A literary reflection on the Hegelian perspective on women and oppression

When reflecting on Sylvia Plath's experiences of repression, exploitation and hyper-sexualisation in the capitalist and financially orientated metropolis of 1960s New York, redefined and reshaped by race, riots and mass unrest and opposition during the era of the civil rights movement, through the eyes of Esther Greenwood's character in her 1963 work, the Bell Jar, one can clearly notice the alienation and isolation of working women from society, and the profound impact this has on them physically and mentally in many ways. While somewhat appearing to be a fictional work and created with poetic licence to represent an individual perspective, as opposed to acting as a record and factual representation of the US healthcare system of the 1960s, and the support provided for women suffering from mental health issues during this period, referring to works such as the Bell Jar can prove to be important in humanising and relating back to the issues posed by a perpetually failing society in this regard on a more emotional level, and thus prove to be instrumental in assisting the revolutionising of the way in which medical misogyny continues to further repress and divide society.

Much like Plath, very similar sentiments were explored and reflected on in a lot of feminist theory, much of which having very clear parallels to the Hegelian and Marxist dialect as to the role of women within society, and the expectations placed on them in relation to the metaphors set about through class and state. An example of this would be the Engels' take on Hegel's perspective on radical feminism, in which oppression and exploitation of women as supposedly the physically and emotionally weaker sex, to whom sexualisation and objectification of their bodies and reproductive properties appearing to be likely attractive and appealing commodities by which to exploit and repress by men. This dynamic established can be seen by Engels to have created something of an effective metaphor featuring the man representing the bourgeoise and the woman representing the proletariat in a relationship, be this socially, economically or personally and romantically. Linking back to Plath, Esther's inability to relate to and form positive relations with men, and her presentation of their extreme sexual interests, as well as her shame and fear of oppression when demonstrating some arguably somewhat asexual and homosexual tendencies (which would have been frowned upon most likely) could present her as being in line with this radical feminist tradition. An example of this is with her disconnection with the human qualities of the cadavers being studied by Buddy Willard at medical school, as well as with Buddy Willard's own physical and anatomic form when in an intimate setting with him, this being juxtaposed by the activities of several of the other young women in her place of work described as taking comparatively erotic forms, and so appearing comparatively more accepted within a society ruled by the interests of the males of influence. This sentiment further comes into play with the depictions of the sexually active and powerful males Esther comes into contact with later on in the book, such as Marco who uses force and physical strength, and Irwin who she eventually loses her virginity to undergoing significant pain and conflict with herself ultimately. The physical bleeding she experiences at this point and the depiction of the white towel she bandages herself with being turning black with her blood appears symbolic of the death of her virginity representing injury and closeness to death, especially during a period of significant physical and mental vulnerability for her, and especially considering this likely foreshadows the death of Joan shortly afterwards, giving the ultimate resolution. It is important to note Marx and Engels' inherent ideological homophobia, as applied to the phallocentric and class-centric society in which they built their theories upon, and that, aside from also using their supressed influence and supressed sexual maturity to operate and act against this, they were still considered supposedly the weaker members of society, or worse, those that were inherently counter-revolutionary, and representative of those individuals that the revolution sought to overthrow, much like the way influential women in revolution had previously been seen. This was described by Mario Mieli as a system that essentially supports "both the victim and the murderer" metaphorically, and so could fail, also proving an important cornerstone in reflecting on the common view in present political discourse of a woman or homosexual appearing a very good comrade to have, ironically. This context can thus prove to be important in understanding the radical feminist undertones of The Bell Jar, and using this as a means of reflecting on the struggles women face in relation to their vulnerabilities in society, and how the failing society described there and representative of many others can be seen to need upheaval, especially in relation to women's welfare.