Suicidality in The Bell Jar

The main interest of this thesis is to examine the reasons of suicide attempts of the protagonist and how the similarities between the author and the protagonist are reflected in Sylvia Plath?s novel, The Bell Jar.In the first part of this thesis informs the development of feminism and the gender roles in American society. Lack of rights for women, double standards of society, differences between sexes are considered as reasons of feminist movement. In this way, depression of women how lead them to suicide has been discussed. The theme of suicide and how it was used by female writers has been emphasized.In the second chapter, the thematic patterns such as an autobiographical novel, the significance of the title, the suicidality and the identity crisis have been examined. The protagonist?s search for identity , relationship with her mother how attributed to her pyschological problems have been analyzed.In the conclusion part, the treatment of the protagonist after her last suicide attempt has been discussed by giving the similarites with Sylvia Plath?s life.Keywords: Suicidality, Sylvia Plath, Feminism, Identity Crisis.