Conclusion of The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar was a very different narrative than anything I have ever read, but there are a lot of similarities in certain themes that make the read very relate-able. It makes sense to me to relate Esther to Supercargo in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Both characters are undoubtedly crazy and what makes their crazy more profound is the realization that they know, in some aspects that they are crazy. (Of course the reason for their “crazy” is the result of different influences within their worlds.) Esther denounces the institution of the “feminine role”; of being a mother and wife and not having the freedoms of a man, with his opportunities for freedom outside of the home. The bell jar equals this institution; the bell jar is the life of a homemaker. It is always present, hovering over her prepared to drop at any moment to capture her in its grasp.

This connection of the bell jar and her role in society is proven through the evidence of Esther’s relationship with men throughout the novel. She portrays just about every man she comes in contact with as very “1-dimensional” beings. They have no true concern for Esther or her problem. She does not want to fit into the expectations of others on how her life should be conducted. She even has issues with women that are involved in the stereotypical roles of women of that time. She has problems with connecting to her mother, she cannot relate to Dodo Conway and, though Joan is portrayed as being a lesbian, she cannot find herself to appreciate Joan’s “girly ways”. Though her defiance is profound, she is not a very intense or peculiar character. The only thing that Esther has going for her is the fact that she is crazy. And it’s really sad that the only way a woman can have the power to be independent from her surroundings and environment is for her to be crazy.