Differences In The Yellow Wallpaper And Susan Glaspell's Trifles

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Throughout many circumstances in life, people encounter difficult tasks in which they must persevere in order to reach success. In these various situations, people decide to make rather rash decisions which changes their lives forever. This is the case in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The narrator, Charlotte Perkins, in this story becomes mad due to a depression called post-partum. Due to this depression and the wrong treatment, the narrator ends up murdering her husband John with an axe. In Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, a women named Mrs. Wright murders her husband, Mr. Wright thanks to revenge. Both of these story share many commonalities, and all follow the system of cause and effect to accomplish the end of their husbands. …show more content…

Wright and Charlotte to murder is because of their background. Each of these women are put in different circumstances that lead to the murders. Charlotte in The Yellow Wallpaper has the company of her husband John, who is a doctor, to look after her. John has a special treatment for his wife, which consists of solitude. John believes that Charlotte must get rest and then the depression will go away. However, due to this treatment the symptoms become worse and she goes insane over a period of time. “Both in groups and individuals, the evolution of evil starts with the frustration of basic human needs and the development of destructive modes of need fulfillment.” (Staub 1). She comes to resent her husband because he does not let her go outside. When the severity of post-partum depression increases, Charlotte begins to tear at the yellow wallpaper, claiming there is a person inside. Charlotte decides to lock the door, John then decides to bust the door open with an axe. As soon as he see all the blood, he passes out and Charlotte takes the axe. Finally, Charlotte takes the final blow to her husband. Mrs. Wright in Trifles on the other hand, uses a more subtle approach to murder her husband. Mrs. Wright makes the decision to kill Mr. Wright in his sleep because he kills her darling bird. “Why look at this door. It’s broke. One hinge is pulled apart.” (Glaspell 6). In Trifles, the metal cage is bent, and only the husband is strong …show more content…

In Trifles, Mrs. Wright figures out that her husband has wrung her favorite bird 's neck, giving her a motive to kill him. The homicide is thought out in order fool the police with her special knot. “Killing a man while he slept, slipping a rope around his neck that choked the life out of him.” (Glaspell 8).With this knot, known as the Miller’s knot, Mrs. Wright places the thread around her husband’s neck while he was sleeping. Every time her husband took a breath, the knot becomes tighter and tighter until he dies. The thread around his neck does not make a mark. In order for her plan to be successful, waiting and plotting is necessary. On the other hand, Charlotte in The Yellow Wallpaper performs a spur of the moment homicide. In this case, the attack was part insanity and anger. Due to Charlotte having a child the risks of post-partum depression becomes overwhelming. “Pregnancy similarly affects changes in the immune cells of the brain that may increase the risk of postpartum depression.” (Posillico 1). However, Charlotte did have plenty of time on her hands while in the room with the yellow wallpaper. This treatment degrades her condition, and soon she really believes there is a person in the wallpaper. Once John busts the door down with his axe, Charlotte takes the opportunity to kill him. “Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had

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