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Background/Autobiographical Elements
Plath’s own past is the basis for the character Esther. In the article On the Bell Jar Janet McCann writes that Plath’s own search for feminine independence could have played into her self-classification as neurotic. Esther is also plagued by her need for freedom from patriarchal dominance, which McCann wrote helped cause Plath’s depression. To add to these theories, The Bell Jar has been said to be the result of many years of electroshock treatment and the scars it left; the novel was the “storm behind [Plath’s] electroconvulsive shock treatment” The novel represents Plath’s “pain and mental suffering” as she struggled with her own mental illness. The level of fiction over the story of Plath’s own life is so thin that her mother fought its publication in the United States since, according to her mother, “[p]ractically every character represents someone- often in caricature - whom Sylvia loved.”

Characters

 * Esther Greenwood, the protagonist of the story, is a mentally unstable young adult who develops the idea that she is inadequate while living in New York. She is tormented with the idea and tries to commit suicide, believing that death is freedom after her father died when she was 9.
 * Doctor Gordan, is the first doctor Esther sees. He subjects her to traumatic shock treatments that haunt her for the rest of her time in medical care.
 * Doreen, a rebellious young woman, is Esther’s roommate at the hotel in New York. Esther wants to please Doreen, and spends most of her time with her.
 * Mr. Willard, Buddy Willard’s father, Mrs. Willard’s husband, and a good family friend, he is kind to Esther.
 * Lenny Shepard a wealthy young man living in New York, invites Doreen and Esther for drinks while they are on their way to a party. Doreen and Lenny start dating, taking Doreen away from Esther more often.