Unraveling Esther’s Disdain for Physics
Unraveling Esther's Disdain for Physics
Throughout Esther’s tumultuous journey in The Bell Jar, and through the lens of her worsening mental condition, there are many things she finds unappealing. New York and its “fake, country-wet, freshness”, the gifts she receives from the Ladies’ Day magazine, and Buddy Willard’s unabashed hypocrisy are few of the culprits (Plath, 1). However, nothing seemingly comes close to her brief yet emotionally charged story of her Physics class.
She introduces the story with a remark telling of the rest of her experience: “The day I went into physics class it was death,” (Plath, 34). She then continues, describing by distorting reality into a grotesque version of itself. “I may have made a straight A in physics,” she says, “but I was panic-struck. Physics made me sick the whole time I learned it. What I couldn’t stand was this shrinking everything into letters and numbers. Instead of leaf shapes and enlarged diagrams of the holes the leaves breathe through and the fascinating words like carotene and xanthophyll on the blackboard, there were these hideous, cramped, scorpion-letter formulas in Mr. Manzi’s special red chalk,” (Plath, 35).
Why does Esther have so much animosity towards physics? Perhaps it has something to do with what she views physics as doing. According to her, Physics narrows the world to letters, numbers, and formulas. Its textbook is no exploration of the discipline with no photos or drawings, only diagrams and numbers and “hideous”, brute fact. Through Esther’s writer eyes, Physics and Chemistry (another one of her hatreds) are worthy of being despised not for what they talk about, but how they talk about it.
Like much else in the world that presents itself in a dissatisfying way to Esther, these sciences don’t allow room for art, or beauty. Instead, they turn something poetic –such as botany describing the breathes– into something mechanical.
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Hi Ella,
ReplyDeleteIt's true that physics makes a lot of people hate their lives. Its often abstract nature and the coldness of its formulas leave little to be desired in the way of artistic appeal. I think the crucial part of Esther's story with physics is the fact that she was still able to get good grades in her physics class despite absolutely hating the subject. It demonstrates her ability to bluff her way through the academic world and build up this grand resume of accomplishments while secretly struggling with the nature of her true ambitions. The physics and chemistry courses were just one example of that, but they didn't really matter to Esther since her career prospects weren't in the sciences. That would change, of course, when the same thing started happening with her writing.
Physics limits the concepts into formulas. In contrast, Esther doesn't like to be limited. Also, it shows how she doesn't like the "mechanical" aspect of physics and chem. It is mentioned in the book of the fig tree. She likes to explore the options she has.
ReplyDeleteHello Ella!
ReplyDeleteI love the analysis you have about Esther's feelings towards physics. I think it's interesting how Esther often gets angry at small things when she's really upset about the bigger picture (Like how she's mad at Buddy, but is really upset with society's double standard). So I'm curious, how does her anger at the simplification of explanations in Physics actually point at something deeper? Just a thought I don't have the answer to :)
Hi Ella, I thought your interpretation of Esther’s hatred towards physics rooting in its oversimplification of the world to mechanical operations was very interesting! Like you pointed out, Esther is too creative to be limited by formulas. I think this trait perhaps is also reflected in her slow progression to depression. Creativity leads her to be almost ahead of her time, causing her to question a lot of the norms of the society she lives in, such as the sexual double standard.
ReplyDeleteHi Ella,
ReplyDeleteI think that your reason of why Esther dislikes physics so much because of how it turns the world into formulas. I also think that one of the reasons that you gave I would like to mention a bit more. You pointed out how the textbook plays a role in it, and I would agree. Especially because the textbook just sucks. It seems like some dense, single spaced wall of text which you easily lose your place on if you look away one second. While not the root of the issues It is something you mentioned that I wanted to talk about.
I agree, I think Esther dislikes physics and more of the hard sciences because-- in reducing the beauty of nature to numbers-- they feel disingenuous. I think for Esther truth of existence goes beyond fact and tends towards poetry. She described people as dust-- most things are mortal, but words are forever, and science she may argue, is the killer of immortal arts. Idk tho.
ReplyDeleteHey Ella,
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a part of the story I would have loved to delve into more during class! It is very representative of Esther's entire worldview that she abhors the subjects that constrict her and resign her to a seemingly boring, rules-based life, while she loves the subject that allows her to be free and expressive with her words and thoughts. It's almost reminiscent of the bell jar: to her, one subject stifles her creativity and keeps her boxed up, while another allows her to soar free. In that context, her hatred for physics makes perfect sense! Great post!
The sciences are indeed catching strays in Plath's novel, and I'm not always sure whether I read this story as "emotionally charged" or as more of a bewildered boast about how she managed to hoodwink her chemistry professor into letting her audit the course and write sonnets the whole time. It might help to add old Buddy Willard to the mix: he is aligned squarely with the sciences, as a future medical student, and Esther's little tour of the hospital with him does not contain much in the way of poetry, just as their time together in his "monk-like" cell of a room later doesn't contain much in the way of romance. Remember Buddy's dismissive commentary on Esther's poetry--it's just "dust"--which really seems to get on her nerves, to the point where she's still thinking of comebacks hours later. And the killer comeback she lands on is basically "so are all the patients you're trying to save." In fairness to Buddy, he actually does make an effort to get into poetry, to share some of Esther's interests, and she gives him no credit (even mocking his poem, which does sound dreadful, but isn't it cool that he went to the trouble to shop it around and get it published?). In her view, Buddy is aligned with the dreary and unpoetic world of science, physicality, the reduction of the beauty and mysteries of the world to practicalities (like the "delivery" of the baby in which the mother apparently does not get to participate, other than experiencing pain).
ReplyDeleteHello Ella. I like you mention that there are a lot of things that contribute to Esthers worsening mental state. I think Esther has a passion for poetry and can see how turning leaves and botany into equations could depress her. Kinda says a lot about society when turning botany into something mechanical. While there is a place for that it is important to not get lost on the way and if you do it can be pretty depressing.
ReplyDeleteHey Ella! Thanks for bringing attention to this detail. I kind of glossed over it when reading the book and dismissed it as just an example of Plath's/Esther's type of humor/sarcasm and not something deeper. Now that we're done, I'm glad you brought it up because it does give us more insight into what Ester really likes and really hates. I think your analysis of her hatred of physics as an expression of how much she loves metaphors and creativity and hates things "put in boxes."
ReplyDelete