Sara (Ellen Burstyn)’s Timeline and Summary

Sara hides in the closet while Harry steals her TV.
She later buys it back from Mr. Rabinowitz.
After getting a call that she is going to be on TV, Sara attempts a crash diet to fit into her red dress.
That doesn't work, so she gets a prescription for diet pills.
Sara receives the TV application in the mail and fills it out.
Then she waits.
And waits.
And waits.
As she waits, her body becomes accustomed to the diet pills, and she takes more to maintain the effect.
The more diet pills she takes, the more her fractured fantasies become reality.
Sara thinks the fridge is trying to kill her and she flees her apartment.
She goes to the TV studio, where they call the police, who take her to the hospital.
In the hospital, she is given electroshock therapy.
At the end, Sara lies in her hospital bed, still lost in her fantasy where she is a winner.