but by having

confidence in herself. Erikson believes that “an anxious mother transmitted this

anxiety to the child, which he saw as unhealthy: a mother’s tension causes a

corresponding state of tension in her baby, resulting in a feeling of insecurity and

lack of trust” (Fleming, 2004: 8).

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

The second stage of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development takes

place during early childhood. This stage focuses on children developing a greater

sense of personal control. The child will start to explore his or her surrounding as

he or she gains control over his or her own body and motor abilities. The parents'

persistence and support will help foster autonomy in the child. The parents who

are very restrictive will cause the child to have a sense of doubt and unwillingness

to try new challenges. At the same time as the child gains muscular coordination

and mobility, toddlers become able of fulfilling some of their own needs. He or

she starts to feed himself or herself, wash and dress himself or herself, and use the

bathroom. “If caregivers encourage self-sufficient behavior, toddler develops a

sense of autonomy- a sense of being able to handle many problems on their own.

But if caregivers demand too much too soon, refuse to let children perform tasks
 13

of which they are capable, or ridicule early attempts at self-sufficiency; children

may instead develop shame and doubt about their ability to handle problems”

(Erikson, 2007: 6).

3. Initiative vs. Guilt

Around age three and continuing to age five, children initiate to declare

their power and control over the world through directing play and other social

interaction. They start to arrange activities, make up games, and start activities

with others. Thus, they can commence motor activities of various sorts on their

own and no longer merely responds to or copy the actions of other children. They

learn that they can do many things. They also discover that, though they can do

things, it is not necessarily a good idea to do some things. Thus, they will feel a

new emotion; guilt. They find out that some behaviors may make them feel less

than happy about themselves. Children who are successful at this stage feel

capable and able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with

a sense of guilt, self-doubt and lack of initiative.

4. Industry vs. Inferiority

This stage covers the early school years from approximately age six to

twelve. In this point, children commence to develop a sense of pride in their

accomplishments. They also work hard at being responsible and being good. In

this stage, they are more capable to share and cooperate and also they will gain a

better understanding of cause and effect. The children are excited to learn and
 14

complete more complex skills such as reading, writing, and telling time. Besides

complex skills, the children also form moral values, recognize cultural and

individual differences. The children are also capable to handle most of their

personal needs. The children may express their freedom by being disobedient,

using back talk and being rebellious in this stage.

Erikson states that in this stage, the elementary school years are serious for

the development of self-confidence. In an ideal world, elementary school offers

many opportunities for children to achieve the recognition of teachers, parents and

peers completing projects, solving addition problems, writing sentences, and so

on. The children will express the sense of industry by being diligent and they will

preserve their tasks until it is completed if the children are encouraged to make or

do things and then they are praised for their accomplishments. However, the

children will develop the feelings of inferiority if they are unable to fulfill their

teachers’ or parents’ expectations and they will be ridiculed or punished for that.

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion

During adolescence, the transition from childhood to adulthood becomes

the most important stage. The adolescents are becoming more independent. They

will start to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing,

etc. As they transform from childhood to adulthood, adolescents consider the roles

they will play in the adult world. In this stage, they are exploring their freedom

and developing a sense of self. Initially, they are appropriate to experience some

role confusion in which they will face the mixed ideas and feelings about the
 15

particular ways in which they will fit into society. They may experiment with a

diversity of behaviors and activities. Eventually, Erikson proposes, where the

adolescents live influence most of adolescents to get a sense of identity.

According to Erikson, identity formation is the step that is impossible to

be avoided in developing identity. Adolescents need to establish an initial identity

through a complete psychosocial moratorium in order to form a true sense of self.

Otherwise, they will face series of psychosocial conflicts which add the

complexity of identity crisis. If they can solve this conflict successfully, they will

come out of this stage with a strong identity, and be ready to set their own plan for

the future. If they cannot solve the conflict, they will sink into confusion, unable

to make decisions and choices, especially the one which is related to several

activities such as vocation, sexual orientation, and his role in life in general.

6. Intimacy vs. Isolation

It is the stage of early adulthood when people are discovering their

personal relationships. For Erikson, however, the previous achievement of a sense

of personal identity and the engagement in productive work that marks this period

will create a new interpersonal dimension of intimacy at the one extreme and

isolation at the other.

Erikson interprets intimacy as the ability to share with and care about other

people without fear of losing oneself in the process. In the case of intimacy, the

parents will no longer contribute to their success or failure at the earlier stages.

Social conditions may help or restrain the establishment of a sense of intimacy as

 16

well as in the case of identity. Intimacy does not involve sexuality but it includes

the relationship between friends. Someone will develop a sense of isolation, sense

of being alone without anyone to share with or care for if he or she cannot

establish a sense of intimacy with friends or in a bond of marriage. In the other

hand, the sense of comfortable relationships and a sense of commitment, safety,

and care within a relationship will occur if someone is successful to complete a

sense of intimacy. In sum, avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and

relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression.

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

People will continue to build their lives during their adulthood. In this

stage, they will focus on their career and family. The people will feel that they are

contributing to the world by being active in their home and community if they are

successful through this phase. However, for those who fail to attain this skill will

feel unproductive and uninvolved in the world.

8. Integrity vs. Despair

This stage happens in old age and it focuses on reflecting back on life.

Integrity in the later years of life implies acceptance of a life that was well-lived.

However, it does not mean that life is over instead for these can often be very

productive years. In this point, a person will start to take a reflection and

evaluation and look back at his or her life. The questions that he or she may ask

for example, “Was my life fulfilling?” or “What was I able to accomplish?”.

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Everyone makes mistakes in his or her live and he or she does not have to lead a

perfect life to fulfill it. A positive sense of integrity will develop if someone can

manage his or her life reasonably well. Besides, he or she has to accept someone

else’ shortcomings, practiced meaningful of self-forgiveness, and consider the

positive and negative aspects of someone’s past. Nevertheless, despair implies a

lack of further hope. The unfulfilled potential or a feeling that someone has

wasted someone’s life, without hope for personal rescue will result despair.

Despair is often disguised by an outward attitude of contempt toward others.

Erikson states that wisdom is the basic strength associated with later years after a

lifetime of living and learning; based on the well-lived life.

Figure 1. The Psychosocial Development Stages

Stage Psychological Radius of Description

Crises Significant
Relations
1 Trust vs. Mistrust Maternal person Development of

(birth – trusting

year) relationships with

caregivers and of

self trust (hope)

2 Autonomy vs. shame Parental person Development of

(2-3 years) and doubt control over bodily

functions and

activities (will)
 18

3 Initiative vs. guilt Basic family Testing limits of self

(3-5 years) assertion and

purposefulness

(purpose)

4 Industry vs. Neighborhood Focus on mastery,

(6– 2 years) inferiority /school competence, and

productivity

(competence)

5 Identity vs. role Peer groups Focus on formation

12-19 years) confusion of identity and

coherent self

concept (fidelity)

6 Intimacy vs. isolation Partners in Focus on

(early 20’s) friendship, sex, achievement of an

competition, intimate relationship

cooperation and career direction

(love)

7 Generativity vs. Divided labour and Focus on fulfillment

(late 20’s- stagnation shared household through creative,

50’s) productive activity

that contributes to

future generations

(care)
 19

8 Integrity vs. despair “Mankind” Focus on belief in

(after 50) integrity of life,

including successes

and failures

(wisdom)

D. The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar is the only novel written by Sylvia Plath an American poet. It

was a semi-autobiographical of her life and was first published in 1963 under the

pseudonym of Victoria Lucas to protect herself and the characters based on real

people. A month after she published her book, she committed suicide.

The Bell Jar itself is a story about twenty years old girl named Esther

Greenwood who fails to complete one of the psychosocial development stages in

her life. She is a smart student from Boston. She gets many scholarships and

becomes a guest editor in New York. She finds many difficulties in New York,

especially related to the social life. It is difficult for her to get along with the

people over there. She slowly loses interest in fighting for goals and in gaining

objectives, in other words she loses hopes and dreams.

When she returns to Boston, her mother tells her that she is not accepted to

a writing class that she wants to take. This news disappoints and saddens Esther

very much. In Boston, she is living listlessly at home. She becomes so much

aware of the different values of living in Boston to living in New York, which at
 20

the end is so disturbing for her. As a result, she suddenly cannot read, write, bath

or sleep. Esther’s mother decides to take her to a psychiatrist where she receives

shock therapy. Unfortunately, the treatment influences Esther into a more unstable

condition. She finally decides to commit suicide.

Esther comes to her new psychiatrist, a woman named Dr. Nolan, and

begins to trust her. Esther starts to get better day by day. She also makes friend

with Joan, a woman who has to struggle from mental illness. She falls in love and

tries to seduce Esther. However, Esther rejects her. When Joan leaves the hospital

she commits suicide. After being hospitalized, Esther starts to show improvement.

Therefore, the hospital officials grant her permission to leave the hospital.

Following her freedom, she tries to have relation with a man named Irwin who

makes her loses her virginity. Esther goes back to emergency room as she is

bleeding after having sex with Irwin. As she gets better, she leaves the hospital

and decides to go to college. She tries to control her life once again. However, she

knows that the dangerous illness that put her life at risk could strike again at any

time.

E. Conceptual Framework

Having a good and stable personality is important to an individual. It

becomes one of many factors which can influence someone’s behavior and how

he or she will interact with society. Researcher believes that someone will have a

good personality as long as he or she can pass the particular stage of psychosocial

development in his or her life. However, failure to complete stage of the

 21

psychosocial development in someone’s life can lead to unhealthy personality.

The Bell Jar narrates the story of Esther Greenwood, who fails to complete one of

the psychosocial stages in her life. As the consequence, she is not able to pass

through the next stage of her psychosocial development smoothly. Furthermore,

this failure brings many impacts to her personality. The researcher believes that

this novel is one of the representations of humans’ psychosocial development.

To analyze Esther’s psychosocial development and her personality, the

following objectives are proposed: 1) to identify in which stage of the

psychosocial development does Esther unsuccessfully handle the crisis, 2) to

explain the impact of the stage psychosocial development toward Esther’s

personality. The researcher applies Erikson’s psychosocial theory to answer the

question of the research. The theory believes that someone will experience each

stages of psychosocial crisis which will help someone to describe his or her

personality growth. If he or she is able to complete each of the stage, he or she

will have a healthy personality and the other way around. The conceptual

framework of the research can be seen below.

 22

Figure 2. Conceptual Framework

Erikson’s Theory:
Psychosocial Theory

Eight Stages of Development:

1. Trust vs. Mistrust
2. Autonomy vs. Shame & Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar
Doubt
3. Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Industry vs. Inferiority
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion
Words, phrases,
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation clauses, sentences,
8. Integrity vs. Despair paragraphs

RQ. 1 RQ. 2
 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

A. Subject of the Study

The subject of this study is Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. This novel was

published under the pseudonym, Victoria Lucas in 1963. Plath was an American

poet, novelist and short-story writer. She was one of the most dynamic and

admired poets of the twentieth century.

The Bell Jar is the only novel ever written by Plath. The book is semi-

autobiographical of her own life who struggles from mental illness. The novel

describes about the story of Esther Greenwood, who fails to pass a particular stage

of psychosocial development. Furthermore, this failure brings impact to her

personality.

B. Data and Sources of the Data

The source of the data for this research was taken from Plath’s The Bell

Jar. The novel was a pdf document, consisting of 20 chapters and 135 pages. The

researcher read the novel and scrutinized the content comprehensively. The data

taken from the novel were the words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs

which reflected the stages of psychosocial development and the impact of it to the

personality of the main character named Esther Greenwood.

The researcher objectives were (1) to identify in which stage of the

psychosocial development does Esther unsuccessfully handle the crisis, (2) to

23
 24

explain the impact of the stage of psychosocial development toward Esther’s

personality.

C. Research Instruments

This research is a qualitative research. According to Jacob (in James,

1997: p.1), is a generic term for investigative methodologies described as

ethnographic, naturalistic, anthropological, field, or participant observer research.

