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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Key Examples in The Bell Jar
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—The Rosenbergs :
Allusions to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple who were controversially convicted of espionage and later executed by electrocution, serve as an important motif in The Bell Jar. Esther repeatedly reflects upon the execution of the Rosenbergs throughout the novel, reflecting her morbid preoccupation with death and complex feelings about morality:
(I knew something was wrong with me that summer, because all I could think about was the Rosenbergs and how stupid I’d been to buy all those uncomfortable, expensive clothes, hanging limp as fish in my closet, and how all the little successes I’d totted up so happily at college fizzled to nothing outside the slick marble and plate-glass fronts along Madison Avenue.)
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—The Rosenbergs :
Allusions to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple who were controversially convicted of espionage and later executed by electrocution, serve as an important motif in The Bell Jar. Esther repeatedly reflects upon the execution of the Rosenbergs throughout the novel, reflecting her morbid preoccupation with death and complex feelings about morality:
Unlock with LitCharts A+(I knew something was wrong with me that summer, because all I could think about was the Rosenbergs and how stupid I’d been to buy all those uncomfortable, expensive clothes, hanging limp as fish in my closet, and how all the little successes I’d totted up so happily at college fizzled to nothing outside the slick marble and plate-glass fronts along Madison Avenue.)
