Hell-Heaven and The Yellow Wallpaper

In the short stories Hell-Heaven by Jhumpa Lahiri and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman both stories convey similar theme. Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, tells a story of a mentally unstable wife, while Lahiri’s short story, Hell-Heaven, informs us about a mother and daughters story from the perspective of her daughter. The characters from both stories come from different cultures but one thing they both have in common is their roles. They marry with the purpose of serving for household duties such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, and taking care of children if they have any. Also lets not forget another job they have is keeping the husband satisfied and happy! In both stories the marriages are in a way similar to one another because they are not one bit satisfied in the situation they are in due to their husbands.

In The Yellow Book the wife is in a confined room with “barred windows and there are rings and things in the walls,” to what happens to seem like a crazy asylum where she is kept because of her controlling husband John, who is a physician and her consultant. In this short story, the unknown wife is kept from going out or doing what she wants to do, which is writing. Like any other wife her only wish is to do one thing, which is to keep her husband happy. “I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already!” She has a husband who says who she has “a slight hysterical tendency,” which she believes differently but since her husband is a physician of a high standing all she can do is nod and agree. Even though she thinks he is wrong, nothing she says can change his mind. In Hell-Heaven Boudi, the mother, is involved in an arranged marriage...

... middle of paper ...

... if you were unstable was to keep your man happy and perform all the household duties to keep him, the husband, “satisfied.” No culture could switch the roles of a man or woman because they no matter where you came from they all seem to be the same.

Works Cited

Abcarian, Richard, Marvin Klotz, and Samuel Cohen. Literature The Human Experience Reading and Writing. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 551-63. Print.

Abcarian, Richard, Marvin Klotz, and Samuel Cohen. Literature The Human Experience Reading and Writing. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 622-36. Print.

Mhatre, Lee. "Unaccustomed Earth." Confrontation 102/103 (2008): 202-205. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

Suess, Barbara A. "The Writing's On The Wall" Symbolic Orders In 'The Yellow Wallpaper'." Women's Studies 32.1 (2003): 79. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.