In Defense of Esther Greenwood

While reading others' blogs I've seen quite a few epithets tossed around to describe Esther; crazy, callous, indifferent and self- centered all come to mind. I think that, while certainly Esther is a peculiar girl and without denying that her mental illness was in fact real, a little too much has been made of her condition without first considering the circumstances and context of the novel. Both internal and external factors need to be taken into account and, as some have pointed out, the lion's share of the blame cannot be put squarely on Esther. The prevailing attitude about Esther seems to be one of negativity; I believe Plath would have wished for us to view Esther with a bit more sympathy, especially since she is in large part writing about herself.

First I'd like to address the insinuation that Esther is in fact callous. I believe a more accurate description of her condition might be one of indifference. Esther certainly has trouble relating to others at times, and there are certainly instances where her response to the concerns and troubles of others was very inappropriate. The encounter with Doreen where she is vomiting in the hotel hallway and Esther decides to shut her out, contrasted with Doreen's care of Esther during the food poisoning, comes to mind. This much is undeniable. I can't help but question, however, how much more callous her behavior is than many of the other characters are in the novel. Compare for instance the reactions to the Rosenberg affair by Esther and then by Betty, who is supposedly an amiable and innocent character. Esther's reaction, while certainly morbidly curious and decidedly indifferent, is no worse than Betsy's-- she professes that she hopes the Rosenbergs burn in hell, or something to that effect.

Certainly there are also external forces that weigh heavily on Esther; despite her personal shortcomings she is still a remarkably talented girl. Despite this fact her options in life are apparently limited, both by her condition and by her gender. The response of other characters to her illness is particularly telling; Mrs. Greenwood and (to a lesser extent) Mr. Willard, seem to believe that any kind of illness is a shortcoming of the will. No more obvious is this than in Mrs. Greenwood telling Esther: "I knew my baby wasn't like that." Dr. Gordon, a professional psychiatrist who is supposed to be helping Esther, likewise seems to regard her with indifference or even disdain, and then forces the electroshock treatment (which in itself is a highly controversial practice) upon her. At no point does he ever truly listen to Esther or try to address her condition, he just treats her as just another crazy.

Part of this might have to do with her status as a woman; despite her talents she is expected to conform and behave in a manner consistent with other girls her age. She is expected to be perky, upbeat, docile-- character traits that are consistent with becoming a housewife. In a lot of ways those around her view this as her best prospect-- Buddy Willard certainly seems to think she's his de-facto fiance-- short of becoming a secretary; nobody except for maybe the editor Jay Cee ever stops to acknowledge her talents. At no point is the power imbalance between men and women expemplified than in her encounter with Marco, the womanizer, who treats her as a "slut", just as he views all girls to be. The brutality with which he treats her is arguably the event that leads to her "cracking", which brings me to my next point.

Is Esther Greenwood truly crazy? Certainly she goes from being simply quirky to completely non- functional at some point in the novel; her mental condition is very real, but what is the nature of it? Based on causes and symptoms, Esther's condition seems consistent with a very deep depression, or perhaps a nervous breakdown, as a result of high stress, disappointment and traumatic events (the attempted rape comes to mind). Certainly this wouldn't qualify as "crazy" in our contemporary society; the way she is handled by those around her is as much a function of the times as they are of any of her shortcomings.

At the novel's conclusion, much of Esther's condition seems to have been cured, or at least temporarily alleviated. In particular her views on sex and death prove quite pertinent to the improvement in her disposition; she has her first consensual, liberating sexual experience, which helps to relieve the pressure and hangups imposed upon her by society, and witnesses the death of somebody close to her, which normalizes her to the experience and allows her to empathize to an extent. This raises questions as to the efficacy of her institutionalization, and relates back to my train of thought-- is Esther Greenwood really all that crazy, or for that matter any crazier than the society around her?