Oppression and Depression in The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper As the story begins, the woman -- whose name we never learn -- tells of her depression and how it is dismissed by her husband and brother. "You see, he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?" (Gilman 193). These two men -- both doctors -- seem completely unable to admit that there might be more to her condition than than just stress and a slight nervous condition. Even when a summer in the country and weeks of bed-rest don't help, her husband refuses to accept that she may have a real problem. Probably in large part because of her oppression, she continues to decline. "I don't feel as if it was worthwhile to turn my hand over for anything. . ." (Gilman 197). It seems that her husband is oblivious to her declining conditon, since he never admits she has a real problem until the end of the story -- at which time he fainted. John could have obtained council from someone less personally involved in her case, but the only help he seeks was for the house and baby. He obtains a nanny to watch over the children while he was away at work each day: "It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby." (Gilman 195). And he had his sister Jennie take care of the house. "She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper." (Gilman 196). He does talk of taking her to an expert: "John says if I don't pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall." But she took that as a threat since he was even more domineering than her husband and brother. Not only does he fail to get her help, but by keeping her virtually a prisoner in a room with nauseating wallpaper and very little to occupy her mind, let alone offer any kind of mental stimulation, he almost forces her to dwell on her problem. Prison is supposed to be depressing, and she is pretty close to being a prisoner. Perhaps if she had been allowed to come and go and do as she pleased her depression might have lifted: "I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me." (Gilman 195). It seems that just being able to tell someone how she really felt would have eased her depression, but John won't hear of it. The lack of an outlet caused the depression to worsen: "...I must say what I feel and think in some way -- it is such a relief! But the effort is getting to be greater than the relief." (Gilman 198). Meanwhile her reaction is to seek to prove him wrong. "John is a physician, and perhaps . . . perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster. You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?" (Gilman 193). It seems to me that while putting on an appearance of submission she was frequently rebelling against her husband's orders. She writes when there is nobody around to see her, she tries to move her bed, but always keeps an eye open for someone comming. This is obvious throughout the story. It also seems to me that, probably because of his oppressive behavior, she wants to drive her husband away. I see no reason for this other than to force him to see that he was wrong, and, since she knew he couldn't tolerate hysteria, to drive him away. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." 1892. The New England Magazine. Reprinted in "Lives & Moments - An Introduction to Short Fiction" by Hans Ostrom. Hold, Orlando, FL 1991.
The narrator is trying to get better from her illness but her husband “He laughs at me so about this wallpaper” (515). He puts her down and her insecurities do not make it any better. She is treated like a child. John says to his wife “What is it little girl” (518)? Since he is taking care of her she must obey him “There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word”. The narrator thinks John is the reason why she cannot get better because he wants her to stay in a room instead of communicating with the world and working outside the house.
John’s approach appears to be logical as he decided it would be better for his wife to escape her depression by moving temporary to an isolated estate where air, water, greenery, and calmness should be the uplifting factors in his wife’s journey towards gaining strength and getting better. The narrator disagrees with her husband’s decisions on how she should stay and do what he decided for her in this retreat, but follows his orders regardless. John’s treatment of his wife consists of medical prescriptions, “I take phosphates or phosphites-whichever it is-and tonics,...
There are multiple possible causes for the internal conflict the narrator faces. The first being nervous depression and the other is the fact that her life is being controlled by her husband. Her husband is in full control because in the beginning of the story, John, her husband, influences how she should act. He decides the actions that should be taken in regards to her health and sanctity. Although she finds herself disagreeing with his synopsis, she is confined and does not admit how she feels to him. This also brings about another a major conflict that occurred in the 19th century, men being dominant and woman being categorized as inferior. Evidence can be found when the narrator states, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband assures friends and relatives that there is nothing the matter with o...
Even though her husband treats her with what seem at first as love, it becomes clear she is nothing more to him than a piece of property. Every time he talks to her, he asks her to get better for his sake and the children's, and only after mentions hers interests. He doesn't think that she has any normal human feelings or worries and attributes her behavior to minor nervous depression. He doesn't see her true suffering since he believes "there is no reason to suffer" (574). He could never understand that a woman can be unsatisfied with the role imposed on her by society. Even though the heroine recognizes that her condition is caused by something other than John's theory, she is too scared to voice her opinion.
