Can you compare and contrast madness and social hierarchies in Diary of a Madman and The Bell Jar?

In Gogol's "Diary of a Madman," the madman is obsessed with his boss and his boss's daughter. He is also obsessed with rank. This emphasis on rank is a common theme in Nineteenth Century Russian literature as the social hierarchy at the time involved a class system, referred to as the Table of Ranks. As a civil servant, the madman ranks relatively low on this scale. It could be argued that the infatuation with rank is what leads to his madness. By the end of the story the madman believes himself to be the King of Spain (which of course would make him very high ranking).

In Plath's The Bell Jar, the social hierarchy relates not to class, but to gender. Esther's madness seem to stem from anxiety over her lack of freedom and opportunity for self-fulfillment in a patriarchal society.