The Yellow Wallpaper: Tradition and The Other

The idea of 40 days of rest for new mothers is not uncommon. In fact, it has been in practice for centuries and though more commonly seen polygamist cultures today, western society has also taken part.  Within this tradition lies the midwife whom serves as a mother to the mother and the baby’s father whom acts extra cautious of his wife during post-partum. John’s sister whom I assume is the character named (her name was never mentioned outright), Jennie, and Mary, the nursing maid, play the role of midwives.

It is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby!

…

Well, the Fourth of July is over! The people are gone and I am tired out. John thought it might do me good to see a little company, so we just had mother and Nellie and the children down for a week.

Of course I didn't do a thing. Jennie sees to everything now. (Gilman)

These excerpts elucidate the fact that the people in the mother’s life are just doing as they are expected to do in a traditional society. John takes care of all details concerning his wife and allows her mind and body some ease as is usually recommended. He is trying to act in her best interest as best as he knows how.  The wife’s episode is not directly the fault of John or her caretakers. She is the only one whom refused to conform to her role in society. Her beliefs do not parallel the environment and culture she becomes adopted into.

This is the problem. She attempts to break free from a culture and life that she does not want, so she abandons her identity. More superstitious cultures would even believe that her mind and will weakening depression caused a literal spirit to consume her body. "I've got out at last in spite of you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!”  is what the body of the wife says at the end of the story. Gilman never directly says that this story is not a horror, so it could be that this statement is from the former occupant of that attic room. No foreknowledge is given on “Jane” and “you” could be anyone, so these references could have been different from the current occupants of the house. One thing holds true whether taking a supernatural perspective or not on the story, the wife cracked and her innards spilled out leaving only a shell of her former self.

The horror of completely losing your body and self serves as a precautionary tale for all those living in an environment in which they disagree with the traditions and practices and for those whom lead them into that environment. It tells people to not put themselves in a situation they cannot be comfortable in and that nothing good comes from relationships where one party cannot be themselves. The wife straightly states “I must not let her find me writing.” She is hiding the very essence of herself because she knows it won’t be accepted. The more she hides herself away the more detached she becomes. Her avant-garde, feminist ideology just cannot fit into her married environment and John suffers from this. While The Yellow Wallpaper educates on the faults in handling post-partum and/or depressed women in premodern times, it also reminds why it is detrimental to stay true to yourself; and that is a lesson that applies to every era.

Works Cited

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, 25 November 2008. Project Gutenberg. Web. 11 March 2015.

Heart of Darkness- Indulgence of the Unknown

          Heart of Darkness is a very obvious example of a Gothic novel. It challenges the inner workings of the human mind and elaborates on horror.  Marlow and other characters constantly address spirits, ghosts, and demons which are known in Gothics and fear is a common theme. Marlow sees many frightful visions and shapes that parallel the fright in his heart for the fate of morals and deconstruction of his own self.

And the memory of what I had heard him say afar there, with the horned shapes stirring at my back, in the glow of fires, within the patient woods, those broken phrases came back to me, were heard again in their ominous and terrifying simplicity. (Heart 151)

A recognition of the horror within the self is present in these lines. The horned shapes stirring at his back are the demons and evils that lurk around and within him. The theme of darkness fuels the theme of fear and in turn a theme of utter lost-ness. Marlow's direction in this novel become more and more muddled as he loses track of what the moral path should look like and becomes more vulnerable to the thoughts of evil. In fact as the novel goes on he starts to become more characteristic a Gothic hero, becoming more flawed even to the point of telling complete fables. A certain fascination begins to exist for the objects and souls that appear flawed and different as this development within himself grows.

These moribund shapes were free as air--and nearly as thin. I began to distinguish the gleam of the eyes under the trees. Then, glancing down, I saw a face near my hand. (Heart 81-82)

The idea of accepting the unknown into one's life and dealing with strange and foreign events that challenge the morality is a token of the Gothic. Marlow's acceptance and reformation of codes for living is similar to Catherine Earnshaw's acceptance and struggles with Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. It is very difficult when facing the unknown (as Heathcliff's existence to Catherine was), to understand the difference between right and wrong and which direction should be undertook after no chance for you to live completely "normal" exists. Marlow indulges in this trial, this horror.
 

It had become so pitch dark that we listeners could hardly see one another. For a long time already he, sitting apart, had been no more to us than a voice. There was not a word from anybody. The others might have been asleep, but I was awake. I listened, I listened on the watch for the sentence, for the word, that would give me the clue to the faint uneasiness inspired by this narrative that seemed to shape itself without human lips in the heavy night-air of the river. (Heart 95)

Even in this excerpt Marlow faces a horror in the darkness that becomes personified, carrying a shape without lips. This narrative appears only to Marlow it seduces him into the darkness speaking intimately, only to him, so as to draw him deeper into the mysteries of the heart. As Conrad continues to bring significance into the dark, the unknown, that which causes fright, so as to highlight how it can apply to the soul of a human, his novel falls under the category of a Gothic.

 

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. NY, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1988.

