Who Is A Parallel Character In The Bell Jar

Many times authors choose to make characters, like Esther Greenwood from the novel the Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, dynamic to display their internal struggle to make decisions based off of personal principles. Esther is misguided by society and the people around her, and only wishes to express who she really is. She is unable to do this because of the lofty standards for women of the 1950s, the choices of her mother and co-workers, and the invisible constraints of her own mind. Continuing throughout life, Esther attempts to fabricate her own world of misconceptions that hold her back.
Esther is a person who will not acclimatize the stereotypes of society. It was unnatural for women of this time period to hold any high working positions besides shorthand and other domestic roles. Trying to break free of this world of systematic oppression, she clings on to the people that inspire her to take action. In the beginning of the novel, the reader is introduced to Doreen, a parallel character to Esther in the fact that she is willing to be sexual. From Esther’s standpoint, there are only “two kinds of people, virgin and not virgin.” (Plath 82). This leads to the internal battle of Esther trying to not

She has numerous options to choose from, but in her head she creates a restrictive world where she can only pick one. Bringing up a fig tree, she compares her life to the roots flowing off in every direction. Even though Esther is ambitious, she is indecisive and does not know which option to fulfill, “One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee” (Plath 77). Esther has many great ideas, but one after another passes them up to do nothing. In her head she falls into a deep depression that clouds her mind, and makes her unable to pursue the pastimes she