In this qualitative research, the key instrument of the research was the researcher

herself. During this research, the researcher acted as the planner, main data

collector, and data interpreter or reporter of the research result. In addition, the

researcher also used her own interpretation in analyzing the work based on her

knowledge that was primarily supported by the psychosocial theory by Erikson as

the main guideline.

The researcher used table list as the secondary instrument to ease the work

during the data processing. The data were then identified by giving them certain

label and transformed them into table lists. The table lists were designed in order

to put the quotations of the data based on page, category and meaning.

D. The Technique of Data Collections

In collecting the data, the researcher took four steps. First, the researcher

read the novel which was The Bell Jar. In order to get full understanding of the

content of the novel, the researcher read the work several times carefully and

comprehensively. Second, the researcher collected the data by taking simple notes
 25

of the important words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs related to the

topic. The notes that the researcher took were arranged as documentation for

further analysis. Third, the researcher re- checked the data to find out whether

there were mistakes or irrelevant data to support the analysis or not. The last step

was categorizing the data.

The data were categorized in order to answer the objectives of the

research. To answer the first objective research, i.e. to identify in which stage of

the psychosocial development Esther is unsuccessfully handle the crisis in The

Bell Jar, the researcher used Erikson psychosocial theory focused on the stages of

psychosocial development. To answer second objective research, i.e. to explain

the impact of the stage of psychosocial development toward Esther’s personality,

the researcher also used uses psychosocial theory.

During the process of the data collection, the researcher used a particular

form of data sheet to make it easy to see the progress of her research. The form of

the data sheets were presented below.

Table 1: The Table list of The Data for The Stage of Psychosocial
Development Esther is Unsuccessfully Handle The Crisis

No Quotation Page Category Meaning

1. It was so dark in the bar I could 8 Identity When Esther says “….I’d
hardly make out anything except Diffusion never seen before in my
Doreen. With her white hair and life”, it seems she feels
white dress she was so white she really upset. This line likely
looked silver. I think she must have intends to show that it is
reflected the neons over the bar. I difficult to develop a true
felt myself melting into the sense of self if the
shadows like the negative of a individual does not
person I'd never seen before in recognized by other people
my life. around him or her. Esther is
being trapped as an outsider
or shadow in the place
where there are so many
people around her who
 26

never bother of her

existence

Table 2: The Table List of The Data for The Impact of The Stage of
Psychosocial Development toward Esther’s Personality

No Quotation Page Category Meaning

1. I said to myself: "Doreen is 11 Isolation Instead of having this kind
dissolving, Lenny Shepherd is of feeling, Esther keeps a
dissolving, Frankie is dissolving, distance from Doreen. She
New York is dissolving, they are isolates herself as a result of
all dissolving away and none of her intimacy crisis. The
them matter any more. I don't line “…none of them matter
know them, I have never known anymore. I don’t know
them and I am very pure. All that them” can be interpreted as
liquor and those sticky kisses I saw the state of isolating herself
and the dirt that settled on my skin from her surroundings. By
on the way back is turning into separating herself from
something pure." Doreen, she traps in her
own world.

E. Data Analysis

The processes of data analysis are listed below:

1. All collected data were re-read to sort out the significant data from the

insignificant ones. The insignificant data will be reduced. The significant

data should contain enough information to explain the finding. Those data,

which were in the form of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences, are the

raw data. It functions as the evidence for the finding.

2. The significant data were put into units. Those data in each unit were

classified into some categories. There were two categories of the data.

They were the data of the particular stage of psychosocial development

Esther is unsuccessfully to handle the crisis and the impact of it towards

 27

her personality. These categories were needed to answer the focuses of this

study.

3. To make the inference, the data were examined according to its context

and related theory. In this part, the raw data was changed into the

information that already possesses the meaning. To produce the finding

and the researcher gave description to the raw data that has been analyzed

with the related theory.

4. The trustworthiness of data was checked.

F. Data Trustworthiness

Validity and reliability consider trustworthiness. In order to achieve the

validity of the study, the researcher applied triangulation technique by using other

observers to verify the data. To apply triangulation, the researcher consulted the

data to her thesis advisors to find the correct interpretation. The researcher

considered that the experts’ capability in analyzing literature was in accordance

with the research. Besides her advisors, the researcher also asked some of her

friends from English Language and Literature program especially those who help

the researcher to triangulate the data.

Meanwhile, the reliability of the research was gained by intra-rater

technique, which means that in this study the researcher did a technique of reading

and re-reading the data until she got a certainty of the data with valid

interpretation. The purpose of doing this technique is to keep the consistency of

the data.
 CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

In this research, the researcher presents the discussion of the findings of

the study. This chapter consists of two sub chapters; (1) Esther’s psychosocial

crisis, and (2) the impact of the psychosocial crisis in Esther’s personality. The

first sub chapter focuses on identifying in which stage of psychosocial

development Esther is unable to handle the crisis; i.e. identity vs. role confusion.

The second chapter focuses on the impact of the failure has to Esther’s

personality: (1) intimacy crisis, and (2) isolation.

A. The Stage of Psychosocial Development Esther Fails to Handle: Identity

vs. Role Confusion

In Erikson’s psychosocical stages of development, there is a stage named

identity vs. role confusion. In this stage, someone is becoming more independent

and start to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing,

etc. Erikson uses term versus to describe if someone can pass this stage

completely, she or he will come out with strong identity. However, if he or she

will face role confusion. Thus, in adolescence period, someone is exploring

independence and developing a sense of self or in Erikson’s term it is called as

psychosocial moratorium. The virtue is fidelity. Fidelity is an ability to sustain

loyalties freely pledged in spite of inevitable contradiction of value systems

(Erikson, 1964:125). Fidelity is the foundation upon which a continuous sense of

28
 29

identity is formed. The situation when the adolescent is in environment that does

not provide the necessary space and opportunities to do psychosocial moratorium

results in problems which mark the arising of the identity crisis. The psychosocial

problems in identity crisis are identity diffusion, identity foreclosure and negative

identity. In Esther’s case, the researcher finds the identity diffusion and negative

identity.

1. Identity Diffusion

The first conflict that occurs during the search of sense of self in

adolescence period is identity diffusion. Identity diffusion is one step in the

process of finding a sense of self. It is characterized by an incoherent, disjointed,

incomplete sense of self. When a young person suffers from role confusion, he or

she will experience disruptions in his or her sense of time, excessive self-

consciousness, difficult to make decision, difficult to concentrate on required or

suggested task. Those difficulties will create problem in work or school, in form

relationship and an acute upset.

As a young girl who never goes out from Boston, Esther feels so excited to

explore something new in New York; include the “night life”. However, she has

to face a disappointment because nobody gives her a second look. It is vividly

depicted below.

It was so dark in the bar I could hardly make out anything except Doreen.
With her white hair and white dress she was so white she looked silver. I
think she must have reflected the neons over the bar. I felt myself melting
into the shadows like the negative of a person I'd never seen before in
my life.
(Plath, 1971 : 8)
 30

When Esther says “….I’d never seen before in my life”, it seems she feels

really upset. This line likely intends to show that it is difficult to develop a true

sense of self if the individual does not recognized by other people around him or

her. Esther is being trapped as an outsider or shadow in the place where there are

so many people around her who never bother of her existence. She cannot fir

herself to the new environment and it makes her experiencing the feeling of

disjointed. When Esther gets along with Doreen in a party, Esther introduces

herself as someone else to a young man in the party. "My name's Elly

Higginbottom," I said. "I come from Chicago." After that I felt safer (Plath, 1971:

9). Name is one of the basic symbols of identity. It is very important since it will

help an individual to define his or her personal identity as a member of a certain

group of society. Erikson (1968:50) explains that the choice of personal identity is

based on the perception of the selfsameness and continuity of one’s existence in

certain time and space and the perception of the fact that others recognize one’s

sameness and continuity. In this case, Esther does not want to declare her true

identity to a stranger or a new acquaintance in New York. She prefers to invent a

different name as well as a false origin.

Esther’s disjointed and incomplete sense of self also leads her to an

inability to take a decision on certain things such as what she wants to be in the

future as seen clearly below.

"Of course, you have another year at college yet," Jay Cee went on a little
more mildly. "What do you have in mind after you graduate?"
What I always thought I had in mind was getting some big scholarship to
graduate school or a grant to study all over Europe, and then I thought I'd
 31

be a professor and write books of poems or write books of poems and be

an editor of some sort. Usually I had these plans on the tip of my tongue.
"I don't really know," I heard myself say. I felt a deep shock, hearing
myself say that, because the minute I said it, I knew it was true.
(Plath, 1971: 17)

The above quotation clarifies that Esther is, indeed, confused to take a

decision when Jay Cee asks her about the plan after she graduates from university.

She has many plans in her mind but she does not have courage to make it comes

true because she is not so sure about what she wants to be. It continues when

Esther and her eleven friends take pictures for a magazine cover. Each girl has to

use property as a reflection of their dream in the future. When it comes to Esther’s

turn, she does not know what she has to wear or use to describe herself in the

future. It is seen in the quotation below.

Betsy held an ear of corn to show she wanted to be a farmer's wife, and
Hilda held the bald, faceless head of a hatmaker's dummy to show she
wanted to design hats, and Doreen held a gold-embroidered sari to show
she wanted to be a social worker in India (she didn't really, she told me,
she only wanted to get her hands on a sari).
When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn't know.
(Plath, 1971: 54)

The line “…I wanted to be I didn’t know” can be interpreted as Esther’s

uncertainty to take a choice for herself in the upcoming time. Esther’s difficulty to

make a decision also happens when she tries to write a novel and figure out what

kind of job will suit her. It is clearly stated in the following quotation.

At any rate, I'd be lucky if I wrote a page a day.

Then I knew what the trouble was.
I needed experience.
How could I write about life when I'd never had a love affair or a baby or
even seen anybody die? A girl I knew had just won a prize for a short story
about her adventures among the pygmies in Africa. How could I compete
with that sort of thing? …
At first I felt hopeful.
 32

I thought I might learn shorthand in no time, and when the freckled lady in
the Scholarships Office asked me why I hadn't worked to earn money in
July and August, the way you were supposed to if you were a scholarship
girl, I could tell her I had taken a free shorthand course instead, so I could
support myself right after college.
The only thing was, when I tried to picture myself in some job, briskly
jotting down line after line of shorthand, my mind went blank. There
wasn't one job I felt like doing where you used shorthand. And, as I sat
there and watched, the white chalk curlicues blurred into senselessness.
(Plath, 1971: 65)

Identity diffusion also can be traced from Esther’s excessive self

consciousness. Esther’s excessive self consciousness toward her future grows into

point that she feels insecure and not confident about herself. This particular

feeling exists especially when she is in a situation where she feels difficult to

write a novel and find a job for herself. Thus, it can be said that Esther’s feeling

toward her personal identity is influenced by her own background. She is lack of

experiences. From some points above, it can be concluded that Esther experiences

identity diffusion characterized by some main aspects, i.e. disjointed sense of self,

excessive self consciousness and difficulties to make decision.

2. Negative Identity

Negative identity is one of the results when adolescents loss their sense of

identity. According to Erikson (in Fleming, 2004: 13), negative role identity refers

to the rebellious denial of the expectations of parents or society. The people who

do this action will choose the opposite thing or decision of the expectations. For

example, the son of a police officer decides to join a gang of drug users and

thieves. Esther’s rebellions is shown when she is on her way to a party with
 33

Doreen, their cab is stuck in traffic and at that time they encounter two men who

invite them to a bar. It can be vividly seen below.

