The Fig Tree Analogy or How We’ve Lost the Plot.
If you’re chronically online, or an avid reader, you may have heard about The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, more specifically about the fig tree analogy. In it, Esther Greenwood, the main character, imagines her future life as a fig tree, each fig representing a possible life: a husband, children, a successful career, travels, education, writing… She sits beneath the tree, unable to choose which fruit to reach for. Eventually, she watches them wrinkle, blacken, and fall to the ground.