The Bell Jar: Book Notes

Setting

June 1953–January 1954
New York City; the Boston suburbs; hospitals in and around Boston

The story begins in the summer of 1953. Esther returns home from New York City where she had stayed for the summer with an internship for Ladies Day Magazine. Once she returns to her home in the suburbs in Boston everything seems to go down hill for Esther. After being denied to her dream college, she develops major depression and then proceeds to attempts to commit suicide in her crawl space in her basement after taking large amount of sleeping pills. After this attempt the rest of the novel is mainly set in hospitals and mental institutions before her release in january 1954.

Conflicts

Person vs Self

Esther constantly thinks of herself of having no future after she was rejected from a writing program at the college she has always dreamed of going to.
After being rejected from the writing program Esther’s had an extremely low self esteem
This low self esteem lead Esther to her suicide attempt, and also lead Esther to believe that no one in the hospital could cure her or help her with her future.
Esther struggles to find her inner self.
She had a split personality- Esther would pretend to be other characters
reflections of herself (self reflection) -she did not recognize her self until her suicide attempt when she then looked in the mirror and finally recognize herself, and ended up dropping the mirror. She has lost all sense of self.

Person vs Society

Relationship with her mother- Esther’s mother lacks the ability to show compassion towards her daughter because of her mental illness.
Society is rejecting her- Esther wants to be an individual while society is pressuring her to conform.

Rejection is a conflict that constantly appears throughout the novel.

Esther is rejecting herself (looking in the mirror)
Esther’s mother is rejecting her (because of her mental illness)
Society is rejecting Esther

Societal Pressures for women in the 1950’s

Esther constantly has anxiety about making big choices for herself in her life.
Esther can only see mutually exclusive choices for her future. To be a virgin or whore, and to be unassertive married woman or a successful but lonely career women.

Themes

Societal Pressure/ Role of Women

During the 1950’s women in society were looked upon to get married, have children for the wife to take care of while the husband is at work. Through out the novel Esther felt extremely isolated from society because many people expect young women to get married and start a family. Mean while Esther has tremendous writing abilities that have earned her many prizes and scholarships. Esther wants to continue writing and pursue a future career in writing which is not common for women during the 1950’s. All of the girls constantly mock Ester for her passion for writing but start to give her some respect when she begins dating Buddy.

Sexuality/ Role of Women

Through out the 1950’s sex was not about love or intimacy. For men sex was about power and control and for women sex was mainly about having children. During the 1950’s men could go around sleeping with women which was considered normal. If a woman on the other hand went around sleeping with males she was considered a ‘slut.’ Women in the 1950‘s had to remain sexually abstinent until they were married, and then they could have sex but purely for the purpose of starting a family. Esther decided to reject her boyfriend Buddy when she realized he represented a sexual double standard. Buddy admitted that he had cheated on Esther with another girl, but he still expected Esther to remain a virgin until they get married.

Characters

Esther Greenwood

Esther is the main character of the novel and is also narrating her story. She receives a scholarship at an all women’s college for writing, which is how the story begins. She also works at an internship in the summer for Ladies Day magazine in New York city. This is where she meets most of her friends throughout the novel. Esther is going through a lot of stress trying to figure out what she is going to do for her future career or whether she will just get married instead. All of this stress and anxiety leads her to suffer severe depression, an attempt to try and take her own life and a slow recovery to follow.

Doreen

Doreen is another one of Esther’s friends who also is an intern at Ladies Day magazine in New York City. Doreen constantly sets up Esther with people to go on dates with so she can have alone time with her boyfriend. Esther decides to end their friendship after she has been put through many difficult situations. Doreen comes home drunk one night from her boyfriends house and Esther had to take care of her.

Jay Cee

Jay Cee is one of Esther’s friends and her boss at Ladies Day Magazine. Esther looks up to Jay Cee and appreciates all the advice she offers.

Betsy

Betsy is an intern at Ladies Day magazine in New York City. After Esther spends time with Doreen she later realizes that she is more like Betsy.

Lenny Shepherd

Lenny Shepherd is a disc jockey Doreen met at a bar and eventually they start dating. Esther is friends with both of them.

Marco

Marco went on a date with Esther before she left New York. He does not have any respect for women and tries to rape Esther.

George Bakewell

George is a hospital intern that consistently visits Esther in the hospital during her recovery, after trying to commit suicide. Ester and George went to the same church which is why he decides to visit Ester. Esther believes he is lying and just visits her to do research on her and also out of his curiosity, which is why Esther tells him to never see her again.

Jody

Jody is Esther’s friend who sets up Esther with Cal.

Cal

Cal is a man who Esther goes to the beach with. While they are at the beach they discuss a play about a man who gets a brain disease from an ‘unclean’ women. This is symbolizing Esther being an ‘unclean’ women and Cal being the one affected by Esther.

Constantin

Constantin is a translator for the United Nations. Esther is immediately attracted to him because she says he has intuition. He takes Esther out for lunch and later she decides to let him seduce her which turns out to the both of them falling asleep.

Irwin

Irwin is a professor at Harvard. After meeting him at a library Esther chose to seduce him and sleep with him. After the act Esther begins bleeding and has to go to the hospital, and chooses to never see him again.

Buddy Willard

Buddy Willard dated Esther. Their attraction and love was very strong for each other until he cheated on her. Esther found his behavior to contradict his views on sex after marriage. Even though Buddy betrayed Ether he is constantly on her mind.

Dodo Conway

Dodo is Esthers neighbor, who has six children which impresses her because of the large family size.

Mr. Manzi

Mr. Manzi is the professor who Esther convinces that she does not need to take chemistry because she would not benefit from it, when in fact she struggles in the subject.

Joan Giling

Joan met Ester in the same mental institution after a similar suicide attempt. Joan ended up having many more problems then Esther did but cut her stay short at the institution sooner then she should have. A short while later she returned and hung herself. She also dated Buddy.

Dr. Gordon

Dr. Gordon is Esther’s male doctor who treats her insomnia with cruel shock treatments that only add more problems to her mental state.

Mrs. Greenwood

Mrs. Greenwood is Esther’s mother who is a hardworking single parents after the death of her husband. Due to the lack of attention she shows Esther their relationship is slowly falling apart. She also makes sarcastic comments concerning Esther’s mental illness that demonstrate her embarrassment of her daughter instead of her concern.

Philomena Guinea

Philomena provides a scholarship for Esther to attend college. She also provided money so Esther could stay at the mental institution. After all of her generosity Esther did not show any appreciation.

Dr. Nolan

Dr. Nolan is the only psychiatrist at the mental institution who Esther trusts, until she scheduled an electroshock therapy session without informing Esther.

Mrs. Ockenden

Mrs. Ockenden is Esther’s nosy neighbor who constantly watches Esther through her window. She was a nurse and suspects Esther’s behavior as suspicious.

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