Part One: Chapters V and VI Summary and Analysis

In chapter five, in 1971, a literary critic declared that what stood out about Plath's works was that it was not nice. Plath's "not nice" quality was what set her apart from her contemporaries. This quality is why Plath appealed to feminists—it took courage in the 1950s and 1960s for a woman to depart from the requirement to be a "nice girl." Her novel The Bell Jar appeals to women but is filled with poison and electricity. The book is based in part on Plath's own life—in particular, her 1953 suicide attempt and her bumpy relationship with her mother. The book was first published under a pseudonym, Victoria Lucas. Later, when it was published in America under Plath's own name, her mother complained to the publisher that it was...