Quote by Sylvia Plath: “If you expect nothing from anybody, you're never disappointed.”

This cynical but pragmatic observation suggests that by lowering one's expectations of others, one can avoid the pain of letdowns. It's a defense mechanism against potential heartbreak and disillusionment in human relationships.

Esther's journey in 'The Bell Jar' is marked by disappointments in relationships and societal structures, leading to a cynical worldview often adopted as a coping mechanism against a harsh world.

American poet and novelist whose confessional poetry and semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar explored mental illness, identity, and the suffocating expectations placed on women in mid-twentieth-century America. Her posthumously published collections, including Ariel, are among the most powerful in postwar American literature.