When the man in the blue lumber shirt and black chinos and tooled leather
cowboy boots started to stroll over to us from under the striped awning of
the bar where he'd been eyeing our cab, I couldn't have any illusions. I
knew perfectly well he'd come for Doreen. He threaded his way out
between the stopped cars and leaned engagingly on the sill of our open
window. "And what, may I ask, are two nice girls like you doing all alone
in a cab on a nice night like this?" He had a big, wide, white toothpaste-ad
smile. "We're on our way to a party," I blurted, since Doreen had gone
suddenly dumb as a post and was fiddling in a blasé way with her white
lace pocketbook cover. "That sounds boring," the man said. "Whyn't you
both join me for a couple of drinks in that bar over there? I've some friends
waiting as well." He nodded in the direction of several informally dressed
men slouching around under the awning. They had been following him
with their eyes, and when he glanced back at them, they burst out
laughing. The laughter should have warned me. It was a kind of low,
know-it-all snicker, but the traffic showed signs of moving again, and I
knew that if I sat tight, in two seconds I'd be wishing I'd taken this gift of a
chance to see something of New York besides what the people on the
magazine had planned out for us so carefully. "How about it, Doreen?" I
said. "How about it, Doreen?" the man said, smiling his big smile. To this
day I can't remember what he looked like when he wasn't smiling. I think
he must have been smiling the whole time. It must have been natural for
him, smiling like that. "Well, all right," Doreen said to me. I opened the
door, and we stepped out of the cab just as it was edging ahead again
and started to walk over to the bar.
(Plath, 1971: 7)

As a guest editor in New York, Esther and the other girls have schedule

that they have to follow. One of them is attending party. However, the last three

lines shows that Esther and Doreen can easily decide to skip the party and go to

the bar with those strange men instead. Esther in this situation can be seen as a girl

who is not sure about her self-identity, trapped in diffusion status and do a

rebellion as the result. It is coherent with Erikson’s statement (in Shaffer, 2008:

191) that individuals without a clear identity would eventually become depressed

and lack in self-confidence as they drift aimlessly, trapped in the “diffusion”

 34

status or alternatively they might heartily embrace “negative identity” becoming a

“black sheep”, a “delinquent”, a “rebellion” or a “loser”.

Esther’s relationships with many different men in her life are also

examples of her rebellion towards cultural norms. First is Esther’s relation with

her physics and chemistry professor, Mr. Manzi. She considers Mr. Manzi as a

dominant male figure. Since he is a professor, he has right to control the class.

However, she does not want Mr. him to control her and her action can be seen

below.

That's what gave me the idea of escaping the next semester of chemistry. I
may have made a straight A in physics, but I was panic-struck. Physics
made me sick the whole time I learned it....
So I went to my Class Dean with a clever plan.
My plan was that I needed the time to take a course in Shakespeare, since I
was, after all, an English major. She knew and I knew perfectly well I
would get a straight A again in the chemistry course, so what was the point
of my taking the exams; why couldn't I just go to the classes and look on
and take it all in and forget about marks or credits? It was a case of honor
among honorable people, and the content meant more than the form, and
marks were really a bit silly anyway, weren't they, when you knew you'd
always get an A? My plan was strengthened by the fact that the college
had just dropped the second year of required science for the classes after
me anyway, so my class was the last to suffer under the old ruling.
Mr. Manzi was in perfect agreement with my plan. I think it flattered him
that I enjoyed his classes so much I take them for no materialistic reason
like credit and an A,but for the sheer beauty of chemistry itself.
(Plath, 1971: 21)

The passage indicates that Esther hates Mr. Manzi’s subjects. However,

she still manages to get an A in his class. This condition helps her to find a plan

where she will not have to take exams in his chemistry course. He allows her not

to take exams with consideration that she is a perfect student and will pay

attention in his class. However, she is very deceitful as seen clearly below.
 35

I went to the chemistry class five times a week and didn't miss a single
one. Mr. Manzi stood at the bottom of the big, rickety old amphitheater,
making blue flames and red flares and clouds of yellow stuff by pouring
the contents of one test tube into another, and I shut his voice out of my
ears by pretending it was only a mosquito in the distance and sat back
enjoying the bright lights and the colored fires and wrote page after page
of villanelles and sonnets.
Mr. Manzi would glance at me now and then and see me writing, and send
up a sweet little appreciative smile. I guess he thought I was writing down
all those formulas not for exam time, like the other girls, but because his
presentation fascinated me so much I couldn't help it.
(Plath, 1971: 21)

Those lines illustrate how Esther pretends that she pays attention to Mr.

Manzi class while actually she considers his voice as a mosquito from the

distance. Her attitudes in his class show that she has successfully tricked her male

professor. She clearly rebels against cultural norms by defeating the particular

male figure. Another passage, which describes the rebellion of Esther towards

cultural norms, can be seen below.

Ever since Buddy Willard had told me about that waitress I had been
thinking I ought to go out and sleep with somebody myself. Sleeping with
Buddy wouldn't count, though, because he would still be one person ahead
of me, it would have to be with somebody else.
(Plath, 1971: 42)

When Esther was nineteen, pureness was the great issue and she still holds

that belief. However, after knowing that Buddy Willard, the man she loves, has

lost his virginity, she determines to do the same. It clearly breaks the cultural

norms that women should keep their virginity until marriage. Nevertheless, Esther

feels that it is fair for women to be expected to be pure but it is acceptable for a

man to “have a double life”. Esther’s objection about the idea of virginity can be

seen below.
 36

It might be nice to be pure and then to marry a pure man, but what if he
suddenly confessed he wasn't pure after we were married, the way Buddy
Willard had? I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single
pure life and a man being able to have a double life, one pure and one not.
(Plath, 1963: 44)

The identity crisis is marked by the rising of three psychosocial conflicts

during psychosocial moratorium in adolescence, they are identity diffusion,

identity foreclosure, and negative identity. However, in Esther’s case there are

only two psychosocial conflicts i.e identity diffusion and negative identity. From

the various problems in Esther’s psychosocial moratorium, it can be said that she

suffers from identity crisis. Adolescents who successfully handle the conflict

identity emerge with a strong new sense of self, while those who cannot

successfully pass the identity crisis will suffer from what Erikson calls as identity

diffusion. Based on the findings above, it can be concluded that Esther is unable

to handle her problems and she suffers from identity diffusion, whereas identity is

very important to develop a personality and relationships with others in the next

stage; intimacy vs. isolation.

B. The Impact of Psychosocial Development: Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson (1959 : 134) states that the Intimacy vs. Isolation is the core

conflict which follows Identity vs. Role Confusion. Based on the previous

findings, Esther fails to complete the crisis in one of psychosocial stages called

role confusion. Since role confusion deals with identity, Esther experiences an

identity crisis that makes her has no strong sense of identity when she enters

adulthood. Furthermore, it does give impact to her personality. Erikson believes

 37

that a strong sense of personal identity is important to developing intimate

relationships. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead

to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression.

1. Intimacy Crisis

Erikson (1977: 237) describes intimacy as “the capacity to commit himself

to concrete affiliations and partnerships and to develop the ethical strength to

abide by such commitments, even though they may call for significant sacrifices

and compromises”. Thus, the significant relation in this stage is partners and

friends. In the case of intimacy, as in the case of identity, success or failure no

longer depends on the parents but only indirectly as they contributed to

individual’s success or failure at the earlier stages. Erikson (1968) states that

where a youth cannot resolve such tension, he or she will enter intimacy crisis

which is marked by some careless acts such as throw away into acts of intimacy

which are immoral without true fusion or real self abandon. During her

adolescence, Esther builds intimacy with some people. To understand the pattern

of her personality, it is important to scrutinize her behavior toward her

relationship with each person.

The first intimacy happens with Doreen, a beautiful woman from South.

She is very sophisticated and does not want to do boring activities with others.

Doreen is a problem for Esther because she often puts Esther in difficult

situations. However, in this relationship, Esther uses Doreen to cover her anxiety
 38

and to learn something rather than to really feel the friendship itself. It can be seen

in the following quotation,

The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman.

Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my odd color,
but being with Doreen made me forget my worries. I felt wise and cynical
as all hell.
(Plath, 1971: 5)

Esther’s failure in the adolescence stage does give impact to her

personality. In this case, the way she behaves, feels, and thinks. Because she does

not have strong sense of self. In fact, her confidence is low. She feels so worry

about her performance and is afraid if it does not suit her. Though finally, she can

overcome her anxiousness by being with Doreen. Knowing Doreen’s background

is as a member of a higher society class makes her feel safe to get along with a lot

of people. It can be said that Esther is having friendship with Doreen without a

true fusion. Esther uses this relationship to learn something new from Doreen.

"Sure I'll come," I said. Frankie had wilted away into the night, so I
thought I'd string along with Doreen. I wanted to see as much as I could….
I certainly learned a lot of things I never would have learned otherwise this
way, and even when they surprised me or made me sick I never let on, but
pretended that's the way I knew things were all the time.”
(Plath, 1971: 8).

A friendship between two people is supposed to occur because of a sincere

and real connection of feeling. Esther puts her friendship with Doreen as a

medium for her to get along with society and learn about something new for her

life. From the beginning, she does not really want to be Doreen’s friend because

she considers her as a problem. This is why later, she wants to end her

relationship with Doreen as seen below.

 39

I decided the only thing to do was to dump her on the carpet and shut and
lock my door and go back to bed.........I made a decision about Doreen that
night. I decided I would watch her and listen to what she said, but deep
down I would have nothing at all to do with her.
(Plath, 1971: 12)

Esther ‘s second intimacy happens with Constantine. He is a simultaneous

interpreter. He gets her number from Mrs. Willard. In this second relation,

Constantine pulls her into his life and she falls into that. It is depicted vividly in

the quotation below.

Gradually I realized that Constantin was trying to arrange a meeting for us

later in the day. "Would you like to see the UN this afternoon?" "I can
already see the UN," I told him, with a little hysterical giggle…. There was
a silence. Then he said, "Maybe you would like a bite to eat afterward."
(Plath, 1971: 26-27)

The meeting and lunch invitation given by Constantine leads Esther to

throw away herself to Constantin’s possession effortlessly. This can be interpreted

as an act of throwing away into intimacy without true fusion or real self abandon.

Since she has no strong sense of identity, it is hard for her to handle her own life.

Instead, she throws herself into an intimacy which she only wants to fulfill her

desire as seen below.

The more I thought about it the better I liked the idea of being seduced by
a simultaneous interpreter in New York City. Constantin seemed mature
and considerate in every way. There were no people I knew he would want
to brag to about it, the way college boys bragged about sleeping with girls
in the backs of cars to their roommates or their friends on the basketball
team. And there would be a pleasant irony in sleeping with a man Mrs.
Willard had introduced me to, as if she were, in a roundabout way, to
blame for it.
(Plath, 1971: 41)

Esther’s failure in the adolescence stage does give impact to his

personality, in this case, the way she behaves, feels, and thinks. Since she does not
 40

have a strong sense of self, her confidence is low. She has a low power to decide

or refuse something in her life. It happens when she is with Mr. Willard, Buddy’s

father. Mr. Willard asks her to accompany him to visit Buddy’s sanatorium. She

does not feel like going as she avoids Buddy Willard, but she cannot say it to Mr.

Willard. It is shown in the following quotation:

I was tempted to tell Mr. Willard to go ahead alone, I would hitchhike

home. But one glance at Mr. Willard's face -- the silver hair in its boyish
crew cut, the clear blue eyes, the pink cheeks, all frosted like a sweet
wedding cake with the innocent, trusting expression -- and I knew I
couldn't do it. I'd have to see the visit through to the end.
(Plath, 1971: 45)

According to Erikson (1959: 134), if an individual does not have a strong

sense of self or in Erikson’s term called as identity diffusion, that individual will

suffer from intimacy crisis. The identity confusion as a result of Esther’s failure

to handle identity crisis in adolescence stage makes her fail to understand of her

true sense of self and her direction toward her life in adulthood stage. In the end,

it does give impact to her personality. Her personality shown in the way she

behaves, feels and thinks. Esther’s attempt to seek intimacy with Doreen and

some men, underlines her personality, i.e. careless, impulsive, discouraged and

unable to make decision.

2. Isolation

Erikson (2005: 136) uses term distantiation as the counterpart of intimacy.

