The Bell Jar Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 5 Summary

Chapter 5 Summary

When she was younger, the narrator had a crush on Buddy Willard for five years before he began to notice her. Their mothers were friends. He turns up at her college one weekend and wants to know whether he can come and see her sometime. She invites him to lunch but he says he is actually there to see Joan Gilling, a girl from their home town. They quarrel about the other girl, but Buddy leaves a letter inviting the narrator to the Yale Junior Prom, which increases the respect she receives from the other girls in her dorm.

The weekend of the Prom is disappointing; she had hoped that Buddy would fall in love with her. Instead he treats her like a cousin or a friend. He is studying medicine and takes her to a hilly place behind the chemistry lab and kisses her. "Wow, it makes me feel...
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