Compare and contrast the ways in which female madness is presented in both The Bell Jar and A Streetcar Named Desire.

The social pressures of women and their psyches are enforced by the omnipresence of newsand fashion media, which in post-war America propagated the domesticated role of womenwithin the household. Plath’s novel surrounds Esther with these pressures, leading her toconstruct a bell jar within her own consciousness. This seemingly spurs on “the great issue” 21that she fears; purity and doubled ideals, unlike Blanche who embraces them. With this inmind, “the root cause of [Esther’s] psychological space between self and society” (Baig, 8)comes from her inability to identify herself within it. Her disillusionment to the outsideworld leads to her growing sadness and isolation, both mentally and physically, furtherseparating her from society. Whereas, Williams depicts it physically, acoustically and visuallyin the climax of the play; Scene 10. Engrossing the audience in the “lurid shadows”, thedistorted ‘Varsouviana’ and the moving walls, along with the “jungle noises” that physicallyisolates her on stage, representing the pinnacle of her mental struggle. Madness in relationto Esther’s sorrowed, internal isolation in some ways is also indebted to how she directlycontrasts the ideals around her. For Plath who wanted to be “everyone” 22 , not only do wewitness Esther’s deterioration from her personal perspective but collective society’sreception of madness. Comparably displayed in the rising action of Williams’ play, followingFreytag’s Pyramid, one instance being Stanley claiming Blanche’s situation is a “swindle”(p.29). To Esther, it’s simply “the more hopeless you were, the further away they hid you”(p.105). Society’s progressive image of a united, collectivist, industrialised society, putforward by the media, is still entrenched with ideals to marginalise ‘the other’ (those whoare mentally ill in this case) from society. Thus, the dichotomy for Esther is between socialpressures and her own self-willed freedom that opposes society’s categorisation of womenparticularly. Neither full liberation, nor fully fulfilling their social/gender role are applicableto anyone in the text but are stressed in both female protagonists. Plath’s Esther, likeBlanche, can’t ever sit comfortably within the compressed society she is in, mirroring Plath’sown “time of darkness, despair, and disillusion” 23 . A young woman’s only ‘suitable’ optionsin the 1950’s were to either be a virgin, or to be married. If tries to pursue a full career, itwould likely be a secretary role “briskly jotting down line after line of shorthand”, withlimited mobility from the position. The prospect of this reality leaves Esther’s mind “blank”as it proves her fears of being stagnant, in the eyes of society, no matter what she decidesregardless of choice or pressure.