It is the readiness to repudiate, isolate, and destroy those forces and people whose

essence seems dangerous to one’s own. In addition, Erikson (2005: 135-136) says

that if a person cannot complete such intimate relationship with others in late
 41

adolescence or early adulthood, he or she may settle for highly stereotyped

interpersonal relations and come to retain a deep sense of isolation that later will

make him or her unable to feel himself. In the previous findings, it has been

described that Esther suffers from intimacy crisis. She throws away herself into

doubtful relationships without true fusion. Finally, that intimacy crisis brings

loneliness to Esther as seen below.

There is something demoralizing about watching two people get more and
more crazy about each other, especially when you are the only extra
person in the room. It's like watching Paris from an express caboose
heading in the opposite direction -- every second the city gets smaller and
smaller, only you feel it's really you getting smaller and smaller and
lonelier and lonelier, rushing away from all those lights and that
excitement at about a million miles an hour.
(Plath, 1971: 9)

Esther decides to follow Doreen to Lenny’s apartment. However, in the

apartment both of Doreen and Lenny are enjoying their time together. Esther as an

extra person in that room feels isolated as she is unable to build up an intimate

relationship in the party. The line “…only you feel it's really you getting smaller

and smaller and lonelier and lonelier…” indicates Esther’s feeling of loneliness.

The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own
silence. I knew perfectly well the cars were making noise, and the people
in them and behind the lit windows of the buildings were making a noise,
and the river was making a nowise, but I couldn't hear a thing. The city
hung in my window, flat as a poster, glittering and blinking, but it might
just as well not have been there at all, for all the good it did me.
(Plath, 1971: 10)

The quotation above gives a sense of loneliness and depression. It

describes how the weak sense of identity and intimacy crisis depresses Esther. As

Erikson (2007: p.2) states that someone with a poor sense of self tends to have

less committed relationships and is more likely to suffer from emotional isolation,
 42

loneliness, and depression. These feelings are the impact of Esther’s failure to

attract the attention of the people in the party, as a result she is unable to develop

intimate relationship with them. Esther decides to sneak out from Lenny’s

apartment and goes back to the hotel. When she stands beside the window and

look down to the city’s view, she thinks that New York should bring happiness to

her but her depression arises again when she remembers how difficult for her to

speak and express herself like the other girls do in this big country. It depresses

her then she describes it as the “silence” that makes her feel sad all the time.

Another passage which describes the isolation of Esther because of intimacy

crisis, can be seen below.

I said to myself: "Doreen is dissolving, Lenny Shepherd is dissolving,

Frankie is dissolving, New York is dissolving, they are all dissolving away
and none of them matter any more. I don't know them, I have never
known them and I am very pure. All that liquor and those sticky kisses I
saw and the dirt that settled on my skin on the way back is turning into
something pure."
(Plath, 1971: 11)

Friendship should be a bond between two people or more who understand

each other and share the same connection. Instead of having this kind of feeling,

Esther keeps a distance from Doreen. She isolates herself as a result of her

intimacy crisis. The line “…none of them matter anymore. I don’t know them”

can be interpreted as the state of isolating herself from her surroundings. By

separating herself from Doreen, she traps in her own world. After parting her

relation from Doreen, she starts to retreat from the enticements of life. This

situation makes Esther become jealous and depressed as seen below.

I told Doreen I would not go to the show or the luncheon or the film
première, but that I would not go to Coney Island either, I would stay in
 43

bed. After Doreen left, I wondered why I couldn't go the whole way doing
what I should any more. This made me sad and tired. Then I wondered
why I couldn't go the whole way doing what I shouldn't, the way Doreen
did, and this made me even sadder and more tired.
(Plath, 1971: 16)

Esther’s separation from Doreen does not only make her feel jealous and

depressed, but also brings loneliness to her life. She thinks about her relationship

with Buddy Williard as she lies on the bed feeling lonely. However, after she

finds out that Buddy betrays her love with a waitress; Esther knows that her dream

to marry him will not come true. It is in the following passage.

As I lay there in my white hotel bed feeling lonely and weak, I thought I
was up in that sanatorium in the Adirondacks, and I felt like a heel of the
worst sort. In his letters Buddy kept telling me how he was reading poems
by a poet who was also a doctor and how he'd found out about some
famous dead Russian short-story writer who had been a doctor too, so
maybe doctors and writers could get along fine after all. Now this was a
very different tune from what Buddy Willard had been singing all the two
years we were getting to know each other. I remember the day he smiled at
me and said, "Do you know what a poem is, Esther?"
(Plath, 1971: 29)

As previously mentioned, Erikson (2007: p.2) states that a person with a

poor sense of self tends to have less committed relationships and is more likely to

suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression. In this case, Esther’s

depression is getting worse when she realizes that suddenly she cannot read letters

she gets. The words become so hard to interpret. She explains that the words

tinkle up and down in a silly way. Esther feels the words turn into Arabic or

Chinese words which then make her unable to read them. The quotation can be

seen below.

I squinted at the page.

 44

The letters grew barbs and rams' horns. I watched them separate, each
from the other, and jiggle up and down in a silly way. Then they associated
themselves in fantastic, untranslatable shapes, like Arabic or Chinese.
(Plath, 1971: 65)

Not only that she cannot read, but she also stops to take bath. “I hadn't

washed my hair for three weeks, either” (Plath, 1971: 66). Esther thinks the idea

of washing her body is silly because today she has to wash and does it again later.

It is worsen when her depression is heightened by her inability to sleep. “I hadn't

slept for seven nights” (Plath, 1971: 66). She cannot sleep for seven days without

feeling exhausted. She has tried sleeping pills but it does not work on her.

One morning, Esther writes a letter to Doreen who lives in West Virginia

about whether or not she is welcomed to be her house mate there. Surprisingly,

she finds out that she is no longer able to write well, her writing is a mess that

eventually she does not send the letter to Doreen.

But when I took up my pen, my hand made big, jerky letters like those of a
child, and the lines sloped down the page from left to right almost
diagonally, as if they were loops of string lying on the paper, and someone
had come along and blown them askew.
(Plath, 1971: 68)

Another uncommon conduct influenced by her depression is Esther’s

attempt to commit suicide. It is coherent with Erikson’s statement that indeed,

many adolescents who are stuck in the diffusion status are highly apathetic and do

express a sense of hopelessness about the future, sometimes even becoming

suicidal. Esther’s first attempt to kill herself is taking place in the bathroom. She

uses a razor and then she cuts her wrist yet it fails. It is depicted vividly below.

That morning I had made a start.

I had locked myself in the bathroom, and run a tub full of warm water, and
taken out a Gillette blade. When they asked some old Roman philosopher
 45

or other how he wanted to die, he said he would open his veins in a warm
bath. I thought it would be easy, lying in the tub and seeing the redness
flower from my wrists, flush after flush through the clear water, till I sank
to sleep under a surf gaudy as poppies. But when it came right down to it,
the skin of my wrist looked so white and defenseless that I couldn't do it. It
was as if what I wanted to kill wasn't in that skin or the thin blue pulse that
jumped under my thumb, but somewhere else, deeper, more secret, a
whole lot harder to get at. It would take two motions. One wrist, then the
other wrist. Three motions, if you counted changing the razor from hand to
hand. Then I would step into the tub and lie down. I moved in front of the
medicine cabinet. If I looked in the mirror while I did it, it would be like
watching somebody else, in a book or a play. But the person in the mirror
was paralyzed and too stupid to do a thing. Then I thought maybe I ought
to spill a little blood for practice, so I sat on the edge of the tub and crossed
my right ankle over my left knee. Then I lifted my right hand with the
razor and let it drop of its own weight, like a guillotine, onto the calf of my
leg. I felt nothing. Then I felt a small, deep thrill, and a bright seam of red
welled up at the lip of the slash. The blood gathered darkly, like fruit,
and rolled down my ankle into the cup of my black patent leather
shoe. I thought of getting into the tub then, but I realized my dallying
had used up the better part of the morning, and that my mother would
probably come home and find me before I was done. So I bandaged the
cut, packed up my Gillette blades and caught the eleven-thirty bus to
Boston.
(Plath, 1971: 77)

The line “The blood gathered darkly, like fruit, and rolled down my ankle

into the cup of my black patent leather shoe. I thought of getting into the tub then,

but I realized my dallying had used up the better part of the morning, and that my

mother would probably come home and find me before I was done” shows that

Esther is not successfully in her first attempt to commit suicide as she afraid if her

mother will catch her red-handed trying to kill herself. However, she does not stop

there. She repeats her intention of committing suicide in a different occasion. On a

picnic at the beach with friends Esther means to drown herself in the ocean. It

does not happen as her friends are around, swimming with her too which in a way

prevent her from conducting her action. This scene can be clearly seen below.
 46

I thought drowning must be the kindest way to die, and burning the worst.
Some of those babies in the jars that Buddy Willard showed me had gills,
he said. They went through a stage where they were just like fish. A little,
rubbishy wavelet, full of candy wrappers and orange peel and seaweed,
folded over my foot.
I heard the sand thud behind me, and Cal came up.
"Let's swim to that rock out there." I pointed at it
"Are you crazy? That's a mile out."
"What are you?" I said. "Chicken?"
Cal took me by the elbow and jostled me into the water. When we were
waist high, he pushed me under. I surfaced, splashing, my eyes seared with
salt. Underneath, the water was green and semi-opaque as a hunk of
quartz. I started to swim, a modified dogpaddle, keeping my face toward
the rock. Cal did a slow crawl. After a while he put his head up and
treaded water.
"Can't make it." He was panting heavily.
"Okay. You go back."
I thought I would swim out until I was too tired to swim back. As I
paddled on, my heartbeat boomed like a dull motor in my ears.
(Plath, 1971: 82)

Esther’s second attempt fails after Cal follows her. She cannot drown

herself when there is a company with her. Nevertheless, those two unsuccessful

attempts do not stop her from making another attempt to commit suicide. Her

third attempt is by hanging herself in her house which unfortunately has low

ceilings. Of course she remains alive and this is another futile effort. It is depicted

vividly below.

That morning I had tried to hang myself.

I had taken the silk cord of my mother's yellow bathrobe as soon as she left
for work, and, in the amber shade of the bedroom, fashioned it into a knot
that slipped up and down on itself. It took me a long time to do this,
because I was poor at knots and had no idea how to make a proper one.
Then I hunted around for a place to attach the rope. The trouble was, our
house had the wrong kind of ceilings. The ceilings were low, white and
smoothly plastered, without a light fixture or a wood beam in sight.
(Plath, 1971: 82)

One day, Esther runs away from the hospital to visit her father’s

graveyard. When she knows that the graveyard is behind a church, Esther goes to
 47

the church to ask for help. She knows that Catholic forbid the action of suicide

because it is a dreadful sin. She wishes the church to help her particularly in

getting rid of the idea about committing suicide. The quotation can be seen below:

Lately I had considered going into the Catholic Church myself. I knew the
Catholics thought killing yourself was an awful sin. But perhaps, if this
was so, they might have a good way to persuade me out of it.
(Plath, 1971: 86)

The line “ … they might have a good way to persuade me out of it” shows

her hopelessness. As Erikson says (in Shaffer, 2008 : 192) that many adolescents

who are stuck in the diffusion status are highly apathetic and do express a sense of

hopelessness about future. Esther tries to kill herself for three times but always

fail because she knows that commit suicide is an awful sin. That is why she goes

to the church and hopes that she will get help there. Furthermore, Esther assumes

her depression as the bell jar. She explains that wherever she goes, she will be

trapped in her own mind and inside herself. There is nothing can ameliorate her

condition, no matter how new and exciting the condition around her, as stated in

the quotation below:

I knew I should be grateful to Mrs. Guinea, only I couldn't feel a thing. If

Mrs. Guinea had given me a ticket to Europe, or a round-the-world cruise,
it wouldn't have made one scrap of difference to me, because wherever I
sat -- on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok -- I
would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.
(Plath, 1971: 97)

When Esther stays in the hospital to get treatment for her depression, she

has many visitors. However, Esther hates to be visited. She wants to be alone. It

can be interpreted that Esther wants to isolate herself from the people she knows

and get some peace by being alone as can be seen below.

