Esther's Social Disconnect

I found it interesting in our last discussion in class that the idea of men being one-dimensional characters came up. I have always heard the Bell Jar referred to as a feminist novel, but I didn’t see indication of the in the text until our discussion. And although the two doctors at the end of the novel that help Esther are male, I find it notable that the only multi-dimensional main characters that Esther is tied to on an emotional level are all women. I think this is the author's conscious commentary on the typical detached connection that women share with men. Then again, that type of connection could also just be a result of our main character’s own lacking of social ability.

The relationship between Esther and her brother seems to be virtually non-existent, but the relationship that Esther shares with her mother is also unhealthily distant. I find myself wondering Esther’s lack of real connections to others can be considered the driving force for her depression and suicide attempts. It seems very plausible that someone who seemed to be successful and in control on the outside (Esther as we saw her early in the novel), but with weak connections to others, would have a fascination with death and removing oneself from the world, as Esther does. Esther's fascination with those sort of things is very odd, but upon examining the connections she shares with others, it seems that it would be surprising if she was even able to lead a healthy life.