Schadenfreude Jane

      Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre as a moralistic tale for woman’s independence.  Brontë crippled Rochester to set a path for Jane’s independence. Rochester was both physically and in status stronger than Jane was. With his strength and allotted stubbornness as it was he was not a character that could allow much develop or independence in Jane/ women. He wanted to control her like he tried to do with the rest of his life. The one part of his life that he could not control and manipulate, Bertha, whom also served as a token for his powerless past under the his father and brother, he locked up in a room never to be seen or heard in public. Rochester shows obvious signs of these controlling intents for Jane and Jane’s only chance for loosening his grip and the debt that she might have suffered from through marriage was the possibility of acquiring a fortune small enough to challenge her dependency.

      “It would, indeed, be a relief,” I thought, “if I had ever so small an independency; I never can bear being dressed like a doll by Mr. Rochester, or sitting like a second Danae with the golden shower falling daily round me.  I will write to Madeira the moment I get home, and tell my uncle John I am going to be married, and to whom: if I had but a prospect of one day bringing Mr. Rochester an accession of fortune, I could better endure to be kept by him now.”(Brontë 284)

      Brontë’s solution to the unequal balance on the scale between Rochester and Jane is to put him in such a decrepit state that any woman could handle him.

“Which are none, sir, to me.  I love you better now, when I can really be useful to you, than I did in your state of proud independence, when you disdained every part but that of the giver and protector.”(Brontë 475)

Now being with Rochester is solely a matter of choice. Brontë hints that women can regain their own independence only through the sharing of power in men. A woman cannot gain power unless a man loses some of his power. As Brontë implies that the only way for a woman to hold her own is through the weakening of men, I don’t agree with her message. Regardless, the fact that the didactic standpoint in Jane Eyre is meant to be one of women empowerment holds true to its purpose.

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Carleton Publishers. 1963. Print.

Style Challenge: Guess Who?

I had been making my way through the shards of light stealthily when I perchanced upon a sugary cherub. I looked upon the face of innocence and curiosity and saw no faults of life that had touched near a breadth of the cherub’s layering. Indeed the cherub held a glorious little step. I would dare to compare it to the shakings of a plump cherry on a tree in a strong, but methodical wind.  The sweetness was bound to fall. At once the breeze gave me recognition of another component of the angel’s mellifluousness. Around the clavicle of the angel’s chest hung a knitted scarf of goodies. Wrapped in sweets this crystalline ruby encaged itself.

This angel was a trap, a danger to all dangers and a consumer of all that held itself steadfastly. An angel is nothing but a demon that appears to be shaded with light. This cherub was a demon and I standing in the dark held real verisimilitude and morality. I could be the saviour saving this apparition from itself and its misdoings. All I would need to do is descend upon the fiend’s stature and swoop away the false light that glows on the demon’s innards. The wondrous disasters awaiting to happen on the introduction of the succubus’s aroma. A gem with a light that shows no fear so as to discourage the darkness is more vicious than a stone that bears none of its interior.

I believed it was time to do some cherry picking. Ah, that look imparts no sympathies, but judge me not yet. Every being is drawn to a sweet scent and is doing more harm than good by appearing to restrain themselves. Is it not better to be honest or does authenticity not hold as one of your virtues. Anyhow I had decided to shed some truth on the blood- colored fruit. As I got closer I could hear the melody of that cherub and picked up some intelligence. The angel had familial relationships with whom she was on her way to meet to dispatch her holdings to.

It was there I sought to surprise this crystal with an unexpected arrival. I ran with avid ferocity towards the home of the cherub’s relations and snuck inside. To my dismay I saw an elderly occupant alive and very vivacious considering the occupant’s age. I was left with no choice but to swoop the woman away from the dangers of life. Taking the part of a saviour I kept the elder safe in my breast and my abdomen. What a lucky one indeed to be saved by me. Now all that was left in my mission was to start cherry-picking.

Bernard from Brave New World in 1st Person rather than 3rd person omniscient

Really rather beautiful, Miss Keate is. Lenina still appears to be more beautiful and attractive though. But oh, Miss Keate. I would like to indulge in Soma with her. And there is no reason why I should not be able to have her. I am popular and we are both free. I'll make a move right now. Yes an arm, now give me a kiss. Ah! The shutters! I'll get another chance. I have all the time in the world. Aah the Savage, so mislead and stuck in his ways. He does not understand the simplest of joys. Indeed he thinks too much. Shakespeare! What an outrageous question! He really has no connection with the people of this “other place.” How intriguing though. He really has put some weight on this Complete Works of Shakespeare. He believes in it as if it were his religion and William Shakespeare was his prophet. The solitary life is actually a state of unfound clarity and confusion. I can see why you would not want to encourage it. The youth might become like me. No. No more talk of these things, this is over. Now, Miss Keate. I enjoy her charming mouth's sweet whispers in my ear. For this evening would you have sex with me? Yes, I already knew the answer miss. I won't really enjoy the Soma, but to be with her tonight appeals to me greatly. Maybe we'll forget about it entirely in the rush of our meeting and just skip over all the niceties.

