Apocryphally described as a novel confined to the voracious appetite of mental illness, Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar truly explores the ills of society related to the role of young women in the 1950s. Despite the inevitable and universal recognition of internal conflicts, the main character of The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood, also faces peremptory and crucial physical violence. A bright young woman in the 1950s, Esther is distraught at the thought of being raped. The near-rape scene, although violent, sets several devices in Plath's semi-autobiographical novel; moreover, it represents a deeper issue rather than simply highlighting the specific violence of Esther's plight. Plath carefully crafted the scene's details, diction, and narration to reveal thematic relevance and societal issues through the characters' violence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In the first part of The Bell Jar, the character of Esther is described indirectly through her narration as slightly cynical and dreary, but observant. Continuing the character development, Esther is apprehensive before meeting a boy that her friend Doreen knows; this boy will accompany her as her date to dance, drink and behave at night. However, the night wanders and descends into discomfort, fear and misogyny – and violence ensues. The violence of the near-rape scene is used by Plath to generate thematic relevance – particularly in her antagonist, Marco, as a typical misogynistic male archetype. It is suave, rich in a certain way, but dark. This deadly mix of masculine character traits is repeated in 18th, 20th and 21st century literature in characters such as Richard Lovelace in the famous epistolary novel Clarissa; Andy in the bestselling young adult novel, Speak; and even Christian Gray in the infamous erotic novel 50 Shades of Grey. In all of these literary texts, the suave, rich, dark man is most often used to present a problem to a young, naive and impressionable female character – usually a conflict of a sexual nature. However, for the purposes of Plath's thematic development, an example of Marco's violent and suave nature is found in Esther's fist rather than her heart. This almost automatic attack by Esther after being called a "slut" by Marco can be easily juxtaposed with Esther's feelings of dissatisfaction with her world - despite her ability to fight back (Plath 57-58). Esther's jaded nature is solidified in this violent scene as she previously foreshadowed Marco's attack and expressed her fear of a superficial, sexually perverse tryst, helping to evoke a theme of rebellion against convention. Instead of falling into the state of confusion often characteristic of rape scenes, Esther thinks, “This is happening. If I stay here and do nothing, this will happen. (Plate 57). Esther's sense of observation coupled with her intuition constructs the thematic transformation of the text from a story of a young woman to the story of her disappearance. The near-rape scene is essential in revealing thematic development, as it shows Esther's character remaining perpetually attenuated and slightly dreary despite her situation. Rape in the 1950s was rarely reported, often misunderstood, and socially underdefined (“Women’s Center”). The term “rape culture” emerged in the late 1970s; however, its principles existed in American culture long before ("Women's Center"). The near rape. 2014.