The Hopeless Emptiness: Women’s Mental Health Care in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road.

Authors

Margaret Rawlings, Roger Williams University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Bachelor of Arts in English

Advisor

James Tackach, Ph.D.

Abstract

Although their experiences both converge and diverge at different points, both of the female protagonists in The Bell Jar (Esther Greenwood) and Revolutionary Road (April Wheeler) depict a near-fatal or fatal deterioration into depression based inadequate psychological care. While the lives of these two fifties protagonists are fictional, the message about the importance of understanding female mental illness outside patriarchal constructs is indisputably real.

Recommended Citation

Rawlings, Margaret, "The Hopeless Emptiness: Women’s Mental Health Care in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road." (2017). English Theses. 137.
https://docs.rwu.edu/english_theses/137