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Illustrated portrait of Betsy

A character in The Bell Jar

Betsy

A sincere, wholesome fellow intern who represents safety and conventional belonging without being a caricature.

What they want

To succeed within the internship’s social world while remaining friendly and sincere.

The book

Cover of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Bell JarSylvia Plath, 1963

Sylvia Plath’s darkly funny 1963 novel about a gifted young woman looking skeptically at the adult future she is expected to want.

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At a glance

Connection
Esther’s fellow magazine intern
Setting
New York
Contrast
Conventional and wholesome rather than rebellious

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Betsy appears comfortable with the version of young womanhood promoted by the magazine. Esther sometimes mocks her neatness and sincerity.

Her conventional manner does not make her foolish. She offers kindness and a form of safety that Esther can recognize even when she cannot inhabit it.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Neat appearanceHer clothes fit the magazine’s approved image of wholesome femininity.
  • Open expressionSincerity distinguishes her from Doreen’s amused detachment.
  • KindnessShe offers Esther companionship without demanding glamour.
  • Contrasting possibilityShe represents a safer future that still feels too narrow to Esther.
What happens to BetsyHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Betsy remains part of the internship period. The novel does not give her a major later conclusion.

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