Saturday, January 14, 2012
The yellow wallpaper-Ali pepin
While reading The Yellow Wallpaper, I could not help but think how odd a story this was, but how much of a connection it had to the idea of the new woman. The alluring air given by the wallpaper and the way the women connected with such an inanimate thing gave the wallpaper almost human-like characteristics. The 'woman in the wallpaper' was suddenly not a figmant of her imagination but rather a mirror image the woman had of herself. Trapped and wanting to escape the confines laid upon her by her husband, the idea of the new woman stands out. As women begin to explore and discover new roles they can take, they begin to change and break from conformity. The woman described the woman in the wallpaper as being stuck and only able to sneak during the day and night she is relating this to how she feels. The windows being previously barred, it was as though she was in a jail literally and figuratively. Even the way her husband addressed her and told her how she was 'sick', he was controlling and it was time for her to break free. Although the idea of the new woman and their self-consciousness is apparent when she gets an idea, then blames all her thoughts on her nervousness. She second guesses herself in order to find her satisfaction. It's almost as though if she didn't have part of her holding her back she would not find such a rush and excitement with daydreaming in the wallpaper. Such an interesting read that I almost thought she committed suicide in the end, as if to console her depression.
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Ali, I thought along the same lines as you when I read the story. I also perceived the "woman in the wallpaper" as a "reflection" of the protagonist. On pages 113-114, the protagonist describes the woman who the protagonist sees in the wallpaper "creeping" (Gilman 113-114). This is clearly a reflection of the woman and how she feels trapped, but cannot get out. Gilman describes this as "a cloud shadow" but it is more than a shadow (114). The protagonist and the woman in the wallpaper are the same person. She is trapped because of her husband. He tells her that she is mentally ill, when she may not be quite as sick as he says.
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