Mental Health

Rachel’s mental health is a central aspect of her character arc, as one of the main dramatic tensions in the novel is the question of whether she will be able to overcome the unhealthy habits and beliefs that have taken over her life. A primary manifestation of Rachel’s mental illness is her eating disorder. The very first line of the novel establishes the fact that this disorder takes up most of her time and attention: “It didn’t matter where I lived…It didn’t matter where I worked…All that mattered was what I ate, when I ate, and how I ate it” (1). This disorder is a symptom of the deeper psychological issues that Rachel suffers, such as a need for external approval, and a lack of internal self-affirmation. In this way, the novel demonstrates how mental illness can be unhealthy both...