Abstract: The Bell Jar is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Sylvia Plath who is an American confessional poetess in the mid-20th century. As Sylvia Plath's masterpiece, set in the Cold War, the novel focuses on a brilliant 19-year-old woman and explores the frustrations and confusions peculiar to young women at that time. The three basic elements of the thesis includes growing environment, the growing guide and the growing ceremony, which explores the puzzle of Esther's growth. To a certain extent, the research explains the confusions in female growth in American society so as to help readers further understand the connotation of the novel and face up to the confusionsin female growth in contemporary society.

Key words: initiation stories, The Bell Jar, female growth, confusions