The Bell Jar | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Betsy - One of the guest interns at Ladies' Day, she represents the ultimate
"nice girl": an All-American girl from Kansas who will wait patiently for a husband, a big farm, and plenty of children--without losing her virginity before marriage.

Cal - Esther's date at the beach. Like many of the men in the novel, this character attempts to teach Esther something; in his case, the methods of suicide.

Constantin - A translator at the United Nations. Originally, Esther attempts to get this character to seduce her. Unfortunately, when they actually...
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