Thursday, September 25, 2008
Charlotte Perkings Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper"
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the protagonist of the story, a female that remains nameless is dealing with “temporary nervous depression”. In order to make her feel better, her husband John acquires a 3 month lease to colonial mansion for the summer. John, who is also a physician, is also treating her condition even though he believes she is not truly sick. She is absolutely forbiddien form her work which is writing, and is in great disagreement of that but does not say so. In the beginning of the story, although a little strange most of her thoughts are sane. She even diagnosis that “society and stimulus instead of opposition” would help her. Her mental condition severely deteriorates as the story develops. Her husband seems to pacify her and almost disregard her requests of where they stay in the house, and ultimately everything else she says to him. She ends up staying in a room with yellow wallpaper that she beings to write about in great detail. As more time goes on and she is left with her delusion, she begins to closely analyze the wallpaper. She comes to a conclusion that the pattern on it is of jail bars, and there is a woman being it that is crawling trying to get out. I believe that is herself that she sees behind those bars. On the last day of the house, the furthest point of her “fancies”, she tears down the wallpaper letting free the women behind it.
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3 comments:
Very interesting analogy - to think of the wallpaper pattern as jail bars that she is behind...
Wow that is great, i didnt think of the woman being her behind the wall. I thought it was more of a hallucination rather than a release.
Yes, I agree, you're certainly on the right--and a productive--track, here, esp. towared the end of you blog. The entry is a good lead in to journal investigation that probs details of her interaction/imaginative/emotional involvement with the wallpapaer to "flesh" some of this out. And don't forget, it is, in the final analysis, paper on a wall (with no windows, as in "Story of an Hour"; ther are doors, in both cases, but...)
Also, see the last paragraph of Katharine's blog, and my comments there and on other blogs.
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