The Expectations of Society with the Women in the Virginia Woolf’s Novel: The Bell Jar

 The Bell Jar is a comprehensive study on women that portrays a complicated, often frightening depiction of what it meant to be a woman in 1950s America. Esther frequently ponders about the inequalities between men and women, as well as the numerous social roles they are obligated to perform. The majority of her thoughts revolve around sex and her career. Esther's interactions with other female characters in the narrative complicate these insights further by presenting varied perspectives on the concept of womanhood. Esther is annoyed by society's insistence that young women remain virgins until marriage while allowing male sexual freedom, Female characters such as Esther's mother, Mrs. Willard, and Betsy embrace these social norms and attempt to impose them on Esther by mailing her pro-chastity pamphlets and dispensing sexist maxims. Female characters such as Doreen, Dr. Nolan, and Joan Gilling challenge these stereotypes and introduce Esther to other perspectives. Dr. Nolan assures Esther that there is nothing wrong with pre-marital sex and advises her to get fitted with a diaphragm as Doreen models an unmarried sexual relationship with Lenny Shepherd. Esther sees a lesbian relationship that defies society's heterosexual standards through Joan's affair with Dee Dee.
Esther's society not only enforces a double standard for men's and women's sexual life, but it also has different expectations for male and female vocations. Women are generally expected to be homemakers, spouses, and mothers, devoting their resources to caring for men and children rather than pursuing their own ambitions. Esther's mother, Mrs. Willard, Betsy, Dodo Conway, and many others model this typical route and suggest that Esther follow it as well. Her mother's request that she acquire shorthand suggests her mother's belief in a low-level, traditionally female secretarial vocation. On the other end of that spectrum, Jay Cee, Philomena Guinea, Dr. Nolan, and Dr. Quinn exemplify and encourage Esther to pursue professions outside the household sphere.
Though some of the heterosexual men in the novel are sympathetic or at least harmless, many of the novel's male characters perpetuate Esther's society's terrible gender disparity and treat Esther and the women around her with blatant chauvinism. Buddy feels Esther is inferior-minded just because she is a woman, and he also assumes she will want to marry, have children, and abandon all personal ambitions to become a housewife. Esther is objectified by Marco (and, to a lesser extent, Irwin) for their personal sexual enjoyment. Esther describes Marco as a "woman-hater." Indeed, he argues that all women are the same and tries to rape Esther.