 48

I hated these visits, because I kept feeling the visitors measuring my fat
and stringy hair against what I had been and what they wanted me to be,
and I knew they went away utterly confounded. I thought if they left me
alone I might have some peace.
(Plath, 1971: 106)

In Esther’s birthday, her mother comes to visit Esther in the hospital with a

bouquet of roses. However, Esther does not remember about her birthday. In this

scene, Esther’s sense of hopelessness again occurs. She asks her mother to save

the flowers for her funeral. It is in the following quotation.

That afternoon my mother had brought me the roses.

"Save them for my funeral," I'd said.
My mother's face puckered, and she looked ready to cry.
"But Esther, don't you remember what day it is today?"
"No."
I thought it might be Saint Valentine's day. "It's your birthday."
And that was when I had dumped the roses in the waste-basket.
(Plath, 1971: 106)

The line “Save them for my funeral,” describes how Esther is longing for

death. Esther’s death urges comes from her helpless feeling. She feels trap in her

own mind and herself so nobody and nothing can help her but death. As stated by

Erikson (1959: 134) that when a young individual has no strong sense of identity

or suffers from identity confusion in the late adolescence, he or she will have

interpersonal fusion which cause some acute malignancies in adulthood stage and

give impact to personality. He also emphasizes that an individual who develops a

healthy identity is flexible and adaptive, open to changes in society, relationships

and careers.

In this finding, Esther is unsuccessful to develop a healthy identity thus

she has some malignancies which is in accordance to Erikson’s theory. He named

them as intimacy crisis and isolation. At the end, Esther grows into someone who
 49

is not adaptive and flexible. She also has difficulty to open to changes in society.

She does not only suffers from identity confusion in adolescence stage but also

suffers from intimacy crisis in adulthood. She becomes a careless and impulsive

woman. Therefore, she turns out to be a depressive lonely person.

 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

After analyzing Plath’s The Bell Jar, especially the psychosocial

development of Esther Greenwood, the researcher drew conclusion related to the

research focus and objectives of the research. The conclusions are formulated into

the following points:

1. In relation to the healthy balanced outcomes of Erikson’s psychosocial theory

of Esther as an individual, the researcher finds a particular stage which Esther

is unsuccessful to handle the crisis. It is Identity vs. Role Confusion. The

psychosocial crisis that she has to deal with in this stage is related to the sense

of self and the social relationships. Based on the findings, it is clearly seen

that she cannot achieve the healthy balanced outcome of identity vs. role

confusion stage which then cause the identity crisis. Thus, she has to face

some problems in this identity crisis. They are identity diffusion and negative

identity. Esther experiences identity diffusion which characterized by some

main aspects, i.e. disjointed sense of self, excessive self consciousness and

difficulties to make decision. Meanwhile, her negative identity can be seen in

her rebellious behavior.

2. The Bell Jar narrates about Esther Greenwood’s personal life. The novel puts

highlight during her adolescence and adulthood. It is clearly seen in the

findings that Esther’s failure of passing the particular stage of psychosocial

development, identity vs. role confusion gives impact to her personality.

50
 51

There are two problems that she has to encounter with, they are intimacy

crisis and isolation. Those problems make her develops grows into someone

who is not adaptive and flexible. She becomes a careless and impulsive

woman. Furthermore, she turns out to be a depressive lonely person.

 REFERENCES

Printed Sources:

Brown. C. and Lowis, M. J. 2003. Psychosocial Development in The Elderly: An

Investigation Into Erikson’s Ninth Stage. Journal of Aging Studies.

Erikson, Erik. 1959. Identity and The Life Cycle. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, Inc.

Erikson, Erik. 1964. Childhood and Society. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, Inc.

Erikson, Erik. 1968. Identity Youth and Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton &
Company, Inc.

Iswalono, Sugi et.al. 2008. Blanche Dan Dan Stanley, Dual Alter-Ego Tennessee
Williams Dalam A Streetcar Named Desire: Sebuah Tinjauan Psikoanalisis.
FBS Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta.

Mayer, John D. 2007. Asserting the Definition of Personality: The Online

Newsletter for Personality Science Issue 1.

Plath, Sylvia. 1971. The Bell Jar. Harper & Row, Publisher.

Shaffer, David. 2008. Social and Personality Development. Cengage Learning.

Siswanto, Wahyudi. 1993. Psikologi Sastra. Malang : Proyek OPF IKIP Malang.

Siswantoro. 2005. Metode Penelitian Sastra: Analisis Psikologis. Jakarta:

Muhammadiyah University Press.

Woodward, Kathryn. 1977. Identity and Difference. London: Sage Publication

Ltd.

52
 53

Electronic Sources:

“9. Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental Stages” James S. Fleming, Ph. D.

2004. Taken from: http://swppr.org/textbook/ch%209%20erikson.pdf
retrieved on August 1, 2014.

“Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development” 2007. Taken from :

http://info.psu.edu.sa/psu/maths/Erikson's%20Theory%20of%20Psychosoci
al%20Development%20(2).pdf retrieved on August 2, 2014.

“Module R14 Qualitative Research” James P. Key 1997. Taken from:

http://www.okstate.edu/ag/agedcm4h/academic/aged5980a/5980/newpage21
.htm retrieved on August 2, 2014.

“The basic of Social Psychology” Brown 2005. Taken from:

http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/9905_045096ch01.pdf. retrieved on
August 1, 2014.
 54

APPENDIX
THE STAGE and IMPACT of ESTHER’S PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
A. The Stage of Psychosocial Development That Esther is Unsuccessfully Handled The Crisis

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

1. When the man in the blue lumber 5 Negative Esther’s rebellions is shown when she is on her way to a
shirt and black chinos and tooled Identity party with Doreen, their cab is stuck in traffic and at that
leather cowboy boots started to stroll time they encounter two men who invite them to a bar.
over to us from under the striped Esther and Doreen are easily decide to skip the party and
awning of the bar where he'd been go to the bar with those strange men instead. Esther in this
eyeing our cab, I couldn't have any situation can be seen as a girl who is not sure about her
illusions. I knew perfectly well he'd self-identity, trapped in diffusion status and as the result
come for Doreen. He threaded his she does a rebellion.
way out between the stopped cars and
leaned engagingly on the sill of our
open window. "And what, may I ask,
are two nice girls like you doing all
alone in a cab on a nice night like
this?" He had a big, wide, white
toothpaste-ad smile. "We're on our
way to a party," I blurted, since
Doreen had gone suddenly dumb as a
post and was fiddling in a blasé way
with her white lace pocketbook cover.
"That sounds boring," the man said.
"Whyn't you both join me for a
couple of drinks in that bar over
 55

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

there? I've some friends waiting as
well." He nodded in the direction of
several informally dressed men
slouching around under the awning.
They had been following him with
their eyes, and when he glanced back
at them, they burst out laughing. The
laughter should have warned me. It
was a kind of low, know-it-all
snicker, but the traffic showed signs
of moving again, and I knew that if I
sat tight, in two seconds I'd be
wishing I'd taken this gift of a chance
to see something of New York
besides what the people on the
magazine had planned out for us so
carefully. "How about it, Doreen?" I
said. "How about it, Doreen?" the
man said, smiling his big smile. To
this day I can't remember what he
looked like when he wasn't smiling. I
think he must have been smiling the
whole time. It must have been natural
for him, smiling like that. "Well, all
right," Doreen said to me. I opened
the door, and we stepped out of the
cab just as it was edging ahead again
 56

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

and started to walk over to the bar.
2. For a minute I had a wild hope we 6 Identity Esther hopes to talk with someone in the party. However,
might pair off according to size, Diffusion the one she wants to talk to goes to Doreen without
which would line me up with the man recognize her existence. It is difficult for Esther to develop
who had spoken to us in the first a true sense of self if she does not recognized by other
place, and he cleared a good six feet, people around her. It makes her experiencing the feeling of
but he went ahead with Doreen and disjointed though in the end she tries to hide it.
didn't give me a second look. I tried to
pretend I didn't see Frankie dogging
along at my elbow and sat close by
Doreen at the table.
3. It was so dark in the bar I could 6 Identity Esther’s quote likely intends to say that it is difficult to
hardly make out anything except Diffusion develop a true sense of self if the individual does not
Doreen. With her white hair and recognized by other person around him or her. Esther is
white dress she was so white she being trapped as an outsider or shadow in the place where
looked silver. I think she must have there are so many people over there who never bother that
reflected the neons over the bar. I felt she is exist. It makes her experiencing the feeling of
myself melting into the shadows like disjointed.
the negative of a person I'd never seen
before in my life.

4. "My name's Elly Higginbottom," I 7 Identity Esther does not want to declare her true identity to a
said. "I come from Chicago." After Diffusion stranger or a new acquaintance in New York. She prefers to
that I felt safer invent a different name as well as a false origin.
5. I slid into the self-service elevator 10 Identity Esther is confused to identify herself. She even thought
and pushed the button for my floor. Diffusion herself as someone else at the first time.
The doors folded shut like a
 57

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

noiseless accordion. Then my ears
went funny, and I noticed a big,
smudgy-eyed Chinese woman staring
idiotically into my face. It was only
me, of course. I was appalled to see
how wrinkled and used up I looked
6. All my life I'd told myself studying 17 Identity Esther is the best student in her college but when she is in
and reading and writing and working Diffusion New York she feels like all of her achievements are
like mad was what I wanted to do, nothing since she is confused about what she has to do
and it actually seemed to be true, I did there.
everything well enough and got all
A's, and by the time I made it to
college nobody could stop me. I was
college correspondent for the town
Gazette and editor of the literary
magazine and secretary of Honor
Board, which deals with academic
and social offenses and punishments -
- a popular office -- and I had a well
known woman poet and professor
on the faculty championing me for
graduate school at the biggest
universities in the east, and promises
of full scholarships all the way, and
now I was apprenticed to the best
editor on an intellectual fashion
 58

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

magazine, and what did I do but balk
and balk like a dull cart horse?
7. "Of course, you have another year at 17 Identity Esther is confused to take a decision when Jay Cee asks her
college yet," Jay Cee went on a little Diffusion about the plan after she graduates from university. She has
more mildly. "What do you have in many plans in her mind but she does not have courage to
mind after you graduate?" make it comes true because actually she does not know yet
What I always thought I had in mind what she wants to be.
was getting some big scholarship to
graduate school or a grant to study all
over Europe, and then I thought I'd be
a professor and write books of poems
or write books of poems and be an
editor of some sort. Usually I had
these plans on the tip of my tongue.
"I don't really know," I heard myself
say. I felt a deep shock, hearing
myself say that, because the minute I
said it, I knew it was true.

