"The Yellow Wallpaper" Analysis

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” documents the first-person narrative of a woman slowly descending into madness, as a result of her obsession with the yellow wallpaper covering her bedroom walls and the woman that she sees hidden in it. The woman behind the wallpaper is essentially a reflection the narrator. The woman that the narrator sees trapped behind the pattern in the wallpaper is “all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern – it strangles so.” Similarly, the narrator is trapped inside of her own thoughts. Because her husband insists that she rests and allows her no stimulation, she very seldom receives an outlet to escape from her own mind. Both women are both prisoners of their own worlds. The pattern that traps the woman in the wallpaper is like the social pattern that is trapping the narrator. She is defenseless against the will of her husband, who very much infantilizes her and scoffs at her feelings the way one might disregard the opinion of a child. This is shown in the setting, as she spends all of her days “resting” in a nursery with barred windows. Because of this isolation, she becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in the room, where she sees different patterns and shapes and can offer her some source of stimulation. Soon the narrator’s constant staring of walls makes her see a woman behind the pattern, trapped very much like herself. Because she identifies so strongely the woman, she starts to think of the wallpaper and the woman as living entities that belong to her. She becomes angry and jealous when her husband or Jennie even look at the wallpaper. Because of she develops such strong feelings, the line that distinguishes her from the woman in the wallpaper begins to fade as she begins to write as if she is the woman. It is the nail in the coffin between how the narrator and the woman in the wallpaper are similar – in the end, they are the same person.

Literary Criticism Response

Helen Killoran’s “Ethan Frome – The Murder of a Masterpiece” explores the different phases of criticism and praise that the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton has received since it was first published in 1911. The author’s purpose for writing the essay is to demonstrate how the interpretation of the novel has changed over time depending on the different viewpoints from which the novel received. To accomplish this, the author explores the criticism that has accompanied each area of reception. While the earliest reviewers looked at the novel as a Greek tragedy, people have looked at it differently depending on the time period. During hard economic times such as the Great Depression, many saw it as a commentary against the viciousness of poverty. They criticized Wharton for the way she portrayed the poor and have claimed that Wharton, an upper-class woman, could not relate to the characters in the story. Throughout times when society was more concerned with religion, the critics were more concerned with the spiritual value of the novel. Some called it a sin for readers to enjoy such a painful novel while others attacked Wharton, claiming that author is responsible for the needless suffering of her characters. Others have looked at Ethan Frome as an extension of Wharton’s own life. They have seen the writing style of the novel as an expression of Edith Wharton’s relationship with Henry James and have seen the protagonist and the situations he encounters as a reflection of Wharton’s own troubles. In chronologically exploring the commentary on the novel, the author presents her argument very well. In addition to explaining each category of criticism and the viewpoint it came from, she also includes examples of how some have countered each argument. She also incorporates both positive and negative responses to the novel, as well as direct quotes from the essays she refers to and direct quotes from Edith Wharton refuting her critics. In doing so, the author of the essay gives a very wholistic view of the criticism and praise that the novel has received and how it has changed over time. I agree with author of the essay that the reception of Ethan Frome has gone through different phases of criticism. Each person who reads the novel is going to interpret it in a different way, depending on their own experiences and what they enjoy in a work of literature. Upon reading the essay, I was very surprised to learn what harsh criticism the novel has received. It was more than people just didn’t like the novel, but many were absolutely outraged by it. In the directly quoted selections that the author provided, many wrote as if they were personally offended by the novel. Today, books are mostly criticized for their sexual content and harsh language for fear of "corrupting our youth." So, it's surprising that a novel such as Ethan Frome – which I see as a cautionary tale more than anything – was criticized because, basically, it was sad. It’s amazing how words on a piece of paper can cause such uproar when put into a certain order.

Sonnet 130

Sonnet 130 reminds me very much of Billy Collin’s poem “Litany” in that they both seem to make fun of other love poems, in which a lover is compared to various objects. The first quatrain discusses what the speaker’s mistress is not. Her eyes are nothing like the sun, her lips are not as red as coral, her breats are filthy when compared to snow, and her hair is like black wires. The second quantrain continues, the colors of roses are not in her cheeks, and perfumes smell better than her breath. The third quatrain claims that music sounds better than her voice and that she treads on the ground. The couplet ends the poem with stating that despite all these things, she is as special as any woman who other poets have written about with false comparisons. Although the sonnet sounds as if the speaker is insulting his mistress, I don’t believe that that was the intention of the writer. I believe the poem should be taken sarcastically, that the speaker is more making fun of other love poems rather than declaring his own beliefs.

Sonnet 116

Sonnet 116 takes on a favorite topic amongst poets: love. In the first quatrain, the writer says that people who love each other should be together, but that love isn’t love if it ever falters. The second quatrain continues saying that love is constant and unchanging, and the third quatrain states that not even time, which destroys beauty, can destory can love. The couplet closes with the indication that if what writer says is false, he never wrote it and no man ever loved. I can’t help but feel that after 116 sonnets, the writer may be growing a little tired of encouraging the subject to have children and running out reasons why he should procreate. That’s why I think he takes on the topic of love, a different perk to having children that might appeal to the subject. By showing him the beauty of love, maybe he can convince him to find love, and then have children with her.

Sonnet 87

Sonnet 87 adornes the subject with compliments, making the speaker sound almost desperate in tone. In the first quatrain, the speaker tells the subject that he understands if he wishes to leave him, because he is so unworthy of him, and the second quatrain goes on about how undeserving the speaker is of the reader. The speaker continues his desperateness in the third quatrain, and the sonnet ends with the couplet stating that the time he has been with the subject has been like a dream. With reading this sonnet, it is apparent what a lack of self-confidence the speaker has and makes him seem pathetic. This could possibly indicate that writer was infact mocking the subject, rather than praising him. If the writer is trying to encourage the subject to have children, maybe the subject says that he is waiting for a girl who adores him in such a way as this. By writing the sonnet in this style, the writer demonstrates how silly a girl like that would sound, making the subject realize that he does not want that, and hopefully settle down with someone else.

Sonnet 73

Sonnet 73 is similar to sonnet 146 as it talks about the age of the speaker. It is very cautionary in tone, as the speaker uses himself as an example of how time fades beauty. In, the first quatrain, the speaker compares himself to barren trees while the second quatrain talks about how the speaker is slowly dying, the light inside of him slowly fading. In the third quatrain, the listener compares himself to the remains of a fire whose ashes are burning out, and the couplet closes the sonnet by saying that over time, one begins to become thankful for what they haven’t yet lost. This sonnet is interesting to me because it combines the speaker’s consciousness about himself aging, along with a direction toward the subject to try and encourage him to have children. By addressing his own sadness about growing old, the speaker encourages the subject that he should appreciate his own youth before it fades.

Sonnet 146

I find sonnet 146 especially interesting because the speaker seems to be talking more about himself, rather than directing his comments toward the subject. In the first quatrain, the speaker presents the question of why he starves his soul, while dressing up his body. The second quatrain makes a huge distinction that he is more than his body. He is only in his body only for a short time, and after that his body will decay. So, why spend effort trying to make it beautuful? The third quatrain no longer focuses on the limitations of the body, but rather on the importance of the soul. He tells his soul to thrive at the expense of his body. The couplet ends the sonnet by stating that once one feeds his soul instead of his body, he will outlast death. I enjoy this poem so much because while reading it, I do not feel as though the writer wrote it for someone else to read. It sounds much like an internal monologue or struggle – something like a diary entry. The pain about aging and feeling worthless that the speaker feels is made clear through the words that Shakespeare uses, making the sonnet almost painful for the reader to read as well.