I am climbing to freedom, freedom from fear, freedom from marrying the wrong person, like Buddy Willard, just because of sex, freedom from Florence Crittenden Homes where all the poor girls go who should have been fitted out like me, because they did, they would do anyway, regardless…
-- Esther (Chapter 18 paragraph Paragraph 2 , pg. 223)

Importance: Esther finds sexual freedom when she is fitted for birth control. She sees it as a way to have sex without becoming pregnant, which she has always been told would happen if she had sex. Sex has always been scary to Esther before because she did not want to become pregnant. This freedom leads to her healing and sense of empowerment in her life.

To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself it the bad dream.
-- Esther (Chapter 20 paragraph Paragraph 4, pg. 237)

Importance: This quote shows how Esther feels trapped by her mental illness. There is nothing else in her...