

The reader learns about her mother’s grief when Esther attempted to kill herself from newspaper clippings and Joan’s story.

Her character analysis gives us a chance to see how a person in depression thinks and acts and why they do so.Īs her illness progresses, Esther becomes an unreliable narrator. The protagonist is self-critical and describes her suicidal attempts in all detail. The news, like other grim events like the attempted rape and the execution of the Rosenbergs, throw her into depression. On her return, Esther learns she was not accepted. Before leaving for New York for the training as a guest editor, she applies for a literature course. She dreams of becoming a professional poet. 👩 Esther GreenwoodĮsther is a 19-year-old college student who wins an internship at a fashion magazine in the novel’s beginning. It contains all the key characters that appear in the novel. Below you’ll find The Bell Jar character map.
