Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Yellow Wallpaper- Jennifer Fragomeni
I had a very unique experience with The Yellow Wallpaper. This is my second time reading the piece and I went in with background knowledge and various ideas. When I think The Yellow Wallpaper, I immediately think infantalization. I took an Integrated Arts and Humanities (IAH) course that focused solely on women writers and we really depicted what infantalization means. The definition of infantalization ingrained in me is an adult individual treating another adult as if they were a child and less of a mature being. I believe the Yellow Wallpaper truly represents a husband creating a parent/child relationship with his own wife. Whenever he called his wife by pet names such as "blessed little goose" it didn't come off as a cute gesture. Rather, I found it demeaning. I was wondering what others made of this relationship. Besides demonstrating the superiority of the male over female, what was the true significance of taking the caring parent/child approach rather than the dictator approach? Personally, I believe it contributed to the lack of seriousness and consideration for her illness. Also, that because he was nice to her it was deemed okay for him to act in the ways he did. She constantly explained how her husband "loves her so", therefore maybe his behaviors are okay. Another idea that I noted relating to infantalization, was the fact she kept referring to the room as a nursery. The fact she was kept in a room that a child would be placed in supports this paternal relationship.
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Infantilization is an excellent way to describe John's treatment of the narrator. I agree with you that it is demeaning to her, and I even get the idea that he feels she is too stupid or uneducated to know what is good for her, when she is the only one who actually does know! She receives no validation of her illness as an actual thing, like you said, because of his laughing and brushing off of her feelings. Also good point about the story taking place in a nursery, she literally is like a baby in that room.
ReplyDeleteI agree-- and the nursery is also very representative of this infantilization. Being the highest room in the house, it also draws parallels to that fairy tale idea of the princess in the tallest tower, waiting for someone to save her. There is a push/pull with the two of them, because John has a sense of duty to save her but the narrator is the one who wants to help herself. Not in an "I'm an independent woman I'm going to do it my way" kind of way, but in a way that she genuinely believes that, given the chance, she would be capable of helping herself.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, there is a fantastic play by Henrik Ibsen called "A Doll's House" that explores this idea. The relationship of John and the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" is similar to the relationship of the husband and wife in the play.