Monday, November 2, 2009
yellow wallpaper
I would like to discuss the yellow wallpaper. Specifically the patriarchal society that is in the story. The narrator starts off the story by explaining how she is sick. Her sickness doesn’t sound like anything to drastic but the doctor and husband’s solution does sound drastic. The doctor tells her that she needs rest and relaxation by herself for months. Today this type of solution sounds crazy, and the narrator knows that this doesn’t sound right at all. But she knows that her word cannot stand up against her husband and a doctor’s word. She gives into this sort treatment very easily without even putting up a fight. Without even putting up a fight I feel like she knows that a woman’s word does not stand a chance against a man’s word at this day and age. The narrator explains “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do?” (page 1) This just shows the authoritative husband at work telling his wife what she will do, not even asking.
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I strongly agree with your interpretation of a patriarchal society shown in this short story. I think it is ridiculous of how much control a man had over a woman during that time. The narrator does seem a bit childish due to her lack of education, but also because she allows for her husband to take control of her situation. She repeatedly states that her husband is a physician, and therefore he is superior and knows everything. But this makes it seem as if she has no say in her life, like her feelings do not matter. This would create a big problem if the narrator actually cared about letting her husband take control, by fighting back. But she does not care at all, almost like a child being told what to do. She mentions that she takes this kind of medicine, and does not even know what it is called, but she does not seem to care either. The reason why I think she is sick is because her husband and doctor think she is mentally ill. There seems to be no evidence of her being physically ill at all. This again shows control over women, because if they did not think or act in an appropriate way towards society then they were seen as hysterical or crazy. This is why I think her husband makes her rest in bed for months, hoping that she will change. However he is basically telling her how to act and how to live, which shows that he is taking control of her life. So I definitely agree with your reasoning!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your comment and think that the idea of using something like the rest cure is not a valid medical treatment. It was only a way to get women to summit to men. This was common in those times however because men were thought to be superior to women. Today we know that this is not true, but times where differnet back then and this type of treatment was believed to be helpful when in fact it was just a form of suppression.
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