Throughout the novel, Esther has been plagued by society's expectations for her, as a woman, to remain pure for a man. Constrictive like the bell jar over Esther, these expectations contribute in some part to her depression. However, in Chapter 18, she decides to take action. She is inspired by Dr. Gordon's denouncing the article "In Defense of Chastity" written by a "married woman lawyer with children."
Esther decides to get fitted for birth control. After doing so, she gains a sense of self-ownership, breaking away from society's expectations: "I was my own woman." No longer worrying about having a baby, Esther decides to lose her virginity on her own terms, so that society can't hold that over her: "The next step was to find the proper sort of man." And that she does. She meets Irwin, a young intelligent math professor with plenty of sexual experience who meets Esther's criteria. After seeing him and his study, she "decide[s] to seduce him." This is quite the opposite of her encounter with Constantin, whom she lets seduce her. Esther is much more in control, in some ways going against what society expects of her. When she actually has sex, she is surprised, having expected a "miraculous change to make itself felt," similar to Stephen. What changes happened to her were not through some miracle, but through herself. It is through her own actions that she was able to free herself from the constraints she felt society had on her. Now, without her virginity to worry about, Esther has removed the "millstone" from around her neck.
Despite Esther dealing with depression throughout most novel, I found these actions of hers a good sign that she is recovering, despite the ambiguous ending of the novel.
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