Though arising from separate time periods, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude share fundamental commonalities in the discussion of writing as a means to bring form to their self-identities. Written in journal form, both texts reflect on how the individual lives in solitude and how this isolation brings about self-examination. Gilman’s and Sarton’s honesty with the reader, as well as themselves, allow an empathic understanding of how these women identify themselves as creations of emotional circumstance. By looking at themselves through a close lens they are able to see how solitude induces a back and forth between peace and depression. In doing so, mental illness gains a personal face through
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Most importantly, the narrator is forced into her isolation in the old nursery room, whereas Sarton considers her situation one of “self-made solitary confinement” (Sarton, 109). The “rest cure” that the narrator is prescribed by her husband quickly takes on the tone of a jail sentence, particularly as the windows in her room are barred and the bed is nailed to the floor. It is clear that she does not agree with this recuperation method as she “believe[s] that congenial work, with excitement and change would do me good,” but she is “absolutely forbidden to “work” until… well again” (Gilman, 10). Throughout the novella, the narrator reflects on her altering state as she occasionally finds peace in her solitude between moments of …show more content…
What occurs is a more intimate relationship with the reader as the writer not only speaks to them, but to their inner self as well. An empathic understanding of the writer, or character in the case of The Yellow Wallpaper’s narrator, can be achieved. It is not necessary to question the writer as often when the prose is focused on self-reflection, ultimately creating a trustworthy narrator. The writer can use various symbols that could be considered mundane, but in the journal format the reader puts the pieces together to create a stronger understanding of the writer’s
Most importantly, the narrator is forced into her isolation in the old nursery room, whereas Sarton considers her situation one of “self-made solitary confinement” (Sarton, 109). The “rest cure” that the narrator is prescribed by her husband quickly takes on the tone of a jail sentence, particularly as the windows in her room are barred and the bed is nailed to the floor. It is clear that she does not agree with this recuperation method as she “believe[s] that congenial work, with excitement and change would do me good,” but she is “absolutely forbidden to “work” until… well again” (Gilman, 10). Throughout the novella, the narrator reflects on her altering state as she occasionally finds peace in her solitude between moments of …show more content…
What occurs is a more intimate relationship with the reader as the writer not only speaks to them, but to their inner self as well. An empathic understanding of the writer, or character in the case of The Yellow Wallpaper’s narrator, can be achieved. It is not necessary to question the writer as often when the prose is focused on self-reflection, ultimately creating a trustworthy narrator. The writer can use various symbols that could be considered mundane, but in the journal format the reader puts the pieces together to create a stronger understanding of the writer’s