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Lenny Sheperd
Lenny Sheperd and his romance with Doreen begins Esther's descent into madness, as it leaves Esther alone and to herself. -
Jay Cee
Jay Cee is a step in Esther's descent towards madness because she is the first to mention Esther's lack of specific goals. -
Constantin
Esther's thoughts during her time with Constantin are no aid to her building crazy nature. She continues to think of being seduced by him, and later thinks of how she never wants to be married as that would enslave her to the work of a wife. -
List of Inadequacies
When she begins listing everything she cannot do Esther limits herself and degrades herself, which causes her to break down even more. -
Hilda & the Rosenbergs
When Hilda begins to talk about the Rosenbergs and how she is happy they are going to die, Esther shows signs of breaking down a little bit at human nature. -
Photo Shoot
Esther's breakdown at the photo shoot is a perfect sign of her overall breakdown, as she falls apart due to the fact that she does not know what she is doing anymore. -
Marco
Marco and his entire scene is a major descent for Esther. By realizing that men will take power like Marco does, and realizing that there are things she may never understand Esther is broken down more. -
Clothing Drop
When Esther drops her wardrobe into New York City, it shows another sign of complete breakdown. Feeling completely at a loss, Esther gives up on her chance to interact with society by simply tossing all her clothes, giving up some of the little she has left. -
Mirror View
Occurring multiple times, notably after Esther drops all her clothes, Esther looks in the mirror and sees something that is not her, or that she believes cannot be her, and instead must be a haggard and awful other being. -
Blood Paint
Esther's removal of the blood from her face left by Marco, or the lack thereof, is indicative of a madness that drives a lust for some sort of trophy, even from a loss of sorts. -
Dodo Conway
Esther's belief that Dodo Conway is marching her children up and down the sidewalk simply to bother her shows a deterioration of Esther's mental state, as that many children could drive anyone out of the house. -
Declining Jody
By declining to join Jody and simply take a different course Esther isolated herself and created a prime opportunity for breakdown, as she is now more lonely than before. -
Novel
When Esther begins her novel, it seems to be sapping all of her little energy. Though she isn't writing much at all she has no time to change or to take care of herself in general. -
Reading
While reading a page she once analyzed, Esther claims the letters form barbs and rams horns, which is once more a sign of her mental deterioration. -
Personal Hygiene
When Esther begins to describe her personal hygiene habits of the past few days it shows that she has lost her will to keep going. Having stopped changing and washing, she has grown filthy and shows no signs of changing how she appears. -
Doctor Gordon
Doctor Gordon sets Esther off like wildfire, as everything about him seems to trigger a response from Esther. The way he looks, everything he says, his treatments, Esther dislikes all of it, and it is clear that Esther does not heal, but rather hurt, due to Doctor Gordon. -
"Mrs. Willard"
Esther's thoughts of Mrs. Willard stalking her display obvious paranoia and mental breakdown, as she mistakes a woman who could not possibly be Mrs. Willard, for Mrs. Willard, even though she is in the Adirondacks.