Frankenstein: The Enlightened Lover and Martyr (Peer Response Edition Only)

Victor's demise is not a condemnation of rationalism.  Though Victor Frankenstein did start to follow the tenets of rationalism, he could not escape the romanticism in his human nature. For his tragedy to represent the downfall of rationalism, he had to perform as a rationalist. Instead Victor Frankenstein rather would characterize the downfall of Romanticism. It is human nature to greed for more power, to become more than what they are, to make judgments off of emotion and conceit rather than logic. If Frankenstein had been Enlightened he wouldn't have taken the view of his creation he did. He would have marveled at it for the anomaly and significance it provided to the world of science, instead he could not move past its appearances. His downfall was that he could not be tolerant as the tenets of Enlightenment say. He would choose to respond out of fear and disgust rather than the rational move of acceptance and becoming an educator. He might've treated his creation differently if it were beautiful, yet he could not stand its ugliness. And yet, isn't ugliness defined by the inability to overcome ancient traditions, ideals, and concepts of beauty. A rationalist would've not seen ugliness in the human notion as Victor did.

His words had a strange effect upon me. I compassionated

him, and sometimes felt a wish to console

him; but when I looked upon him, when I saw

the filthy mass that moved and talked, my heart

sickened, and my feelings were altered to those of

horror and hatred. I tried to stifle these sensations;

I thought, that as I could not sympathize with him, I

had no right to withhold from him the small portion

of happiness which was yet in my power to bestow. (Frankenstein 260)

…she, who in all probability was to become a thinking and reasoning

animal… She also might turn with

disgust from him to the superior beauty of man;

(Frankenstein 299)

Life, although it may only be an accumulation

of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend

it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful

than thyself; my height is superior to thine; my joints

more supple. But I will not be tempted to set myself

in opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will

be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king,

if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou

owest me. (Frankenstein 164)

Victor saw visions of divine punishment for his unnatural acts, this can be seen as romanticism trying to inject itself during Victor's period of Rationalism. They sought to bring him back to a more emotional approach. The condemnation went to this emotional view though, because Victor died once he started to live solely for love and human emotion.

…but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became

livid with the hue of death; her features appeared

to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of

my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped

her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in

the folds of the flannel.(Frankenstein 80)

Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle

of life proceed? It was a bold question, and

one which has ever been considered as a mystery;

yet with how many things are we upon the

brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness

did not restrain our inquiries. (Frankenstein 66)

“Slave, I before reasoned with you, but you have

proved yourself unworthy of my condescension. Remember

that I have power; you believe yourself

miserable, but I can make you so wretched that

the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my

creator, but I am your master; — obey!”(Frankenstein 303)

 

The monster is at first a Romantic, then he becomes a Rationalist. He has all the reason to lament the Romantics of a human society he can't be allowed in. The human mind is irrational and is only justifying for itself, or at least that is what the creature sees. His negative view on the tenets of human rationality turned him to the monster, the animal, the logicless creature that he showed himself to be at times.

You accuse me of murder;

and yet you would, with a satisfied conscience,

destroy your own creature. Oh, praise the eternal

justice of man! (Frankenstein 166)

 

“ ‘Do not despair. To be friendless is indeed

to be unfortunate; but the hearts of men, when

unprejudiced by any obvious self-interest, are full of

brotherly love and charity. Rely, therefore, on your

hopes; and if these friends are good and amiable,

do not despair.’ (Frankenstein 234)

 

The creature had tried to be reasonable, even creating a plan on how to obtain a companion. He figured that this would allow him to be part of the humanity which he desperately wanted to fit into. What he found was that he could not control his anger, his impulse, the bit of humanity he had within.

“ ‘Frankenstein! you belong then to my enemy—

to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge;

you shall be my first victim.’ (Frankenstein 252)

 

Frankenstein's mother served as a warning sign against Rationalism. It can be assumed that a wise and strong woman in her deathbed would speak of significant matters in her last moments. She had the older generation's ideas on love. Society is facing trials of Rationalism and Romanticism till today. It is a particularly heavy struggle for the human psyche and the attainment of mass media, knowledge, and social hubs has made those involved in popular culture delve deeper within themselves and their thought process.

I knew that I was preparing for 

myself a deadly torture; but I was the slave, not the

master of an impulse, which I detested, yet could

not disobey. (Frankenstein 408)

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein to display the characteristics of Modern Rationalism and Romanticism. She did not lean towards one belief. It was popular because of this representation of the contrast, yet steady convergence of the two beliefs.

Dr. Darwin, and some of the physiological

writers of Germany… It was recommended by the novelty

of the situations which it developes; and, however

impossible as a physical fact, affords a point of view

to the imagination for the delineating of human passions

more comprehensive and commanding than

any which the ordinary relations of existing events

can yield.

I have thus endeavoured to preserve the truth

of the elementary principles of human nature,…

(Frankenstein Preface)

  The modern comparison of the two schools of thought made people reconsider themselves and what humanity was. They also reconsidered the laws of attraction, morality, and personality  in functioning in society. Today we still philosophize our being and what makes our right to live, survive, and function as and in society.

 

Works Cited

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein (Bantam Classics). New York: Bantam Classics, 1984. Print.