The mental restraints placed upon the narrator, even more so than the physical ones, are what ultimately drive her insane. She has to hide her anxieties and fears in order to preserve the image of a happy marriage and to make it seem as though she is winning the fight against her depression. She is not allowed to do anything, not even take care of her newborn child. From the beginning, the most intolerable aspect of her treatment is the silence. She is forced to become completely passive, not allowed her mind in any way.
He wasn’t supportive, and did not make any effort to try and let her express her feelings, which made her isolated even more. And so, not only was she physically isolated in her room, but she became mentally isolated from her own thoughts and feelings. Perhaps if she “wore the pants” in this relationship, she would have had a say in things, and not become insane. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and although John truly
This ill-fated treatment prescribed by her physician Weir Mitchell, whom she referenced in her story, drove her to the brink of insanity. Gilman illustrates the insanity inflicted on woman by the oppression of their society. Jane, the narrator, has been brought to a country manor by her husband John; being a well know physician, he has diagnosed her with “temporary nervous depression” (531). His remedy is “tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise” (531), and absolutely has forbidden her to work or write. She believes “congenial work” (531) would be good for her but she does not dare go against her husband.
John is a physician and believes that his wife is only suffering from a “temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency” (70) and due to this condition she should obtain plenty of rest, air and exercise but absolutely no work. The narrator is a writer that is forbidden to write because her husband believes that any form of society or stimulus could cause her condition to deteriorate further. As the story continue you beginning to understand the relationship between the narrator and her husband John. John seems to be very controlling and throughout the story berates his wife, while treating her like a small child that needs caring for. Every attempt that is made by the narrator to express her concerns is met with opposition or disregard.
Examine how Charlotte Perkins Gilman challenges attitudes towards the role of women in society through her use of form, structure and language in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman challenges attitudes towards the role of women in society through her use of form, structure and language in numerous ways. The story is a fictionalized autobiographical account that illustrates the emotional and intellectual deterioration of the female narrator who is a wife as well as a mother. The woman, who seemingly is suffering from post-partum depression, searches for some sort of peace in her male dominated world. She is given a “cure” from her husband (a doctor) that requires strict bed rest and an enforced lack of any form of metal stimulation. As a result of her husbands control, the woman develops and obsessive attachment to the wallpaper which masks the walls of her bedroom.
The wallpaper like John is a confine in which neither woman can escape from. The many heads in the wallpaper are the activities that the narrator wants to do such as writing, seeing her Cousin Henry and Julia, and sleeping downstairs. “I don’t like to look out the window even- there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast”(434). The women creeping outside are women like the narrator who are oppressed and have to do things in secret just like the narrator secretly tried to
She goes as far as getting angry with the bed and tries biting the corner to make it budge. The narrator even has the thought of doing something crazy and jumping out of the window, but realizes that the bars won’t move. Plus the narrator states, “I don’t like to look out of the windows even—there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast
Henceforth Steinbeck may have not given her a name as women were not considered important enough and she may not have deserved a name in this era. This could make the reader feel sympathy for her as she not only is considered useless but a possession to a person she doesn’t love. Then the reader may notice how she is dressed “full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up”. Nobody dressed up to come to the ranch, it was a dirty place in which people wore discarded old clothes. However Curley’s wife did the opposite and came in “ heavily made up.Furthermore,”Rouge”
The narrator says "There comes John, and I must put this away,- he hates to have me write a word (79). She says she cries for nothing most of the time but not when "John is here, or anybody else, but when [she] is alone" (82). John's dominance clearly affects the narrator as she immediately stops writing and puts her journal away. Her action of putting the journal away shows that the narrator abides to John's rules and that John's attitude reflects on the narrator's ability to do things as she wants emphasizing on his dominant trait.The statement refering to her cries shows how she can only express herself when she is free of company. The narrator feels she can only cry and be herself when she is absolutely alone
She is classified as an outsider, portraying that she is inadequate in having the ability to interact with others. Also, she blocks the ‘’rectangle of sunshine’’ - Steinbeck does this intentionally in order to allow the reader to pursue a sense of social misfit; as the men think she causes trouble and other than Curley, she has no other engaging connection with any of the other men. This produces the fact that Curley’s wife is marginalized and disempowered from society overall and has no relationship with others as she is seen as an ownership of Curley. Paragraph 2 Paragraph 3 Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5 Paragraph 6 The importance of Curley’s wife in the novel is how she is revolves around the novels main themes such as dreams. Curley’s wife is excluded from female roles as she is seen as a possession of Curley and is often found in search for companionship, as her newly found husband doesn’t provide her with the affection she desires.