She did it

Practically all of the female characters in Esther’s life let her down -- the rebellious Doreen succumbs to a man; the woman who raised her fails to comprehend her mental state -- given how consistently she is disappointed and disenchanted by the circumscribed expectations and limitations imposed on her gender, it’s almost a godsend that the asylum introduces her to Doctor Nolan, who is not only credible by her title as a doctor, but also surprisingly sympathetic to Esther’s cause. It almost makes me think that she could be a potential version of Esther, because even with her limited dialogue, she manages to convey herself as a dependable ally, with the exception of her delayed warning about the shock treatment. Doctor Nolan first got my attention when she responded to Esther’s hatred for her mother with a satisfied “I suppose you do.” This initially gave me a sinister impression, until I began reminding myself exactly what her mother represents. From her high appraisal of shorthand to her evident ignorance of Esther’s symptoms, Mrs. Greenwood somewhat unknowingly puts an exceptional amount of pressure on Esther to conform to society’s norms for women. For Esther to literally reject this notion indicates to Doctor Nolan that her mindset is on the right track for rehabilitation.

Esther’s difficulty with trusting people is glaringly apparent throughout the novel and often hinders her ability to articulate what she wants. Doctor Nolan is perhaps the one character that earns her trust and represents what we often refer to as an “ideal audience”. Her blatant dismissal of Doctor Gordon’s shock regimen, other than being the correct assessment, is extremely symbolic on a larger spectrum. Whereas Doctor Gordon conducted the treatment extremely impersonally, Doctor Nolan’s administering of the shock treatment is supposedly effective in curing Esther with the added bonus of her considerate reassurances to Esther about her safety.

When a noticeably deflated Buddy finally returns to pick Esther up from the asylum and asks if he’s responsible for her insanity and Joan’s suicide, she can’t help but laugh. But what I find most striking about this scene is Doctor Nolan’s unwavering response: “Nobody did it. She did it.” While this could be seen as victim-blaming, it’s almost like the Doctor is giving due recognition to Joan on account of her choice; in other words, men have already taken so much, they don’t deserve to take credit for this too. Even with the novel’s proto-feminist sentiments, we cannot expect Esther to emerge from the asylum as a completely self-confident, self-empowered individual with no tolerance of gender circumscription, but she is certainly able to employ a new mindset that makes her as accountable to her own fate as any male doctor or husband that may impress on her. Doctor Nolan gives her this perspective, and it’s not by shrugging off the role men play in constraining and oppressing women, but rather by emphasizing that in spite of these restraints a woman should not allow how she chooses to cope with that burden to be under male jurisdiction.