Identity Crisis Taylor, Gooding, Wood, and Tarrier assert, “Defeat and entrapment are psychological constructs that have played a role in evolutionary accounts of depression.” That is an accurate statement with the protagonist characters living in an antagonist society in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Awakening. The woman narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper and Edna Pontellier in The Awakening exhibit levels of depression and anxiety that caused them to feel entrapped as it relates to their identity. Each story had a common theme of “don’t let someone hid who you are.” Both shared characteristics that derived from similar rebellious conditions, but used diverse objects to identify themselves. Their challenging relationships with their husbands
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The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper symbolizes her feelings with the woman hiding behind the wallpaper. She found pleasure in investigating the wallpaper and using her imagination so much that at some point she did not want to leave the nursery stating, "I don 't want to go outside" (Gilman, 2012). By the same token, Edna symbolizes her spirit with the ocean and caged birds. At the very beginning of The Awakening the caged birds state, "Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That 's all right!" which translated into “Go away! Go Away! For God’s sake! That’s all right!” The idea was that the birds spoke a language that people didn’t understand and Edna was misunderstood as well. Another symbolization that was presented was the ocean. When the ocean of Grand Isle was mentioned, The Awakening describes, “Or else she stayed indoors and nursed a mood with which she was becoming too familiar for her own comfort and peace of mind.” (Chopin, 1997). Edna felt free when she thought about the ocean as the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper felt when she thought about tearing off the wallpaper to release the hidden …show more content…
First, the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper does not leave her husband John and she obeys his requests when he is present. For example, she does not write in while he is present, because she knows he doesn’t want her to. With that being said, she waited until he left to write and investigate the woman hiding behind the wallpaper. Finally, the narrator has her first rebellious moment when locks John out of the nursery and tears most of the wallpaper down in order to free the women behind the wallpaper. She states, “’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’” (Gilman, 2012). Edna leaves her husband Leonce and was rebellious against his wishes while he was present. “She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her” (Chopin, 1997). Robert was her true love, but left her and never returned which took her to the ultimate depression of her state of mind. She took the one thing that kept her at peace, the ocean, and drowned herself. “She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again” (Chopin, 1997). In short, the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper and Edna from The Awakening were going through an identity crisis without a doubt. This was displayed through their feelings of entrapment and anxiety even though the stories concluded differently. The narrator in The Yellow
The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper symbolizes her feelings with the woman hiding behind the wallpaper. She found pleasure in investigating the wallpaper and using her imagination so much that at some point she did not want to leave the nursery stating, "I don 't want to go outside" (Gilman, 2012). By the same token, Edna symbolizes her spirit with the ocean and caged birds. At the very beginning of The Awakening the caged birds state, "Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That 's all right!" which translated into “Go away! Go Away! For God’s sake! That’s all right!” The idea was that the birds spoke a language that people didn’t understand and Edna was misunderstood as well. Another symbolization that was presented was the ocean. When the ocean of Grand Isle was mentioned, The Awakening describes, “Or else she stayed indoors and nursed a mood with which she was becoming too familiar for her own comfort and peace of mind.” (Chopin, 1997). Edna felt free when she thought about the ocean as the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper felt when she thought about tearing off the wallpaper to release the hidden …show more content…
First, the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper does not leave her husband John and she obeys his requests when he is present. For example, she does not write in while he is present, because she knows he doesn’t want her to. With that being said, she waited until he left to write and investigate the woman hiding behind the wallpaper. Finally, the narrator has her first rebellious moment when locks John out of the nursery and tears most of the wallpaper down in order to free the women behind the wallpaper. She states, “’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’” (Gilman, 2012). Edna leaves her husband Leonce and was rebellious against his wishes while he was present. “She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her” (Chopin, 1997). Robert was her true love, but left her and never returned which took her to the ultimate depression of her state of mind. She took the one thing that kept her at peace, the ocean, and drowned herself. “She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again” (Chopin, 1997). In short, the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper and Edna from The Awakening were going through an identity crisis without a doubt. This was displayed through their feelings of entrapment and anxiety even though the stories concluded differently. The narrator in The Yellow