Charlotte Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper and Herland - Essay Example

Anna Gongos November 14, Draft Consequences of the Limitation of Freedom Three of the most fundamental aspects of human nature are the need for expression, the need for perceived control over one’s own life, and the desire to be understood and heard by others. If those freedoms are denied, as has historically occurred in many societies in regards to women, depression can occur, which in some cases can lead to anti-social behavior. However, people who are driven to depression can act out in a variety of ways. Some depressed people may turn in on themselves and end up contemplating suicide, as the protagonist did in The Yellow Wallpaper. Other depressed people, however, may act out towards others, which can lead to violence, revenge, or even revolution. Regardless of their reactions, oppression imposed by others has detrimental effects on one’s mental health, as is shown in the story written in 1892 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper. In the era that The Yellow Wallpaper was written, it was common for men such as the narrator’s husband, John, to use their role as a male authority figure to dominate over their wives, who had little independence due to the societal constraints placed on women at the time and tended to be submissive and obedient. The theme of this story revolves around a conflict of opinions between John, a physician, and his sick wife. The author indicates that John’s wife has suffered from a nervous breakdown, which John believes can be attributed to her writing career. In hopes of curing her mental state, the protagonist is prescribed medication and compulsory rest. As a concerned husband, John rents out a mansion for the summer, as he believes that a new environment and his skill as a physician will help his wife get better. On her husbands orders, the narrator is prohibited from any form of work, even the things that bring her solace and joy such as writing. This absolute restriction of expression causes the woman to become extremely bored and lonely, and to feel a complete lack of control over her own situation and her journey to recovery. Rather than allowing his wife to make choices for herself, the domineering husband goes ahead and rents the old mansion, which is in poor condition and thus is not appropriate for a recovering patient. When she expresses her opinions on matters such as which room she should stay in or how she can best overcome her nervous condition, the woman is shut down through signals such as a nod of disapproval from her husband. Male chauvinistic behaviour is portrayed through the husband’s actions when he dismisses his wife’s opinions and treats her as if she is inferior to him. In addition, as her physician, he insists that his wife is not really sick. Ironically, although John does not believe his wife is truly sick, he still imposes his rigid treatment methods on her in order to cure her. John’s approach is to treat his wife like a child who cannot understand her own emotions and does not know what is best for herself. By prescribing this treatment in a quiet “colonial mansion” (Gilman, 824) John also succeeds in cutting his wife off from the rest of the world and all social contact, where her strange behaviour might raise questions about his competence as a doctor. Although this can be seen as protecting his own interests, John justifies his actions by reasoning that seeing her family may be stressful and cause her condition to worsen. The narrator lives a very solitary and lonely life, and is almost a prisoner in the large mansion. Restrictions are placed on her movement and activities, and even access to her young child is denied. No respect is shown for her opinions about how she can best recover, and even contact with many of her relatives is restricted by her husband. Her story is that of a woman who is trapped within herself. She is prevented from doing what she loves the most, writing, as her husband thinks her writing is the cause of her nervousness. The woman in the narrative is sad and lonely as she is left alone most of the time, driving her to devise a mechanism for escape by analysing the patterns of the yellow wallpaper that lines the walls of her room. This practice helps her to reflect on her internal feelings and causes an alter ego to develop (Cramer). This personal reflection allows her to see clearly the injustices committed against the majority of women, who are denied a voice and suffocated by male dominance. The husband, who is a physician, thinks he knows what is best for her and does not permit her to have power over her own life. Although the narrator believes she can be successful as a writer and finds joy in writing, her husband insists that her writing is the cause of her illness. John’s suppression of his wife’s opinions and free will is an expression of male chauvinism in the traditional family model of that time. As a physician and husband, John thinks he knows what is best for his patient and wife. However, it is likely that the best way to a fast recovery is to allow the patient to relax, have light exercise, and do the things they enjoy. Throughout the story, the narrator describes every detail in the room, but in particular focuses on the yellow wallpaper, which begins to draw more and more of her attention. The wallpaper itself is a symbol of imprisonment: “The color is repellent, almost revolving” (Gilman, 825), and arouses aggression and anxiety. The series of vertical bars displayed on the wallpaper, and the face that appears behind those bars, suggests that the wallpaper is a prison. The wallpaper “dwells in my mind so” (Gilman, 828), until eventually she ends up thinking of nothing else. Also related to the theme of imprisonment, this story features the repeated use of the word “creep” to describe the movements of women. “Creep” is a word that describes a sneaking movement in order to hide something. The narrator frequently states that the figure she sees behind the wallpaper is, “like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind the pattern” (Gilman, 832). Later, she says “there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast” (Gilman, 832). The narrator, as a hostage of her husband in the upstairs bedroom, must hide her suspicions about the women in the wallpaper from her husband so that he will not discover her preoccupation with it. In this way, she also “creeps” around by studying the wallpaper only when she is alone to avoid him placing further restrictions on her life. Even the figments of her imagination are hidden from the confines and restrictions that her husband and society place on the narrator. The narrator’s vision of the women trapped behind the yellow wallpaper represents women suffering in silence who are not able to break free from the constraints of patriarchal social structures. These women are being suffocated by domineering men who control their every move, showing that they have lost their independence, which is a necessary requirement for a full and happy life. The consistent pattern of the wallpaper could be representative of the social evil in which women have become deprived of speaking their minds throughout much of history. During the narrator’s struggle with her identity as a woman, she develops an alter ego that lacks confidence but gains insight. Instead of truly understanding and offering comfort, her husband John develops a caring facade in an attempt to pretend that he truly cares for his wife. However, the narrator is perceptive enough to see that his concern and love is faked, which causes her to seek a way to let the woman trapped inside her out. She wants to break away from the entrapment of her own mind. Although, of all people, she is in the best position to find a remedy for her situation and illness, her voice and opinions are ignored by her husband, who sees himself as superior to her due to the fact that he is both a man and a physician. The woman’s brother then reinforces her husband’s dominance, which can be seen as men acting in cohort to suppress women’s independence. Her increasing awareness of her own entrapment takes a toll on the narrator, reaching a climax at the end of the vacation when she eventually tears at the wallpaper in an attempt to release her spirit from the torment and isolation she is experiencing. This is the ultimate expression of being under unbearable oppression. As these negative thoughts take an increasing toll on her mental health, the narrator’s husband’s lack of sensitivity becomes more apparent. Ironically, although John, in his wisdom as a physician, perceives that she is doing well, her condition worsens as the number of images in her head increases and paranoia concerning her husband’s intentions begins to grow. This shows that the recovery methods he has imposed on her have not been successful, despite his confidence in his own knowledge and his dismissal of his wife’s objections. As she falls deeper into her own thoughts, the yellow wallpaper in the room increasingly represents the creeping woman inside herself whom she desires to rescue out of desperation to have some control over her own life. Her passion to liberate the creeping spirit in the wallpaper turns into an obsession that gradually overtakes her thoughts until she can think of nothing else. Her perception of herself as that creeping woman trapped inside her own life and the complete lack of freedom and autonomy she feels lead to thoughts of suicide, where she locks herself in the room and throws the keys outside. Later, John falls and faints. This story acts as an example of how limiting a person’s freedom can not only drive them to unsound behaviour and break their spirit, but can also cause a negative effect on those around them, as in the end of the story, John is faced with the consequences of his suppression of his wife’s spirit. Works Cited Cramer, Phebe. “Defense mechanisms in psychology today: Further processes for adaptation.” American Psychologist 55.6 (2000): 637-646. Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. The New England Magazine, 1892. Read More