Reading Traumatized and Depressed Women: A Cognitive Study of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar

Abstract

Depression is a mental disorder that disrupts people’s thoughts and behaviors. Today, depression is recognized as one of the most common mental illnesses worldwide that need to be studied and investigated in some disciplines and through literature in particular. Anyone may develop depression regardless of age or social background, yet, women are most likely prone to depression. Numerous theories have studied the nature of depression, its causes, symptoms, and healing process; among these is Aaron T. Beck’s model of depression. Beck’s model gives a comprehensive examination of depression and provides a therapeutic theory based on the model, known as cognitive behavior therapy CBT. Therefore, to understand depression in terms of Beck’s cognitive model and uncover the reasons that lead women to develop depression, the study utilizes the literary text The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, which is a semi-autobiographical novel; that recounts heroin’s battle with depression. The research opens new horizons for psychological analysis in the literary domain and directs people’s attention toward the threatening consequences of depression.