In this paper I will examine the two short stories ‘A Diary Of a Madman’ by Nikolai Gogol and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ tells the story of an unnamed married woman who--according to the narration-- suffers from a ‘temporary nervous depression’ and as the story progresses she gradually loses her sense of self and reality. The story of Ivanovich Poprishchin in ‘A Diary of a Madman’ progresses in a similar manner, as the anxious and socially withdrawn Russian titular councilor experiences the fast downfall of his sanity. I will focus on analyzing the characterization of the protagonists and how their development affects the narration.
The protagonists both have an interesting and complex characterization. …show more content…
By her speech and actions we can conclude she is a rather polite and soft-spoken woman with a rich imagination and a love for writing. She is submissive towards her (rather oppressive) husband and physician John, and is quite alienated from her own ambiguous illness and simply does what her husband thinks is the best for her. We can see this in many of her thoughts, for example the quote on the very first page “You see John does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?” tells us a lot about the situation. She feels she is not understood, she disagrees with her own treatment, yet she does not protest. And when she eventually does—continuously pleading John to let her move to another room—she is never taken seriously. Her thoughts and actions eventually turn extremely manic and paranoid as she suppresses her boredom by indulging herself in the mystery of the wallpaper. She distances herself so strongly from John and her sister that she starts to antagonize them and states: “[…] I am getting a little afraid of John. He seems very queer sometimes, and even Jennie has an inexplicable look” (p. 7). Her effect on others also ends up being negative-- John faints from shock as he realizes her horrible state of mind in the end. (p. …show more content…
The way the narration becomes drastically less coherent in ‘The Diary of a Madman’ is an efficient way to portray Poprishchin’s character; and the way the protagonist of The Yellow Wallpaper’s narration remains completely understandable from beginning to end has a similar effect. Ultimately the characterization and the narration in these stories are tied together strongly, and is perhaps the major tool in making these stories so
The protagonists both have an interesting and complex characterization. …show more content…
By her speech and actions we can conclude she is a rather polite and soft-spoken woman with a rich imagination and a love for writing. She is submissive towards her (rather oppressive) husband and physician John, and is quite alienated from her own ambiguous illness and simply does what her husband thinks is the best for her. We can see this in many of her thoughts, for example the quote on the very first page “You see John does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?” tells us a lot about the situation. She feels she is not understood, she disagrees with her own treatment, yet she does not protest. And when she eventually does—continuously pleading John to let her move to another room—she is never taken seriously. Her thoughts and actions eventually turn extremely manic and paranoid as she suppresses her boredom by indulging herself in the mystery of the wallpaper. She distances herself so strongly from John and her sister that she starts to antagonize them and states: “[…] I am getting a little afraid of John. He seems very queer sometimes, and even Jennie has an inexplicable look” (p. 7). Her effect on others also ends up being negative-- John faints from shock as he realizes her horrible state of mind in the end. (p. …show more content…
The way the narration becomes drastically less coherent in ‘The Diary of a Madman’ is an efficient way to portray Poprishchin’s character; and the way the protagonist of The Yellow Wallpaper’s narration remains completely understandable from beginning to end has a similar effect. Ultimately the characterization and the narration in these stories are tied together strongly, and is perhaps the major tool in making these stories so