The Bell Jar - Characters

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.
• Joan, an old friend of Esther, is mentally unstable and eventually commits suicide after living in the asylum with Esther for a while.
• Doctor Nolan is Esther’s doctor at the countryside hospital. She is a slim young woman who manages to connect with Esther more than any other doctor. She also administers shock therapy to Esther and does it correctly, which leads to positive results.
• Doctor Gordon 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.
• Mrs. Greenwood, Esther’s mother, is a woman who only wants the best for Esther, but is not always sure how to go about giving her that.
• Buddy Willard is Esther’s former boyfriend from her hometown. Esther adored him until he slept with a waitress who worked at a restaurant with him. He proposes to her at one point, and Esther laughs it off and then argues with him about how unrealistic and hypocritical he is.
• Doreen, a rebellious young woman, is another intern at Ladies' Day, the magazine which Esther won an internship for the summer, and Esther’s best friend at the hotel in New York where all the interns are staying. Esther wants to please Doreen, and spends most of her time with her.
• Constantin, a simultaneous interpreter with a foreign accent, got Esther’s phone number from Mrs. Willard. They go on a date together and Esther sleeps the night at his apartment.
• Mrs. Willard is Buddy Willard's mother, a dedicated homemaker, who is determined to set up Buddy and Esther.
• Mr. Willard, Buddy Willard's father, Mrs. Willard's husband, and a good family friend; he is kind to Esther.
• Irwin, a tall but rather ugly young man, is the man to whom Esther loses her virginity, and causes her to hemorrhage. He is a "very well paid professor of mathematics" and invites Esther to have coffee, which leads to her having sex with him, which leads to Esther's having to go to the hospital to get help to stop bleeding.
• Jay Cee is Esther’s strict boss who is very intelligent, so "Her plug-ugly look don't seem to matter." She is responsible for editing Esther’s work.
• 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.
• Philomena Guinea, a wealthy elderly lady, is the person who donated the money for Esther's college scholarship. Esther’s college requires the girls on scholarship to write a letter to their benefactor, thanking them. Philomena invites Esther to have a meal with her. At one point, she was also in an asylum herself, and pays for the "upscale" asylum that Esther stays in.
• Marco, a Peruvian man and friend of Lenny Shepard, is set up to take Esther to a party and ends up abusing her.
• Betsy, a wealthier girl from the magazine, is a “good” girl from Kansas whom Esther strives to be more like, torn between two extremes.
• Hilda, another girl from the magazine, is generally disliked by Esther after making negative comments about the Rosenbergs.