8. That's what gave me the idea of 19 Negative Esther hates Mr. Manzi’s subjects. However, she still
escaping the next semester of Identity manages to get A in his class. This condition helps her to
chemistry. I may have made a straight find a plan where she will not have to take exams in Mr.
A in physics, but I was panic-struck. Manzi’s chemistry course. Mr. Manzi allows Esther not to
Physics made me sick the whole time take exams with consideration that she is a perfect student
I learned it.... and will always pay attention in his class.
So I went to my Class Dean with a
clever plan.
 59

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

My plan was that I needed the time to
take a course in Shakespeare, since I
was, after all, an English major. She
knew and I knew perfectly well I
would get a straight A again in the
chemistry course, so what was the
point of my taking the exams; why
couldn't I just go to the classes and
look on and take it all in and forget
about marks or credits? It was a case
of honor among honorable people,
and the content meant more than the
form, and marks were really a bit silly
anyway, weren't they, when you knew
you'd always get an A? My plan was
strengthened by the fact that the
college had just dropped the second
year of required science for the
classes after me anyway, so my class
was the last to suffer under the old
ruling.
Mr. Manzi was in perfect agreement
with my plan. I think it flattered him
that I enjoyed his classes so much I
take them for no materialistic reason
like credit and an A,but for the sheer
beauty of chemistry itself.
 60

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

9. I went to the chemistry class five 19 Negative Those lines illustrate how Esther pretends that she pays
times a week and didn't miss a single Identity attention to Mr. Manzi class while actually she considers
one. Mr. Manzi stood at the bottom of Mr. Manzi’s voice as a mosquito in the distance. Esther’s
the big, rickety old amphitheater, attitudes in Mr. Ramzi class show that she has successfully
making blue flames and red flares and tricked her male professor. She clearly rebels against
clouds of yellow stuff by pouring the cultural norms by defeating the particular male figure.
contents of one test tube into another,
and I shut his voice out of my ears by
pretending it was only a mosquito in
the distance and sat back enjoying the
bright lights and the colored fires and
wrote page after page of villanelles
and sonnets.
Mr. Manzi would glance at me now
and then and see me writing, and send
up a sweet little appreciative smile. I
guess he thought I was writing down
all those formulas not for exam time,
like the other girls, but because his
presentation fascinated me so much I
couldn't help it
10. My own mother wasn't much help. 20 Identity Esther shows her disappointment toward her mother by
My mother had taught shorthand and Diffusion blaming her that she does not help and support her.
typing to support us ever since my
father died, and secretly she hated it
and hated him for dying and
 61

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

leaving no money because he didn't
trust life insurance salesmen. She was
always on to me to learn shorthand
after college, so I'd have a practical
skill as well as a college degree.
"Even the apostles were tentmakers,"
she'd say. "They had to live, just the
way we do."
11. I was surprised to hear this, because 30 Identity Esther’s excessive self consciousness toward her
of all the blind dates I'd had that year Diffusion socialization with others grows into point that she feels
not one called me up again for a insecure and not confident about herself. This particular
second date. I just didn't have any feeling exist especially when she is in a situation where she
luck. I hated coming downstairs has to meet new people and has to introduce herself. she
sweaty-handed and curious every does not know much about how to socialize with others
Saturday night and having some when all she knows is only about study.
senior introduce me to her aunt's best
friend's son and finding some pale,
mushroomy fellow with protruding
ears or buck teeth or a bad leg. I didn't
think I deserved it. After all, I wasn't
crippled in any way, I just studied too
hard, I didn't know when to stop.
12. The trouble was, I hated the idea of 39 Negative Esther hates the idea that her life has to be controlled by
serving men in any way. I wanted to Identity male figure and she does not want to serve them. She
dictate my own thrilling letters. clearly rebels against cultural norms by refusing to serve
Besides, those little shorthand the male figure.
symbols in the book my mother
 62

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

showed me seemed just as bad as let t
equal time and let s equal the total
distance.
13. I was a terrible dancer. I couldn't 39 Identity Esther’s excessive self consciousness toward herself grows
carry a tune. I had no sense of Diffusion into point that she feels insecure and not confident about
balance, and when we had to walk herself. This feeling exist when she is in the situation when
down a narrow board with our hands she has to go with Constantine and she has to gather with
out and a book on our heads in gym people. She knows that she has no ability in any ways. It
class I always fell over. I couldn't ride makes her worry about her performance.
a horse or ski, the two things I wanted
to do most, because they cost too
much money. I couldn't speak
German or read Hebrew or write
Chinese. I didn't even know where
most of the old out-of-the way
countries the UN men in front of me
represented fitted in on the map. For
the first time in my life, sitting there
in the soundproof heart of the UN
building between Constantin who
could play tennis as well as
simultaneouly interpret and the
Russian girl who knew so many
idioms, I felt dreadfully inadequate.
The trouble was, I had been
inadequate all along, I simply hadn't
thought about it.
 63

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

14. Ever since Buddy Willard had told me 40 Negative After knowing that Buddy Willard, the man she loves, has
about that waitress I had been Identity lost his virginity, she determines to do the same. It clearly
thinking I ought to go out and sleep breaks the cultural norms that women in that era should
with somebody myself. Sleeping with keep their virginity until marriage.
Buddy wouldn't count, though,
because he would still be one person
ahead of me, it would have to be with
somebody else.
15. It might be nice to be pure and then to 42 Negative Esther feels that is it fair for women to be expected to be
marry a pure man, but what if he Identity pure but it is acceptable for a man to “have a double life”.
suddenly confessed he wasn't pure
after we were married, the way
Buddy Willard had? I couldn't stand
the idea of a woman having to have a
single pure life and a man being able
to have a double life, one pure and
one not.
16. I would catch sight of some flawless 43 Negative Esther wants to live unmarried. Her desire is clearly rebels
man off in the distance, but as soon as Identity against cultural norms in the society.
he moved closer I immediately saw
he wouldn't do at all. That's one of the
reasons I never wanted to get married.
The last thing I wanted was infinite
security and to be the place an arrow
shoots off from. I wanted change and
excitement and to shoot
 64

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

off in all directions myself, like the
colored arrows from a Fourth of July
rocket.
17. "I think I should tell you something, 48 Negative Esther decides not to get married.
Buddy." Identity
"I know," Buddy said stiffly. "You've
met someone."
"No, it's not that."
"What is it, then?"
"I'm never going to get married."
"You're crazy." Buddy brightened.
"You'll change your mind."
"No. My mind's made up."
18. "Well, you were right. I am neurotic. 48 Identity Esther cannot decide where she wants to live. it is hard for
I could never settle down in either the Diffusion her to take decision.
country or the city."
"You could live between them,"
Buddy suggested helpfully. "Then
you could go to the city sometimes
and to the country sometimes."
19. Betsy held an ear of corn to show she 52 Identity Esther’s uncertainty to take a choice for herself in the
wanted to be a farmer's wife, and Diffusion upcoming time.
Hilda held the bald, faceless head of a
hatmaker's dummy to show she
wanted to design hats, and Doreen
held a gold-embroidered sari to show
she wanted to be a social worker in
 65

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

India (she didn't really, she told me,
she only wanted to get her hands on a
sari).
When they asked me what I wanted to
be I said I didn't know.
20. It was becoming more and more 54 Identity Esther feels difficult to make a decision about what she has
difficult for me to decide to do Diffusion to do. She cannot concentrate in the last days she is in
anything in those last days. And when NewYork.
I eventually did decide to do
something, such as packing a
suitcase, I only dragged all my
grubby, expensive clothes out of the
bureau and the closet and spread them
on the chairs and the bed and the floor
and then sat and stared at them,
utterly perplexed. They seemed to
have a separate, mulish identity of
their own that refused to be washed
and folded and stowed.
21. At any rate, I'd be lucky if I wrote a 63 Identity Esther’s difficulty to make a decision also happen when
page a day. Diffusion she tries to write a novel and figure out what kind of job
Then I knew what the trouble was. will suit for her. Esther’s excessive self consciousness
I needed experience. toward her future grows into point that she feels insecure
How could I write about life when I'd and not confident about herself. This particular feeling
never had a love affair or a baby or exist especially when she is in a situation where she feels
even seen anybody die? A girl I knew difficult to write a novel and find a job. Thus, it can be said
had just won a prize for a short story that Esther’s feeling toward her personal identity is
 66

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

about her adventures among the influenced by the lack of experiences.
pygmies in Africa. How could I
compete with that sort of thing? …
At first I felt hopeful.
I thought I might learn shorthand in
no time, and when the freckled lady
in the Scholarships Office asked me
why I hadn't worked to earn money in
July and August, the way you were
supposed to if you were a scholarship
girl, I could tell her I had taken a free
shorthand course instead, so I could
support myself right after college.
The only thing was, when I tried to
picture myself in some job, briskly
jotting down line after line of
shorthand, my mind went blank.
There wasn't one job I felt like doing
where you used shorthand. And, as I
sat there and watched, the white chalk
curlicues blurred into senselessness.
 67

B. The Impact of The Stage of Psychosocial Development toward Esther’s Personality

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

1. It was a QUEER, sultry summer, the 1 Isolation Esther’s isolation feeling is shown in the first line of the
summer they electrocuted the story. She feels like she is misplaced, sad, and removed
Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I from reality. The society expects her to cheer up and enjoy
was doing in New York. her time in New York but she lacks of it.
2. I was supposed to be the envy of 2 Isolation Esther lacks of sense of self and the impact of it is
thousands of other college girls just depression and loneliness. She supposed to be happy with
like me all over America who her situation where most girls want to be in her shoes; get a
wanted nothing more than to be scholarship to college, win prizes and end up in New York.
tripping about in those same However, instead of making her happy, that situations
sizeseven patent leather shoes I'd depress her very much. Esther does not know how to enjoy
bought in Bloomingdale's one lunch those things. She cannot react as her other friends do. In
hour with a black patent leather belt fact, she cannot understand her own lack of enthusiasm and
and black patent leather pocketbook end up with the feeling of loneliness and emptiness.
to match. And when my picture
came out in the magazine the twelve
of us were working on – drinking
martinis in a skimpy, imitation
silver-lamé bodice stuck on to a big,
fat cloud of white tulle, on some
Starlight Roof, in the company of
several anonymous young men with
all-American bone structures hired or
loaned for the occasion – everybody
would think I must be having a real
 68

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

whirl. Look what can happen in this
country, they'd say. A girl lives in
some out-of-theway town for
nineteen years, so poor she can't
afford a magazine, and then she gets
a scholarship to college and wins a
prize here and a prize there and ends
up steering New York like her own
private car.
Only I wasn't steering anything, not
even myself. I just bumped from my
hotel to work and to parties and from
parties to my hotel and back to work
like a numb trolleybus. I guess I
should have been excited the way
most of the other girls were, but I
couldn't get myself to react. I felt
very still and very empty, the way
the eye of a tornado must feel,
moving dully along in the middle of
the surrounding hullabaloo.
3. Girls like that make me sick. I'm so 3 Isolation Esther becomes so envious with her other friends. The
jealous I can't speak. Nineteen years, reality that all this time she never been nowhere but
and I hadn't been out of New England makes her lack of experience. This situation that
England except for this trip to New she has nothing to share like the others do makes her feel
York. It was my first big chance, but depressed.
here I was, sitting back and letting it
 69

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

run through my fingers like so much
water.
4. The city had faded my tan, though. I 5 Intimacy She feels so worry about her performance and is afraid if it
looked yellow as a Chinaman. Crisis does not suit her. Though finally, she can overcome her
Ordinarily, I would have been anxiousness by being with Doreen. Knowing Doreen’s
nervous about my dress and my odd background is from society class makes her feel safe to get
color, but being with Doreen made along with the people.
me forget my worries. I felt wise and
cynical as all hell.
5. "Sure I'll come," I said. Frankie had 8 Intimacy Esther is having friendship with Doreen without a true
wilted away into the night, so I Crisis fusion. Esther uses this relationship to learn something new
thought I'd string along with Doreen. from Doreen. Esther puts her friendship with Doreen as a
I wanted to see as much as I media for her to get along with society and learn about
could…. I certainly learned a lot of something new for her life, not a sincere or real connection.
things I never would have learned
otherwise this way, and even when
they surprised me or made me sick I
never let on, but pretended that's the
way I knew things were all the
time.”
6. There is something demoralizing 9 Isolation Esther decides to follow Doreen to Lenny’s apartment.
about watching two people get more However, in apartment both of Doreen and Lenny are
and more crazy about each other, enjoying their time together. Esther as an extra person in
especially when you are the only that room feels isolated as she is unable to build up an
extra person in the room. It's like intimate relationship in the party.
watching Paris from an express
caboose heading in the opposite
 70

