Essay Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And The Invisible Man

Two stories written in the late 1890’s which share some peculiarities involving intricate main characters were Charlotte Perkins Stetsons’ The Yellow Wallpaper (published in 1892) and H.G Wells’ The Invisible Man (published in 1897). There are many similarities and differences between the narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper and Griffin, the main character in The Invisible Man, prevalent throughout both stories such as the setting the characters find themselves in, the treatment of other characters, and the need for control of others. Although both characters can be vetted against each other, Griffin tips the scale in his favor being more morally reprehensible due to his actions and reasoning behind them.

Although for very different reasons, both

characters find themselves isolated from the outside world having very few interactions with others that cause both to live a life of loneliness and solitude, which plays a large role in each characters moral code and the decisions they make.

Griffin brought his isolation upon himself by conducting an experiment stemming from his belief in the power he would have over his fellow man and the need to become famous. While speaking with Dr. Kemp, Griffin said, “I told no one living because I meant to flash my work upon the world with crushing effect and become famous at a blow” (Wells). Griffin must live in an environment where he must be silent for fear of being discovered, eat very little due to the food not being assimilated with his body, and often finds himself naked, cold or hurt due to situations he puts himself in. This is very different from the vision he had for himself on the onset of his experimentation. In contrast, the narrator from The Yellow

Wallpaper had her isolation forced upon her by her family. In the story, the narrator, like Griffin, separates herself from reality and creates a fantasy world where she can escape and envisions herself as another woman within the walls. Finding herself very lonely and isolated, the narrator declares “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus—but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad” (Perkins). Forced to be in a room away from the rest of the family, with nothing to do but succumb to her own thoughts and wild imagination, the narrator can easily veer off the path of morality.
Griffin and the narrator share a common feeling of loneliness, but the treatment of the people in their lives differs greatly producing an easy victor in the morality game. Often cruel, mean, and hurtful to everyone who crosses his path, Griffin has no remorse for the actions he takes. During the story, Griffin repeatedly refers to the killing he could do or has done, "The windows are fastened and I've taken the key out of the door. I am a fairly strong man, and I have the poker handy--besides being invisible. There's not the slightest doubt that I could kill you both and get away quite easily if I wanted to--do you understand?” (Wells) Throughout Griffins transformation, he kills his father and later in the story, Mr. Wicksteed, he then shoots Ayde, threatens to kill Marvel, and ties up a character known as the hunchback and leaves him for dead. Griffin wants to use his invisibility for killing, “This invisibility, in fact, is only good in two cases: It's useful in getting away, it's useful in approaching. It's particularly useful, therefore, in killing. I can walk round a man, whatever weapon he has, choose my point, strike as I like. Dodge as I like. Escape as I like" (Wells). On the other hand, the narrator continuously examines her actions and how they affect the other individuals she finds herself surrounded by. She writes down her thoughts and does not want her husband to see because they might upset him, “There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word”; “I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time. Of course, I don’t when John is here, or anybody else, but when I am alone” (Perkins). The narrator does not want anyone to see her crying because she does not want anyone to worry about her and cause a great burden to her family. A greater burden might make her husband, John, send her to Weir Mitchell hall because he cannot handle her diminishing state. These are great examples of the narrator caring for others and their feelings vs killing and showing no remorse, as Griffin does.
Both Griffin’s and the narrator’s need to control others shows a commonality of both individuals having principle flaws.

Griffin needs to control everything around him including the people. This distinctive trait reveals itself early on at the inn with Mrs. Hall and the other characters in Iping. Something as simple as the time it takes to fix a clock needs to be controlled by Griffin, "Why don't you finish and go?" said the rigid figure, evidently in a state of painfully suppressed rage. "All you've got to do is to fix the hour-hand on its axle. You're simply humbugging--" (Wells). In a more dramatic example, he chooses Marvel to do his bidding for him against his will saying, “Pull yourself together, for you have to do the job I have chosen for you” (Wells) and if Marvel refuses, Griffin threatens to kill him. On the other hand, the narrator becomes mentally ill due to her lack of control and ability to do the things she wants to do. She often hides her feelings from John and her sister in law. The character writes, “There comes John’s sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me! I must not let her find me writing” (Perkins). Because of the lack of control, she creates this sense of a woman trapped in the wallpaper, and her attempt to free her is the symbolism of trying to regain control of her life again. In the end, after peeling the wallpaper down, she reclaims control and freedom declaring, “It is so pleasant to be out in this great room and creep around

as I please!” (Perkins). This need for control shows the narrator has an internal battle going on that no one seems to notice which can also be said about Griffin.
Both stories, The Yellow Wallpaper and The Invisible Man prove the main characters remained very lonely in their own ways, treated other characters very differently and both needed to maintain a sense of control over themselves and others. Notwithstanding the comparisons, Griffin is the easy victor when it comes to being morally reprehensible due to his selfishness over other humans throughout the whole story. Griffin’s immoral compass steers sharply off the righteous path when he killed his father for money and he never so much as even glances back until his death.