Trauma, Gender, and Society: Mental Health in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1609.30Keywords:
mental illness, trauma, gender role, Mrs. Dalloway, The Bell JarAbstract
The present study aims to examine the representation of mental health in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963). Additionally, the study attempts to analyze societal expectations and gender roles to explore the theme of isolation and identity. To achieve the objectives of the study, both works are analyzed through the theory of trauma. The concluding statements explore how both novels reflect mental illness and trauma while also highlighting the role of society in influencing the psychological state of characters and their identity. Both literary works are regarded as literary reflections of mental illness. The study fills in the gap in literature by adopting an interdisciplinary framework that offers a more comprehensive understanding of trauma within its social and gendered dimensions. It examines the character’s traumatic experiences, whether caused by society or previous experiences.
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