PATRIARCHAL GENDER CONSTRUCTION AND THE DISINTEGRATION OF ESTHER’S ANIMUS IN SYLVIA PLATH’S THE BELL JAR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22460/eltin.v14i1.p191-206Keywords:
Patriarchy, Gender construction, Social Expectation, Animus, Psychological ConflictAbstract
This study examines how patriarchal gender constructions influence women’s psychological development, particularly the formation and disintegration of the unconscious animus archetype. The research aims (1) to analyze how patriarchal gender constructions shape Esther Greenwood’s resistance and autonomy, and (2) to investigate how the manifestation and disintegration of her animus contribute to her internal psychological conflict. This study employs a qualitative literary analysis using thematic textual interpretation of selected passages from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Novel. The analysis is guided by Carl Jung’s archetypal theory of the animus and supported by feminist gender perspectives to examine the relationship between social structures and psychological processes. The results show that women are subjected to patriarchal expectations about their roles, especially in marriage, purity, and household life. In this context, Esther demonstrates her independence as a woman by expressing her aspirations for autonomy, education, and writing. The rigid patriarchal society, on the other hand, made it hard for her archetypes to work together, which causes Esther's animus to disintegration and her psychological identity to break down. This study finds that the interplay between patriarchal gender constructs and Esther's animus disintegration profoundly affects her psychological distress.
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