Initiation

“The basement room was dark and warm, like the inside of a sealed jar, Millicent thought, her eyes getting used to the strange dimness.”

This starting line of the story contains an image Plath’s writing repeatedly uses to suggest the female experience: being trapped in a jar. Just as Millicent feels confined in the basement of her sorority sister’s house, Esther of The Bell Jar feels that her depression keeps her locked inside a jar. The imagery is also womblike—“dark and warm”—suggesting Millicent’s impending rebirth.

“How horrible it would be if one never changed…if she were condemned to be the plain, shy Millicent of a few years back for the rest of her life.”

This is the first mention of Millicent’s motivations for joining the sorority. This exposition illustrates that she wants to be different from her former self and to continue to grow and change through different experiences and social interactions. This is what happens over the course of the story, though not in the way Millicent expects. Millicent’s insecurity, suggested by her desire to distance herself from her former “plain, shy” self, is at the heart of this character arc, as Millicent gains confidence to be herself.

“‘Remember the part about talking back and smiling,’ Louise Fullerton had put in, laughing.”

Sorority members remind Millicent throughout the story that she should behave submissively toward the sorority members and toward boys. In particular, the sorority girls do not allow the “gophers” to question or flout the members’ authority, and they admonish the initiates that they should not enjoy the hazing process, even though Louise herself clearly finds it amusing.