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

direction -- every second the city
gets smaller and smaller, only you
feel it's really you getting smaller
and smaller and lonelier and lonelier,
rushing away from all those lights
and that excitement at about a
million miles an hour.
7. The silence depressed me. It wasn't 10 Isolation Esther feels lonely as the impact of Esther’s failure to
the silence of silence. It was my own attract the attention of the people in the party, as a result
silence. I knew perfectly well the she is unable to develop intimate relationship with them.
cars were making noise, and the Esther decides to sneak out from Lenny’s apartment and
people in them and behind the lit goes back to the hotel. When she stands beside the window
windows of the buildings were and look down to the city’s few, she thinks that New York
making a noise, and the river was should bring happiness to her but her depression arises
making a nowise, but I couldn't hear again when she remembers how she cannot speak and
a thing. The city hung in my express herself like other girls do in this big country. It
window, flat as a poster, glittering depresses her then she describes it as silence that sadden
and blinking, but it might just as her all the time.
well not have been there at all, for
all the good it did me.
8. There must be quite a few things a 11 Isolation Esther tries to describe how she uses hot water as her
hot bath won't cure, but I don't know medication when she feels stress and depressed. She
many of them. Whenever I'm sad I'm isolated herself in the bath tub with the hot water to release
going to die, or so nervous I can't her stress.
sleep, or in love with somebody I
won't be seeing for a week, I slump
down just so far and then I say: "I'll
 71

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

go take a hot bath." I meditate in the
bath. The water needs to be very hot,
so hot you can barely stand putting
your foot in it. Then you lower
yourself, inch by inch, till the water's
up to your neck.
9. I said to myself: "Doreen is 11 Isolation Esther keeps a distance from Doreen. She isolates herself
dissolving, Lenny Shepherd is as a result of her intimacy crisis. She is isolating herself
dissolving, Frankie is dissolving, from her surroundings. By separating herself from Doreen,
New York is dissolving, they are all she traps in her own world.
dissolving away and none of them
matter any more. I don't know them,
I have never known them and I am
very pure. All that liquor and those
sticky kisses I saw and the dirt that
settled on my skin on the way back
is turning into something pure."
10. Seeing Doreen supported in my arms 12 Intimacy Esther wants to pretend as she does not know Doreen.
and silent except for a few wet Crisis
hiccups, the woman strode away
down the hall to her cubicle with its
ancient Singer sewing machine and
white ironing board. I wanted to run
after her and tell her I had nothing to
do with Doreen, because she looked
stern and hardworking and moral as
an old-style European immigrant and
 72

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

11. reminded me of my Austrian 12 Intimacy Esther wants to end her relation with Doreen because she
grandmother. I decided the only Crisis considers her as a problem.
thing to do was to dump her on the
carpet and shut and lock my door
and go back to bed.........I made a
decision about Doreen that night. I
decided I would watch her and listen
to what she said, but deep down I
would have nothing at all to do with
her.
12. I told Doreen I would not go to the 16 Isolation After parting her relation from Doreen, Esther starts to
show or the luncheon or the film retreat from the enticements of life. This situation makes
première, but that I would not go to Esther becomes jealous and depressed
Coney Island either, I would stay in
bed. After Doreen left, I wondered
why I couldn't go the whole way
doing what I should any more. This
made me sad and tired. Then I
wondered why I couldn't go the
whole way doing what I shouldn't,
the way Doreen did, and this made
me even sadder and more tired.
13. "You ought to read French and 18 Intimacy Since Esther does not have a strong sense of self, her
German," Jay Cee said mercilessly, Crisis confidence is low. She has a low power to decide or refuse
"and probably several other something in her life. It happens when she is with Jay Cee.
languages as well, Spanish and Jay Cee asks her to study some languages. She has no time
Italian -- better still, Russian, to study languages in her schedule but she cannot say it to
 73

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

Hundreds of girls flood into New her.
York every June thinking they'll be
editors. You need to offer something
more than the run-of-the-mill
person. You better learn some
languages." I hadn't the heart to tell
Jay Cee there wasn't one scrap of
space on my senior year schedule to
learn languages in. I was taking one
of those honors programs that teach
you to think independently, and
except for a course in Tolstoy and
Dostoevsky and a seminar in
advanced poetry composition I
would spend my whole time writing
on some obscure theme in the works
of James Joyce. I hadn't picked out
my theme yet, because I hadn't got
round to reading Finnegans Wake,
but my professor was very excited
about my thesis and had promised to
give me some leads on images about
twins. "I'll see what I can do," I told
Jay Cee. "I probably might just fit in
one of those double-barreled
accelerated courses in elementary
German they've rigged up." I
 74

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

thought at the time I might actually
do this. I had a way of persuading
my Class Dean to let me do irregular
things. She regarded me as a sort of
interesting experiment.
14. My secret hope of spending the 21 Isolation She wants to isolate herself from her friends, but she
afternoon alone in Central Park died cannot reach her desire.
in the glass eggbeater of Ladies'
Day's revolving doors. I found
myself spewed out through the warm
rain and into the dim, throbbing cave
of a cab, together with Betsy and
Hilda and Emily Ann Offenbach, a
prim little girl with a bun of red hair
and a husband and three children in
Teaneck, New Jersey.
15. Gradually I realized that Constantin 26 Intimacy The meeting and lunch invitation given by Constantine
was trying to arrange a meeting for Crisis leads Esther to throw away herself to Constantin’s
us later in the day. "Would you like possession effortlessly.
to see the UN this afternoon?" "I can
already see the UN," I told him, with
a little hysterical giggle…. There
was a silence. Then he said, "Maybe
you would like a bite to eat
afterward."
16. Of course, I didn't know he was a 27 Intimacy Esther has no strong sense of self that is why she has a low
hypocrite at first. I thought he was Crisis power to decide or refuse something in her life. It happens
 75

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

the most wonderful boy I'd ever when she is with Buddy Willard. He wants her to marry
seen. I'd adored him from a distance him but after she finds out that he betrays her, she does not
for five years before he even looked want to do that. However, the problem is Esther has no
at me, and then there was a beautiful heart to tell him the truth.
time when I still adored him and he
started looking at me, and then just
as he was looking at me more and
more I discovered quite by accident
what an awful hypocrite he was, and
now he wanted me to marry him and
I hated his guts. The worst part of it
was I couldn't come straight out and
tell him what I thought of him,
because he caught TB before I could
do that, and now I had to humor him
along till he got well again and could
take the unvarnished truth.
17. As I lay there in my white hotel bed 29 Isolation Esther separation with Doreen does not only make her feels
feeling lonely and weak, I thought I jealous and depressed. It also brings loneliness. Esther
was up in that sanatorium in the thinks about her relationship with Buddy Williard as she
Adirondacks, and I felt like a heel of lies on the bed feeling lonely. However, after she finds out
the worst sort. In his letters Buddy that Buddy betrays her love with a waitress; Esther knows
kept telling me how he was reading that her dream to marry him will not come true.
poems by a poet who was also a
doctor and how he'd found out about
some famous dead Russian short-
story writer who had been a doctor
 76

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

too, so maybe doctors and writers
could get along fine after all. Now
this was a very different tune from
what Buddy Willard had been
singing all the two years we were
getting to know each other. I
remember the day he smiled at me
and said, "Do you know what a
poem is, Esther?"
18. I went cold with envy. I had never 31 Isolation Esther becomes so envious with her seniors. The reality
been to Yale, and Yale was the place that she never been to Yale makes her lack of experience.
all the seniors in my house liked to This makes her feel disappointed and isolated from the
go best on weekends. I decided to society. She then decides not to expect something from
expect nothing from Buddy Willard. somebody.
If you expect nothing from
somebody you are never
disappointed
19. Well, I had just decided to ditch 37 Intimacy A relationship between two people is supposed to occur
Buddy Willard for once and for all, Crisis because of sincere and connection of feeling. Esther’s
not because he'd slept with that relationship with Buddy occurs because Esther used to
waitress but because he didn't have admire him because of his perfection. Now her relationship
the honest guts to admit it straight with him is just because he is sick and she has to cheer him
off to everybody and face up to it as up. However, in the end she decides to ditch him after she
part of his character, when the phone finds out that he lies about his virginity
in the hall rang and somebody said in
a little knowing singsong, "It's for
you, Esther, it's from Boston."
 77

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

20. I didn't know shorthand either. 39 Isolation Esther shows her sense of hopeless about her future. She
This meant I couldn't get a good job does not know about shorthand and it makes her worry
after college. My mother kept telling about her job in the future. She feels like she will not get a
me nobody wanted a plain English good job for her after college.
major. But an English major who
knew shorthand was something else
again. Everybody would want her.
She would be in demand among all
the up-and-coming young men and
she would transcribe letter after
thrilling letter.
21. The more I thought about it the 41 Intimacy Esther throws herself into an intimacy which she only
better I liked the idea of being Crisis wants to fulfill her desire.
seduced by a simultaneous
interpreter in New York City.
Constantin seemed mature and
considerate in every way. There
were no people I knew he would
want to brag to about it, the way
college boys bragged about sleeping
with girls in the backs of cars to their
roommates or their friends on the
basketball team. And there would be
a pleasant irony in sleeping with a
man Mrs. Willard had introduced me
to, as if she were, in a roundabout
way, to blame for it.
 78

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

22. I was tempted to tell Mr. Willard to 45 Intimacy She has a low power to decide or refuse anything in her
go ahead alone, I would hitchhike Crisis life. It happens when she is with Mr. Willard, Buddy’s
home. But one glance at Mr. father, asks her to accompany him to visit Buddy’s
Willard's face -- the silver hair in its sanatorium. She does not feel like going as she avoids
boyish crew cut, the clear blue eyes, Buddy Willard, but she cannot say it to Mr. Willard.
the pink cheeks, all frosted like a
sweet wedding cake with the
innocent, trusting expression -- and I
knew I couldn't do it. I'd have to see
the visit through to the end.
23. I slunk down on the middle of my 59 Isolation When Esther knows that she has failed to enroll in writing
spine, my nose level with the rim of class, she feels so sad and wants to isolated herself from
the window, and watched the houses the society.
of outer Boston glide by. As the
houses grew more familiar I slunk
still lower. I felt it was very
important not to be recognized. The
gray, padded car roof closed over
my head like the roof of a prison
van, and the white, shining, identical
clapboard houses with their
interstices of well-groomed green
proceeded past, one bar after another
in a large but escape-proof cage. I
had never spent a summer in the
suburbs before.
 79

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

24. I crawled back into bed and pulled 61 Isolation Esther feels so hopeless about her future. She feels like she
the sheet over my head. But even does not want to get up as she does not know about what
that didn't shut out the light, so I she is going to do in the future.
buried my head under the darkness
of the pillow and pretended it was
night. I couldn't see the point of
getting up. I had nothing to look
forward to.
25. I feigned sleep until my mother left 64 Isolation Esther starts to cannot sleep. It is her symptom of
for school, but even my eyelids depression. After the reality that she has to face, she starts
didn't shut out the light. They hung to experience sense of depression
the raw, red screen of their tiny
vessels in front of me like a wound. I
crawled between the mattress and
the padded bedstead and let the
mattress fall across me like a
tombstone. It felt dark and safe
under there, but the mattress was not
heavy enough. It needed about a ton
more weight to make me sleep.
26. I squinted at the page. The letters 65 Isolation Esther’s depression is getting worse when she realizes that
grew barbs and rams' horns. I suddenly she cannot read letters she gets. The words
watched them separate, each from become so hard to interpret. She explains that the words
the other, and jiggle up and down in tinkle up and down in a silly way. Esther feels the words
a silly way. Then they associated turn into Arabic or Chinese words; difficult to read.
themselves in fantastic,
untranslatable shapes, like Arabic or
 80

