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For centuries women in life and literature were often portrayed as submissive, docile, and obedient to men. Focusing primarily on the nineteenth century, literature of the period often characterized women as victims oppressed by society, culture, as well as by the male influences in their lives. Many of the female characters suffered the effects of isolation brought on by constant oppression and subservience driving them insane and mad. The views of women in early literature were often silenced and their opinions disregarded by a dominant patriarchal society. One could argue that the mens influence on society forged the distinctions between sanity and madness.
This obsessive position to shape reality proved to be unhealthy and destructive but it was rarely acknowledged among the company of men. A Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) once quoted, Too much sanity may be madness, and maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be! (web) Madness even though taboo and troublesome, seemed common in many female literary protagonists of the period. Thus far in the course we encountered the role of madness in such literary works as The Story of an Hour, and The Yellow Wallpaper. The role of madness and oppression in the works can be better examined in three aspects of: the causes of the induced madness, how each female character deals with the insanity, and how the similarities in madness link the texts to common social issues. The conclusion will show the significant roles madness and oppression played in the selected fictional stories echoing the real life torment women lived in.
Speaking in an aesthetic tone, one will see that though the Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour are similar, however, tale by Gilman proves to be a better argument for portraying the role of maddens and oppression as a mirror of society of the time period. Few works in fictional literature embody the portrayal and effects of madness better than Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. Readers are presented with the tale of a woman suffering from a mental illness whose problems are compounded by the imprisonment she must endure. Set in a similar time period as the already discussed works, many of the same isolation and autonomy issues reside behind the conflict of Gilman's narrative. The story presents the madness associated with the oppression of women during the era coupled with the unforgiving patriarchal view of society. John and his wife, the protagonist, venture of for an extended vacation to a large house in the country.
John is a respected physician who has prescribed rest for his wife who needs to recover from her ailment of a nervous condition and temporary depression. The womans initial bout with boredom quickly deteriorates to begin her acclimation to madness. She is confined to the bed and the house isolated from the outside world and society. Her stifled emotions and impulses are a result from Johns strict position on what he deems as treatment. The physical confinement and constraints placed on our character by John force her to become preoccupied with her surroundings such as the room, window, and curious wallpaper. If the saying idle hands make for idle minds holds true, then our narrator has found herself in a perfect environment for madness to take over.
John has restricted from writing in her dairy to insure she is getting complete rest. There comes John, and I must put this away- he hates to have me write a word. (Gilman. p. 240) Now all she has is her thoughts and a room with a view to help keep her sane from herself and oppressing husband. Initially there was a mere fascination with the wallpaper.
It possessed odd patterns within patterns but wore a putrid yellow color. To deal with the setting madness, our character begins to try to discover what is behind the patterns in the wallpaper. After days and hours on end she discovers in her minds eye that she thinks she sees a woman trapped behind the labyrinth. I didnt realize for a long time what the thing was that showed behind that dim sub-pattern, but now I quite sure it is a woman. (Gilman. p. 245) The narrator is preoccupied by her temporary insanity but still holds on to the real world by occasionally interjected thoughts of her condition. She says several times that she wished she could be better faster but that it is the isolation and the restrictions of her husband that keep her down.
With the obvious lack of companionship, she finds a new friend in the woman and vows to free her from the wallpaper. She later mentions that she often sees the woman creeping outside. She begins to hallucinate revealing the madness that is controlling her and her faculties. She also begins to show signs of paranoia by locking the door as she watches the woman creeping and while she tears away at the paper so John will not discover it. She no longer goes outside but rather work at freeing the woman nor does she allow anyone to come in to her lair of madness so she can surprise her husband. The poor woman dismisses her thoughts based on the conception that such actions are simply improper revealing the undercurrents of behavior of women in society even if they are not really in it.
The woman remarking about her disgust with even looking out the windows any more mirrors this concept. I dont like to look out the windows even- there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast. (Gilman. p. 249) This reveals the madness brought on by society to women, to be accepted or to practice freewill they must creep to get around. Often people behave differently when they now society is observing them and usually act accordingly to avoid any ridicule or judgment.
The narrator creeps by daylight behind locked doors allowing the madness to rule her every action without society seeing her condition. The character is faced with freeing the woman from the paper before her husband arrives back to the house to make their departing arrangements. This drives her insane now that she has a deadline to meet if she is to free her imaginary friend. She becomes consumed with madness keeping only to her task before she will all...
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Research essay sample on Story Of An Hour Yellow Wallpaper
