Esther’s dishonest answer speaks to her lack of trust in the Doctor. Had Doctor Gordon built a report with Esther, he could have potentially received a more honest answer. However, he was only just at the stage of social formality following her ECT, and so the response he received reflected this. In Martin Smith’s Article, “Metaphors for mental distress as an aid to empathy: Looking through The Bell Jar” the author argues that this is evidence of Doctor Gordon’s “…clumsy and unsuccessful attempt…to establish some rapport.” (364). The quoted section referenced demonstrates how Doctor Gordan commandeered Esther’s autonomy, and made an uninformed medical decision about whether or not future ECT sessions would be beneficial for her. This further associates Doctor Gordon and ECT with capital punishment (as discussed in the critical introduction) and reinforces the idea that Esther’s initial experience with ECT is in response to her transgressive behavior, and not her mental illness as Doctor Gordon did not have enough rapport to fully understand her mental illness. Doctor Gordon’s neglect of Esther’s autonomy in her own medical treatment indicates an association with ECT and a lack of control over one’s own body. Through Plath’s depiction of the interpersonal elements of ECT it becomes apparent that beyond the treatment itself being traumatic, so is the patient provider relationship associated with the care.
