A Case Of Esther Analytical Essay

Words: 713
Pages: 3

Esther is seen spiralling deeper into her mental illness as her behavior, speech, and hygiene begin to decline. Esther’s irrational behavior and speech is seen as she begins to take sight of insignificant objects, while losing her focus on important elements such as her own health. Esther states, “babadalaghara… I counted the letters… a hundred of them” when she eats alphabet soup. Although it may seem unusual for a person to take sight into information such as how many letters their soup holds, it is seen as especially odd as others begin to take sight of her behavior. A person that notices her irrational behavior of taking note of insignificant information is Teresa, Esther’s doctor, as she refers Esther to Doctor Gordon, a psychiatrist due to …show more content…
Her mental illness goes as far as to affect her personal hygiene when Esther doesn’t wash her “hair for three weeks” and doesn’t “sleep for seven nights”. Esther losing focus on important events such as showering or sleeping due to her belief that “it seemed so silly” is especially startling considering that she’ll be willing to count out how many letters there are in alphabet soup but won’t spend a few minutes to ensure that her hygiene is up to par. Esther’s behavior is noticed to the extent that doctors begin to recommend electroshock treatment hoping that it’ll correct her unusual way of thinking. The tension of Esther being forced to deal with society along with her mental illness takes a toll on her health as she begins to lose the ability to have freedom. From stereotypes stating that a woman is seen as an asset to a man to mental illness that causes a distorted view, Esther begins to be incapable of making her own decisions as people begin to tell her what to do with her life and how to fix