¶ … madness in two works, "The Yellow Wall-Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and "A Wilderness Station" by Alice Munro. Specifically, it will discuss how the central characters exhibit some form of madness or refusal to live in reality. It will explore the madness, and look at what role it plays in each story. Madness is at the heart of both these compelling short stories, and why the characters go mad is quite important to the ultimate understanding of both of them. They react to their situations by retreating into madness, which seems to be the only avenue open to their survival. Both of these women use madness as a vehicle of escape from their real lives, and both of these characters suffer at the hands of others, which helps contribute to their madness. In "The Yellow Wall-Paper," the narrator's husband does not understand her or her illness at all, and he treats her like a child, allowing her no mental or physical stimulation. It is no wonder she goes mad, there is nothing else for her to do in the countryside while her husband is away all day. She says,...
I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia" (Gilman). Here is the underlying cause of her eventual downward spiral into madness, her husband keeps her a virtual prisoner, and will not give her any freedom in the name of "love." Today, his behavior would be called mental abuse, and she would have many more options to explore. The same is true in "A Wilderness Station." Annie may or may not be mad, but the authorities believe she is mad, and that is enough for her to escape the abuse of her murdered husband, and her fear of his brother, the murderer, or is he? She writes, "I told them the very same lie that George told me so often in my dreams, trying to get me to believe it was me and not him. I am safe from George here is the main thing. If they think I am crazy and I know the difference I am safe" (Munro 45). Annie's husband was a cruel physical and mental abuser, and her madness is a vehicle for her…
Yellow Wall-Paper: A Commentary on the Social Conditions Facing Women in the 19th Century The Yellow Wall-Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story that is often considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature of the 19th century. This influence is based on its ability to communicate issues that went against the conventions of the society of the time. These issues were related to the place
Yellow Wallpaper" and Mental Illness in Women Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is an important short story that delves into the issue of mental illness. It illustrates how women and their problems are trivialized, with this closely related to the role that women have in society. Through the story, it is seen that women become prisoners of their mental illness because the medical community will not help them. This
Yet, in this case, the freedom that the author is talking about is not necessarily the liberation of women from the oppressive male society, but the freedom of each individual with mental problems to having a socially integrated life, with little or no confinement that would also make the mental problems develop. In conclusion, although it may seem that "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story written with a feminist
Weir Mitchell, is an allegedly 'wise' man of medicine" (Hume pp). The woman considers her child lucky because he does not have to occupy the room with the horrible wallpaper and stresses that it is impossible for her to be with him because it makes her very nervous (Hume pp). She believes that the room was once a nursery because of the bars on the windows and the condition of
John is completely blind to his wife's needs. In fact, he is being completely selfish in this situation because he is placing himself over his wife's needs. This fact, on top of everything else, allows us to see how easily oppression could transform into anger. Oppression, repression, and rage emerge as important aspects of "The Yellow Wallpaper." The narrator in this story represents countless women who suffered at the hands
Female Freedom in the 19th Century: Two Short Stories The short story entitled the “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman both approach the subject of female sanity and wellness from different angles. Both stories suggest that society and those closest to the woman have really no idea about the inner life of the female, nor what is best for her mental health and overall
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now