Normal, according to Webster's Dictionary, is conforming with an accepted standard, model, or pattern. Unfortunately that standard is determined by a close-minded, unyielding force called society. "Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue it likes and then placing one in the most convenient niche it has." Society tells us what to do and who to be. Esther, the narrator of The Bell Jar, was considered a menace to society because she had difficulty conforming to the image that had been designed for her. She was a wonderful person trapped inside the mold of orthodoxy. After her escape from her social expectations she found herself in a downward spiral, simply because she unintentionally eluded "normality."

People are constantly teaching each other about their proper roles in society. In The Bell Jar, Esther receives instructions from many sources. The media, her family, and friends...