To what extent is society to blame for the mental decline of Nicole Dive in Tender is the Night and Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar

The custodytal decline of the two protagonists is apparent at heart some(prenominal) Tender is the Night and The Bell Jar whereby Scott Fitzgerald and Sylvia Plath respectively explore the stifling character of friendship and the effect this has on an individuals amiable health. An ingrained forethought of civilisation places certain constraints, most pertinently on the fe mannish role, as both authors openly explore the issues faced by those with a basic softness to cope with such pressures ultimately come abouting to their mental downf wholly.Neither Nicole nor Esther live on the social order required of them causing differents to label them as insane, barely it is the negative influence of society upon them which is the overwhelming guinea pig. Within TisN the reader witnesses Nicole Divers sound need for a male presence in which contrasts with the strong womens liberationist beliefs of Esther Greenwood. Both novels clearly demonstrate how the masculine world dictate s that women are to be regarded as possessions and constantly manipulated by a male counter image be it their overprotect or husband.The lack of a father in Nicoles bearing completelyowed dick Diver to become both a replacement father figure and husband giving him escalated dominance which ultimately caused the pressure on Nicole as an individual to increase significantly. Nicoles world had shattered, precisely it was only a flimsy and scarcely created world due to the incestuous relationship she was a part of. These flaws in Nicoles upbringing resulted in her softness to create a smell for herself as the past still troubled her.Nicole and Esther mutually place men on a pedestal non only due to their corporate trust on them but to a fault the ideals society forces upon them in regards to male superiority until they realise that not only can Dick and blood brother not live up to these expectations, but also that they are unrealistic for the society that they live in. Living in a patriarchal society makes Nicole leechlike on a controlling figure to make ethical judgements for her.She waits for Dick to make a moral comment, rather than continuing to develop the identity operator she was free to express in her private letters to Dick when explaining the mental health problems she was experiencing at that time. Similarly, when Buddy, who has never skied himself, instructs Esther in the sport, she mindlessly obeys. TisN Book 1 shows a complete contrast as Nicole is described as talented to exist in a mans world referring to her allowing a husband or caramel brown to take charge, portrayed with both Dick and Tommy.Nicole is trapped in her maidenlike role in the 1930s as, although she feels that Tommy opens up whole new worlds for her, he is simply a new domineering character in her purport who waited five years for her marriage to be over. Contrastingly, Esther is able to find power on the slopes which then allows her to see through the hypocrisy of so ciety in qualification men appear to be the superior gender mirroring the counter destination revolution emerging in America at the time.This also challenges the expectation of women regarding sexual equality and control as Esthers disgust mounts over Buddy having an affair with that tarty waitress while continuing to expect a virgin bride. The limited sexual choices available to Esther cause her to view the world as carve up into people who had slept with somebody and people who hadnt, thus making us cognisant of the importance of sex significantly a lack of for women, within this community. Nicole also has a breakthrough in exerting her independence and forcing Dick to take responsibility, when she realises that he is a coward who tries to blame his failures on her. This disappointment in realising that Dick is not what she had anticipated allows Nicole to see past the disillusionment. This independence is strengthened as the bulk ends from Nicoles viewpoint as Dick became a dot in her life. This allows her to become a dominant character which was a striking accomplishment before the womens rightist movements of the 1960s. Society isnt the only trigger however and the disillusionment of the protagonists is an underlying cause of their mental decline.Nicole uses her relationship with Dick as an escape from her illness but when family life becomes mundane it resurfaces. She consciously uses her marriage to evade problems however she was currently proven wrong as her marriage only instigated more demands on her character due to the expectations of a wife, apparent not only in terms of the society the book was set in, but also that of the writers reality. Scott Fitzgerald check to Horace Gregory of the New York Herald Tribune, was said to be sharing the failure of his protagonists as the life of Nicole closely mirrored that of his wife Zelda.This allowed him to use his experiences regarding the effect of societys pressures, and contemplate them in Ni cole Divers life. Her dreams of love and accomplishment are quickly distorted by the possession of property which causes emptiness in her life of important things contempt many viewing her life as ameliorate. Similarly, Esther primarily idolises Buddy as superficially he appears to be perfect a handsome Yale schoolchild with an interest in her despite macrocosm older, though soon she finds that he had fooled her all these years with hypocritical actions that society had allowed. 930s American Society had one expectation of women to marry and have children. Nicole initially gives the impression that she has good fallen into this locating however the role is forced upon her as she struggles to establish autonomy. Despite having a few(prenominal) choices Nicole subtly asserts her freedom through finances. Money and materialism are not instinctive to man but imposed by society for pouffe and this shows itself through Nicoles extravagant shopping sprees when she is able to find comfort in her materialistic ways, demonstrating the excessiveness of the Jazz Age.Nicole buys enough to fill a great list that ran two pages in an attempt to buy herself happy since she had few other options, unlike Esther whos ripening choices are presented on the Fig Tree. Yet she finds herself unable to make a decision as she felt that choosing one meant losing all the rest suppressing her choices due to the stark contrasts between the writer she wants to become and the house-wife she is pushed towards unlike the male characters around her who can have everything.The American Dream runs parallel end-to-end the two novels as the ideology forms the national ethos and both writers attack the important values it teaches. The disappointment is withal such(prenominal) for the female protagonists to cope with as reality fails to live up to the grand promise such principles make. wealth forms an integral part of this school of thought as many believe that materialistic items bri ng about happiness.Early on, Esthers life seems perfect despite being so poor she cant afford a magazine as she manages to earn a scholarship to college embodying the main principles of the ethos, though this soon crumbles as the pressure to play along becomes too great. The demands on Nicoles character similarly build up as she is pushed into becoming wife and mother, while keeping to the traditions of the Warren family. From afar, Nicole appears to have the perfect life, the grand-daughter of a horse trader with white crooks eyes, nevertheless all the wealthiness of the world could not stop her breakdowns.It is apparent that Nicole wants nothing more than to lead a happy life with her family, however being part of the tempestuous American expatriate community, a worldly attitude towards life easily takes over since Nicole has too much money. This money-orientated outlook on life withal goes as far as to drive her to use money as an advantage in her relationship with Dick even though he did not want to be owned, showing that despite the facade of having everything, she was incomplete happy nor would she ever be under such pretences.Equally Esthers inability to earn her desired place at university is an example of Sylvia Plath attacking the philosophy which gives false hopes to many especially the youth. These values also feature in Esthers move to New York as despite any outsider accept she was having the time of her life the truth of the situation couldnt differ more. She was supposed to be the resent of thousands of college girls however she found the materialistic flaws in society too much to deal with and conventional expectations to be cold after such outlook.Nicoles anticipation for love and accomplishment mirrors this. In conclusion, society is seen to be the contributing promoter towards both Nicole and Esthers mental declines as they both strive to accomplish all that they can. It is once reaching these aims that they realise its irrelevanc e and it is this disappointment which ultimately becomes too much for each protagonist to deal with. The illusions of society are knotty for these individuals to decipher, and they are both respectively tangled in its complexities.