Gilman and Dickinson
Comparing Emily Dickinson, the author of many poems and
Charlotte Gilman, the author of The Yellow Wallpaper exposes
the reader to a better understanding of feminism and the use of symbolism in
writing. They use nature and objects to represent ideas and qualities they wish
to convey to the readers. Dickinson and Gilman have two completely different
styles of writing, however, they are both able to convey a strong message
whether it is about feminism, society or life. They have made their impact
and are seen as two influential women writers of the 1800’s.
In The Yellow Wallpaper the wife’s husband who
appeared to have good intentions, but expressed them in a rather oppressive way
controls her actions. Despite requesting to move to a different room and to
leave the house her husband is blind to her true needs and keeps her confined
to her room. “John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there’s no
reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.” (pg. 3). This shows the wife’s true
feelings and how she feels her husband does not hear her voice. However, this
was a common thought during this time period and Gilman is trying to emphasize
that. Although it is supposed to unintentional, the husbands force and the
wife’s submission displayed the social dynamics and expectations of how a
couple was supposed to act at that time. Due to the restrictions, the wife has
to secretly write in her journal even though it is one of the things keeping
her sane. “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? My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the
same thing.” (pg. 2) This specific quote also supports the wife’s true feelings
about feeling unheard and trapped by those around her. They all say they have
good intentions and are doing the right thing, but no one stops to hear the
wife’s opinion. Perhaps they don’t care or they think her opinion might be
untrue due to her “condition.” Soon after the wife expresses her personal
opinion to the reader again and twice she says, “But what is one to do?” as if
even though she wants to voice her thoughts she knows it won’t make a
difference and no one would listen. “Personally, I disagree with their ideas.
Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do
me good. But what is one to do?” (pg. 2) Throughout her time stuck and isolated
in her room, the wife becomes mesmerized with the wallpaper and eventually
feels a connection to the woman who she finds behind it trying to free herself.
Similar to the woman the wife shares the wish to be freed. Towards the end when
she tears down the wallpaper she seems to be going almost a bit crazy and in a
good way. She is finally reaching the freedom she has longed for. “’I’ve got
out at last,” said I, “in spite of you and Jane? And I’ve pulled off most of
the paper, so you can’t put me back! “now why should that man have fainted? But
he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him
every time!’” (pg. 10) It is peculiar the way her husband “faints” or even dies
as can be inferred by the reader, because the wife is now is free and walks
over him every time she leaves. Gilman uses this symbolization to highlight
feminism since the wife now has to walk over and away from her husband every
time she leaves. The difference being that now she is a freed woman.
Gilman was inspired to write this story, because it is almost a
mirror of an experience she had personally where she was told after having a
nervous breakdown to sit at home and live her life doing nothing. Her feminism
is highlighted when she ends the story with the wife tearing down the wallpaper
and stepping into freedom. This freedom is free from the terrible room and her
overbearing husband. The ending is abrupt and encourages women to speak up for
themselves. It also leaves the reader wondering what true freedom looks like.
Emily
Dickinson wrote an extensive amount of poems all of which have an impactful
message in them. Her style and choice in poetry is very different in length and
style than Gilman yet she is still able to convey a message. One example of
short and powerful poem is Fame is a Bee. “Fame
is a bee. It has a song – It has a sting – Ah, too, it has a wing.” This
poem uses a bee to represent how fame often “flies” and fortunes different
people at different times. The “wing” representing the rise in fame and the
“song” meaning fame does have perks and is a wonderful thing. However, the
“sting” symbolizes the pressure and other bad things that accompany fame.
Dickinson loved nature and uses a bee, which by itself is meaningless and yet
she is able to convey a message about the reality of society and fame to her
readers. Another example is In this
short life that only lasts an hour. “In this short life that only lasts an
hour. How much – how little – is within our power.” Only consisting of two
lines and still the poem holds such a powerful message. Obviously our lives are
not only an hour, but she uses an hour to show how little time we have on earth
in the big scheme of things. The poem is a wake up call and almost a kind of
warning saying to the readers that they should make the most of the short time
they have in life, because people can’t control time or their lives even if sometimes
they like to think they can. With the
small amount we have we should make it worthwhile and not waste our lives doing
nothing important.
The more popular poems by Dickinson have to do
with mortality such as Because I could not stop for death, which is not
surprising since death chose to reappear a lot in her life. She is also known
for using her voice subtly or not so subtly to share she did not believe a
woman should submit to men and women should not surrender their hopes and
dreams for a man. Her room was a place of freedom where her imagination could
flow freely through her poetry. Locking the door was a symbol of leaving the
real world behind and being able to be as creative as she could.
When two
similar yet different authors come together they are able to project quite a
message. They were both supporters of feminism and the idea that a woman should
have a room to herself to be as free and creative as she wanted. In their own
ways they were able to educate people about feminism and communicate their
thoughts on it even though it was through their work. The readers could be
other women who relate to the authors ideas and need to be encouraged or just
the general public who need to be educated about feminism. It may seem like a
small thing, but they had influential voices. In Gilman’s The Yellow
Wallpaper the woman behind the wallpaper symbolized the wife being
trapped behind her husband and her old self. She became the wallpaper and was
finally able to break free physically and emotionally from it. Without
symbolism the message would not be as bold. Dickinson on the other hand always
used symbolism in her poems whether it was with nature or people. People are
able to see the importance and power of symbolism and how they can be used to
relay a message. When brought side-by-side people are able to see two women who
lived at different times able to share some of the same beliefs with the world
around them.
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