Esther has major qualms with society and finding
purpose in her life. Reading The Bell Jar is extremely painful and frustrating
when Esther’s frustrations seem so REAL and valid, yet no one in her
surrounding society, friends, or family ever have any legit conversations with
her. As Esther is beginning to lose
control of her body and life, no one really steps in to help her in any
productive manner. After she receives her
rejection letter, her self-esteem for her “work-life” completely
collapses. Esther’s work life (and
school) seems to be the predominant force keeping her moving forward, but as
her schooling is beginning to come to an end she cannot really see herself in
any career after she is out of college.
Since school is her “thing”, when it (and the camp) is removed from her
life she does not see much left to it.
One could imagine the “pillars” of one’s self (sorta Inside-Out-esque), and her school/camp
pillar would be the one supporting all of the other pillars up. When this falls out, everything begins to
come crumbling down. (The cracks were
already forming as her schooling is running out.)
As “the hollow
voice” takes over and detaches her from her friends and family, Esther falls
further and further into depression, insomnia, and a variety of other really
scary mental problems (not eating, reading, writing, etc). Esther narrates her decisions as if she does
not even have control over her own body: after Ester rejects Jody’s offer for
her to still come live in their apartment and realizes that she “knew [she]
should have said [she] would come.”
Esther narrates herself trying to call Jody back: “I reached for the
receiver. My hand advanced a few
inches, then retreated and fell limp. I
forced it toward the receiver again, but again it stopped short, as if it had
collided with a pane of glass” (118). This
is way more than Esther being a little upset about getting rejected from the
program – this is all of the pillars of her life crumbling down preventing her
from living.
There is not one
person in the novel that she can comfortably turn to and discuss her
feelings openly. Doctor Nolan seems to
do the best job listening and understanding, but even that relationship is not
one necessarily built on the best of trust. Doctor Gordon is probably the most depressing
part of the book for me. Someone who she
opens up and is vulnerable to, takes COMPELTE advantage of her and makes
everything so so SO much worse. He does
not validate any of her thoughts, blames everything on her, and makes her pay
one hell of a bill to have her tortured and imprisoned. I
really really wished that SOMEONE in Esther’s life would be willing to actually
listen to what she is going through
and help her not blame herself for not being able to deal with the
meaninglessness of life.
I agree that it seems like no one really understands Esther, and it's really frustrating. While we know more about depression and support women in independent/leadership roles today, witnessing Esther struggle to have someone else understand her intentions is hard. She doesn't want to take notes for someone else's brilliant ideas, she wants to compose ideas of her own. If she had a friend who really understood her, she might not have felt so hopeless and meaningless, and although her medical depression was most likely unavoidable, it might have been better, or she could have recovered faster.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was sad to see how even her mom didn't really take her mental illness seriously which can be seen in her mom's ignorant comments. How different would this story be if someone was actually willing to take the time to try and understand her from the start?
ReplyDeleteEsther's solitude seems especially pronounced when we observe her rejection of Joan's obvious admiration and affection for her, a rejection that doesn't always make a lot of sense, as it would seem that they have a lot (too much?) in common.
ReplyDeleteBut your angry comments about how much Gordon screws up call to mind the key role that Dr. Nolan plays in the novel. She is a doctor and a mentor and even a kind of mother-figure for Esther, but Esther also describes her as a friend, says she "loves" her, that they talk all the time but she can't recall what they talk about (presumably because it's so immersive and fun that she isn't thinking *about* it). Esther confides her deepest worries about sexuality and pregnancy to Nolan, and Nolan performs an incalculable service by denouncing the sexual double standard as "propaganda!" Your point about Esther needing a real friend among her peer group makes sense, but in some significant ways, Nolan serves the role that you're calling for here.
I totally agree with what you say about Dr. Nolan, she is absolutely critical to Esther's recovery in many ways, and certainly fills part of the void left by Esther's lack of friends. However, I do not think that Nolan is a perfect substitute for friends her own age. Dr. Nolan is, primarily, Esther's doctor and that comes with certain implications that Nolan is always the one giving and Esther the one receiving. Although Dr. Nolan does play the part of the friend that Esther needs, she will not be with Esther forever. I think Esther needs to form reciprocal relationships with people in her own peer group so that she becomes more of a part of society and less likely to fall back into depression;
DeleteIt kind of sucks, because as readers, we sympathise with Esther and want to be her friend, but can't. And the people that are around her, don't make the effort to understand her or to give her support. It feels pretty depressing that she has no friends; it's great when Dr Nolan comes into the picture.
ReplyDeleteEsther's lack of friends at her worst times in the novel really upset me as well. Like you said, until Dr. Nolan came along, there was nobody who really wanted to talk to Esther and hear her side of it as well. Dr. Gordon just didn't care and, as you said, took advantage of that and her mother wouldn't listen to her. It does make you wonder what the novel would have been like if Esther had a true friend with her the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI think part of what Esther needed throughout the novel was a sense of validation. Dr. Gordon dismisses her in a similar way as everyone else who hears about her personal objection to marriage, or children, or building her own career. Dr. Nolan, however is a living example of what Esther can become, a professionally successful woman independent from a man's supervision. Her existence alone is an eye opener for Esther, and it sets her on the road to recovery.
ReplyDeleteI've always had a hard time reading novels like this because of how sad and real it is.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get your constructive criticism on my stories at www.brittanyjackson.weebly.com
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