Esther’s psychological crisis in The Bell Jar is likely a matter of stressful events triggering an episode of a disorder she’d always had. It seems likely that Esther suffered from schizotypal personality disorder (STPD), based on the symptoms she displayed.
STPD is a mental illness that involves symptoms of anxiety, depression, and warped perception of reality. Esther was unable to read or write because letters “associated themselves in fantastic, untranslatable shapes, like Arabic or Chinese” (65). This hallucinatory episode could likely be linked to STPD. STPD is generally caused by a traumatic event in a person’s early life, such as the death of Esther’s father when she was nine years old (18).
The crisis Esther faced was likely a result
STPD is a mental illness that involves symptoms of anxiety, depression, and warped perception of reality. Esther was unable to read or write because letters “associated themselves in fantastic, untranslatable shapes, like Arabic or Chinese” (65). This hallucinatory episode could likely be linked to STPD. STPD is generally caused by a traumatic event in a person’s early life, such as the death of Esther’s father when she was nine years old (18).
The crisis Esther faced was likely a result