Salinger, J.D. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Nine Stories. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. 3-18. Print.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is the story of a woman descending into psychosis in a creepy tale which depicts the harm of an old therapy called “rest cure.” This therapy was used to treat women who had “slight hysterical tendencies” and depression, and basically it consisted of the inhibition of the mental processes. The label “slight hysterical tendency” indicates that it is not seen as a very important issue, and it is taken rather lightly. It is also ironic because her illness is obviously not “slight” by any means, especially towards the end when the images painted of her are reminiscent of a psychotic, maniacal person, while she aggressively tears off wallpaper and confuses the real world with her alternative world she has fabricated that includes a woman trapped in the wallpaper. The narrator of this story grows obsessed with the wallpaper in her room because her husband minimizes her exposure to the outside world and maximizes her rest.
These characters challenge the stereotypes we typically see and give a new look into the importance of women to the Mexican Revolution. By looking at two example from literature, La Pintada from Los de abajo by Mariano Azuela and Gertrudis from Como Agua para Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, one can see examples of women who are not defined by the presence of men in their lives, along with not fitting into the stereotypes one tends to see when it comes to
Lobbying doesn’t benefit anyone but the big corporations that participate in it. All businesses have the goal to maximize their profits. If there are restrictions or regulations that hinder the opportunity to maximize their profits, then they will try to find a loophole or another way out of their situation. This potentially turns to bribes or other methods to achieve their goal. Distinctly, many of the top corporations in the US have utilized millions in lobbying to save billions in taxes. According to a 2010 study by the Daylight Foundation, which compared tax data to the relationship of increases in lobbying to the decreases in real taxes paid for corporations (Sager, 2012). Between 2...
In the beginning of the book Tom’s Aunt Polly is yelling for him to come in and eat, but Tom is nowhere to be seen, for he is just on his way home from the swimming hole where he played hooky from school. Tom sneaks into the kitchen while his Aunts back s turned and has a seat at the table. Aunt Polly had her suspicion that Tom had not gone to school and went swimming instead but he was very quick to come up with an excuse why his hair was still wet. Aunt Polly was very gracious that Tom had told the truth for once until Sid ratted him out and made Aunt Polly notice that his button was threaded with a different color. Toms dishonesty sent him to bed without dinner and was told that he was told white wash the fence for not going to school and lying.
J.D. Salinger’s short story, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” shows the harmful effects of materialism on society and individuals. Married couple Muriel and Seymour Glass are vacationing in Florida in 1947 while Seymour suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Seymour’s perspective on life his different from Muriel’s perspective because of his time in the military. The story begins with a conversation between Muriel and her mother that shows their shallow nature, which is representative of society. Sybil Carpenter is integral in making Seymour realize the extent to which greed and shallowness pervade their society and how it even affects the most innocent members of society. His realization becomes an overwhelming burden in his mind
Smith, Susan Bennett. "Reinventing Grief Work: Virginia Woolf's Feminist Representations of Mourning in Mrs. Dalloway and To The Lighthouse" Twentieth Century Literature Vol 41 Iss 4 (1995): 310-327
Gilman, C. (1998). Women and Economics: A Study of the Economic Relation Between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press.
The narrator has no way of expressing her emotions which makes her more unstable and sinks deeper into her problems. From the time after she had her baby and up until her husband finds that she has gone insane, the narrator has focused on the wallpaper in the bedroom. (enotes.com) the narrator says on page 242 section eight ” Sometimes I think there are a great many woman behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over. Then in very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard”. This signifies that she has a mental disorder and is not in the right state of mind but I think that if John would have treated her like a wife instead of a patient then she would have gotten better, although I don’t think many people knew about mental illness back then and so they wouldn’t know how to treat them and some people just thought they were
society. This is also called the gender discrimination which has been followed since the ancient
Irvine, D. 2012. 4 Good Reasons Why Culture Is More Important Than Strategy. [online] Available at: http://www.tlnt.com/2012/01/16/4-reasons-why-culture-is-more-important-than-strategy/