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

Chinese.
27. "I can't sleep. I can't read." I tried to 66 Isolation The depression is getting worse when she is unable to sleep
speak in a cool, calm way, but the and read.
zombie rose up in my throat and
choked me off. I turned my hands
palm up.
28. “I hadn't washed my hair for three 66 Isolation Esther’s depression is marked by stopping to take bath.
weeks, either” Esther thinks the idea of washing her body is silly because
today she has to wash and does it again later.
29. “I hadn't slept for seven nights” 66 Isolation Esther’s depression is getting worst when her depression is
heightened by her inability to sleep. She cannot sleep for
seven days without feeling exhausted. She has tried
sleeping pills but it does not work on her.
30. But when I took up my pen, my 68 Isolation Esther finds out that she is no longer able to write well. Her
hand made big, jerky letters like writing is a mess that eventually she does not send the
those of a child, and the lines sloped letter to Doreen.
down the page from left to right
almost diagonally, as if they were
loops of string lying on the paper,
and someone had come along and
blown them askew.
31. I thought if I ever did get to Chicago, 69 Isolation Esther wants to isolate herself by wanting to go to Chicago
I might change my name to Elly and change her name as Elly Higgenbottom so that nobody
Higginbottom for good. Then will recognize her.
nobody would know I had thrown up
a scholarship at a big eastern
women's college and mucked up a
 81

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

month in New York and refused a
perfectly solid medical student for a
husband who would one day be a
member of the AMA and earn pots
of money. In Chicago, people would
take me for what I was. I would be
simple Elly Higgenbottom, the
orphan. People would love me for
my sweet, quiet nature. They
wouldn't be after me to read books
and write long papers on the twins in
James Joyce. And one day I might
just marry a virile, but tender, garage
mechanic and have a big cowy
family, like Dodo Conway.
32. So I told him again, in the same dull, 70 Isolation Esther’s depression is getting worse when she cannot sleep
flat voice, only it was angrier this for fourteen nights and cannot read or write or eat.
time, because he seemed so slow to
understand, how I hadn't slept for
fourteen nights and how I couldn't
read or write or swallow very well.
33. I didn't know why I had never 71 Isolation It shows how Esther only can read the articles about crime.
bought any of these papers before. It is one of Esther’s symptom of depression.
They were the only things I could
read. The little paragraphs between
the pictures ended before the letters
had a chance to get cocky and
 82

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

wiggle about. At home, all I ever
saw was the Christian Science
Monitor, which appeared on the
doorstep at five o'clock every day
but Sunday and treated suicides and
sex crimes and airplane crashes as if
they didn't happen.
34. I hadn't slept for twenty-one nights. 76 Isolation Esther’s problem of sleeping rise from fourteen nights to
twenty-one nights
35. I thought the most beautiful thing in 76 Isolation Esther wants to isolate herself from the society. She refers
the world must be shadow, the the shadow as the her desire to be unrecognized by others.
million moving shapes and cul-de
sacs of shadow. There was shadow
in bureau drawers and closets and
suitcases, and shadow under houses
and trees and stones, and shadow at
the back of people's eyes and smiles,
and shadow, miles and miles and
miles of it, on the night side of the
earth.
36. That morning I had made a start. 77 Isolation Esther’s first attempt to kill herself is taking place in the
I had locked myself in the bathroom, bathroom. She uses a razor and then she cuts her wrist yet
and run a tub full of warm water, it fails. Esther’s first attempt to commit suicide is not
and taken out a Gillette blade. When succeed as she afraid if her mother will catch her red-
they asked some old Roman handed trying to kill herself.
philosopher or other how he wanted
to die, he said he would open his
 83

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

veins in a warm bath. I thought it
would be easy, lying in the tub and
seeing the redness flower from my
wrists, flush after flush through the
clear water, till I sank to sleep under
a surf gaudy as poppies. But when it
came right down to it, the skin of my
wrist looked so white and
defenseless that I couldn't do it. It
was as if what I wanted to kill wasn't
in that skin or the thin blue pulse that
jumped under my thumb, but
somewhere else, deeper, more
secret, a whole lot harder to get at. It
would take two motions. One wrist,
then the other wrist. Three motions,
if you counted changing the razor
from hand to hand. Then I would
step into the tub and lie down. I
moved in front of the medicine
cabinet. If I looked in the mirror
while I did it, it would be like
watching somebody else, in a book
or a play. But the person in the
mirror was paralyzed and too stupid
to do a thing. Then I thought maybe
I ought to spill a little blood for
 84

No. Quotation Page Number Meaning

practice, so I sat on the edge of the
tub and crossed my right ankle over
my left knee. Then I lifted my right
hand with the razor and let it drop of
its own weight, like a guillotine,
onto the calf of my leg. I felt
nothing. Then I felt a small, deep
thrill, and a bright seam of red
welled up at the lip of the slash. The
blood gathered darkly, like fruit, and
rolled down my ankle into the cup of
my black patent leather shoe. I
thought of getting into the tub then,
but I realized my dallying had used
up the better part of the morning,
and that my mother would probably
come home and find me before I was
done. So I bandaged the cut, packed
up my Gillette blades and caught the
eleven-thirty bus to Boston.
37. I thought drowning must be the 82 Isolation She repeats her intention of committing suicide in a
kindest way to die, and burning the different occasion. On a picnic at the beach with friends
worst. Some of those babies in the Esther means to drown herself in the ocean. It does not
jars that Buddy Willard showed me happen as her friends are around, swimming with her too
had gills, he said. They went through which in a way prevent her from conducting her action.
a stage where they were just like
fish. A little, rubbishy wavelet, full
 85

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

of candy wrappers and orange peel
and seaweed, folded over my foot.
I heard the sand thud behind me, and
Cal came up.
"Let's swim to that rock out there." I
pointed at it
"Are you crazy? That's a mile out."
"What are you?" I said. "Chicken?"
Cal took me by the elbow and
jostled me into the water. When we
were waist high, he pushed me
under. I surfaced, splashing, my eyes
seared with salt. Underneath, the
water was green and semi-opaque as
a hunk of quartz. I started to swim, a
modified dogpaddle, keeping my
face toward the rock. Cal did a slow
crawl. After a while he put his head
up and treaded water.
"Can't make it." He was panting
heavily.
"Okay. You go back."
I thought I would swim out until I
was too tired to swim back. As I
paddled on, my heartbeat boomed
like a dull motor in my ears.
 86

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

38. That morning I had tried to hang 82 Isolation Esther’s third attempt is by hanging herself in her house
myself. which unfortunately has low ceilings. Of course she
I had taken the silk cord of my remains alive and this is another futile effort.
mother's yellow bathrobe as soon as
she left for work, and, in the amber
shade of the bedroom, fashioned it
into a knot that slipped up and down
on itself. It took me a long time to do
this, because I was poor at knots and
had no idea how to make a proper
one. Then I hunted around for a
place to attach the rope. The trouble
was, our house had the wrong kind
of ceilings. The ceilings were low,
white and smoothly plastered,
without a light fixture or a wood
beam in sight.
39. I had bought a few paperbacks on 83 Isolation Esther’s psychology condition pushes her to find an answer
abnormal psychology at the about her depression. She wants to analyze herself by
drugstore and compared my buying books to know about her psychology condition. She
symptoms with the symptoms in the also explains that she can only read papers about scandal
books, and sure enough, my and abnormal psychology.
symptoms tallied with the most
hopeless cases. The only thing I
could read, besides the scandal
sheets, were those abnormal
psychology books. It was as if some
 87

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

slim opening had been left, so I
could learn all I needed to know
about my case to end it in the proper
way.
40. The only trouble was, Church, even 86 Isolation Esther goes to the Church to find a help but in the end she
the Catholic Church, didn't take up finds herself feels hopeless because in the end she still has
the whole of your life. No matter to do everything by herself.
how much you knelt and prayed, you
still had to eat three meals a day and
have a job and live in the world.
41. Lately I had considered going into 86 Isolation One day, Esther runs away from the hospital to visit her
the Catholic Church myself. I knew father’s graveyard. When she knows that the graveyard is
the Catholics thought killing behind the church, Esther goes to the church to ask for
yourself was an awful sin. But help. She knows that Catholic forbid the action of suicide
perhaps, if this was so, they might because it is a dreadful sin. She wishes the church to help
have a good way to persuade me out her, particularly in getting rid of the idea about committing
of it. suicide.
42. Then I unlocked the strongbox and 88 Isolation Esther’s depression leads her to commit suicide by
took out the bottle of new pills. overdosing sleeping pills.
There were more than I had hoped.
There were at least fifty. If I had
waited until my mother doled them
out to me, night by night, it would
have taken me fifty nights to save up
enough. And in fifty nights, college
would have opened, and my brother
would have come back from
 88

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

Germany, and it would be too
late....Then I went downstairs and
into the kitchen. I turned on the tap
and poured myself a tall glass of
water. Then I took the glass of water
and the bottle of pills and went down
into the cellar….Cobwebs touched
my face with the softness of moths.
Wrapping my black coat round me
like my own sweet shadow, I
unscrewed the bottle of pills and
started taking them swiftly, between
gulps of water, one by one by one.
At first nothing happened, but as I
approached the bottom of the bottle,
red and blue lights began to flash
before my eyes. The bottle slid from
my fingers and I lay down. The
silence drew off, baring the pebbles
and shells and all the tatty wreckage
of my life. Then, at the rim of vision,
it gathered itself, and in one
sweeping tide, rushed me to sleep.
43. I knew I should be grateful to Mrs. 97 Isolation Esther assumes her depression as the bell jar. She explains
Guinea, only I couldn't feel a thing. that wherever she goes, she will be trapped in her own
If Mrs. Guinea had given me a ticket mind and inside herself. There is nothing can ameliorate
to Europe, or a round-the-world her condition, no matter how new and exciting the
 89

No. Quotation Page Category Meaning

cruise, it wouldn't have made one condition around her
scrap of difference to me, because
wherever I sat -- on the deck of a
ship or at a street café in Paris or
Bangkok -- I would be sitting under
the same glass bell jar, stewing in
my own sour air.
44. I hated these visits, because I kept 106 Isolation When Esther stays in the hospital to get treatment for her
feeling the visitors measuring my fat depression, she has many visitors. However, Esther hates
and stringy hair against what I had to be visited. She wants to be alone. It can be interpreted
been and what they wanted me to be, that Esther wants to isolate herself from the people she
and I knew they went away utterly knows and get some peace by being alone.
confounded. I thought if they left me
alone I might have some peace.
45. That afternoon my mother had 106 Isolation In Esther’s birthday, her mother comes to visit Esther in
brought me the roses. the hospital with a bouquet of roses. However, Esther does
"Save them for my funeral," I'd said. not remember about that. In this scene, Esther’s sense of
My mother's face puckered, and she hopelessness again occurs. She asks her mother to save the
looked ready to cry. flowers for her funeral. Esther is longing for death.
"But Esther, don't you remember Esther’s death urges comes from her helpless feeling. She
what day it is today?" feels trap in her own mind and herself so nobody and
"No." nothing can help her but death.
I thought it might be Saint
Valentine's day. "It's your birthday."
And that was when I had dumped the
roses in the waste-basket.
 90

PERNYATAAN

Saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini:

Nama : Herdian Praditya

NIM : 09211144008

Program Studi : Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris

Fakultas : Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni

Universitas : Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

Menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bahwa saya telah melakukan peer debriefing

sehubungan dengan analisis data mahasiswa bernama Tri Nurlianingsih dalam
penelitian berjudul Esther’s Problems of Personality as an Impact of Her Failure
in Accomplishing Self-Identity: The Psychosocial Analysis to Sylvia Plath’s The
Bell Jar.
Apabila terbukti bahwa pernyataan ini tidak benar, hal ini sepenuhnya menjadi
tanggung jawab saya.

Yogyakarta, 20 Oktober 2014

Herdian Praditya
 91

PERNYATAAN

Saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini:

Nama : Katrin Rahma Pandansari

NIM : 09211144003

Program Studi : Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris

Fakultas : Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni

Universitas : Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

Menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bahwa saya telah melakukan peer debriefing

sehubungan dengan analisis data mahasiswa bernama Tri Nurlianingsih dalam
penelitian berjudul Esther’s Problems of Personality as an Impact of Her Failure
in Accomplishing Self-Identity: The Psychosocial Analysis to Sylvia Plath’s The
Bell Jar.
Apabila terbukti bahwa pernyataan ini tidak benar, hal ini sepenuhnya menjadi
tanggung jawab saya.

Yogyakarta, 20 Oktober 2014

Katrin Rahma Pandansari