本論文旨在探討西爾維亞•柏拉絲《鐘形瓶》中的意象。第一章所探討的是柏拉絲身為五零年代女性及女性作家的焦慮。柏拉絲身處的五零年代的美國社會，其在婚後深刻地體會身為已婚婦女，需背負當時的美國社會對女性角色的期許與個人理想的衝突；作者透過小說主角艾絲特的焦慮映照出現實生活中的困境。
     第二章所探討的是小說中主題性的意象。柏拉絲用主題性的意象來突顯五零年代美國家庭主婦所承受無形的焦慮及壓迫感。貝蒂傅瑞丹在《女性迷思》一書中所提出的「無名的問題」解釋了艾絲特的焦慮。
     第三章為克莉絲蒂娃以「棄卻」的觀念，進一步來探討小說中殘缺的身體意象。殘缺的身體意象在小說裡不斷地出現，這些意象不僅指涉艾絲特身體的傷痕與精神不穩定的狀態，更是克莉絲蒂娃所主張主體建構的過程中所必經的中介階段。柏拉絲把她生命中的焦慮換化為艾絲特這個人物角色，並善用意象及自身的經驗書寫出一九五零年代女性的焦慮與無力感。
     書寫「棄卻」的意象，柏拉絲也體驗了主體建構的中介階段，克莉絲蒂娃主張人們面對自我中的異者(alterity within the self) ，而非逃避它。僅管殘缺的身體在小說中令人厭惡，柏拉絲同時也在這個書寫的過程中展現了她面對自我中的異者的勇氣。

This thesis studies images in The Bell Jar. I divide images into two groups.  The first group refers to thematic images of the novel. They include images such as The Rosenbergs electrocution/electroshock therapy, fig tree/fruit, bell jar, Lady’s Day fashion magazine. This thesis argues that Sylvia Plath creates thematic images to represent women’s under repression, thereby Plath pointing to a binary narrative pervasive in a masculine society. On the other hand, I use Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection to approach disabled body images in the novel. Abject body images tap into an in-between condition as the onset of the subject formation. They lead the readers on a journey of subject formation. Disabled body images allude to more than Esther’s wounds. They are symptomatic of a psyche that has yet to come to terms with “the stranger within.”
     Writing abject bodies, Sylvia Plath also experiences an interspace between self and other, an estranging journey that Kristeva suggests people should confront instead of eschewing it. Depicting disabled body functions, which are usually regarded as unfavorable and deviating from the normal, Plath shows her effort to face the stranger within herself.

Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter One: Sylvia Plath under Repression 16
Chapter Two: Writing the Repression 44
Chapter Three: Writing On the Border of Abjection 72
Conclusion 91
Works Cited 97

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