The Image Of Woman's Life In Literature - Essay Example

The Image Of Woman's Life In Literature Introduction: Turn the pages of history of any country during the specified period. One common feature is women suffer intensively and extensively, viewed from any end and the psychological wounds being inflicted on her are sometimes, more crushing than the physical ones. She is compelled to play the second fiddle to menfolk. The conventions of the society force her to submission and solitude. Suppression of the private ambitions of womenfolk has been unavoidable, for the so-called larger interests of the family and the society. Menfolk utilized the institution of marriage to their advantage. In the stories “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway elaborate articulation has been made by the authors as to how the women, whether traditional or modern, have always been at the receiving end and menfolk are not willing to give her space and do not realize the damage they cause to her psyche due to over-protectiveness or outright suppression of her rights and individuality. She has no life of her own and it is linked to the interests of others. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is concerned with the age-old traditions of unequal status of women in the society that has a direct bearing on the institution of marriage. Women are forced into solitude as per the prevailing conventions of the society. Suffering of women is the theme of the story and as such how the institution of marriage can command respect? The traditional woman has always been at the receiving end and at every stage of her life, domineering influence of her father first and latter that of her husband impacts her life. The narrator suffers from the inferiority complex as her psyche is controlled by her overbearing husband due to which she almost loses her independent thinking power. All avenues for the growth of her personality are barred from her physician husband who firmly believes that he has the panacea for all her ills. She is diagnosed as ill, even though she is not! Illness is forced upon her to subdue her independent spirit. She lives the life of enforced solitude and that is not the fault of any individual, but the societal conventions demand the same. Husband has his own procedures to deal with his wife. The narrator articulates, “It is so hard to talk with John about my case, because he is so wise, and because he loves me so.” (81)After marriage, her over-protective husband is not willing to allow the sapling of her individuality to grow. She bemoans, “John is a physician, and perhaps—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind--) perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.” (74) Her God-gifted creativity is not given any opportunity to grow. She laments, “It is so discouraging not to have any advice and companionship about my work.” (77) She turns cynical. The two important metaphors in the story relate to the feminist interpretation. Yellow wallpaper itself is a metaphor that articulates the subjugation of women by the male fraternity. The irregular pattern of the paper indicates the inconsistency in the life of a woman, and how she is unable to find the proper balance in her life due to circumstances forced upon her by the male-dominated society. The second important metaphor also relates to the wallpaper, but from a different angle. The women remains trapped in the wallpaper. The narrator wonders whether she alone is trapped thus, but immediately reverts to the universal generalization of women and reflects that there are others suffering like her. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway creates character development through actions and dialogues instead of descriptions and allegories. The time-limit of the story is short, but it throws light on a profound issue, the problem of man-woman relationship, and how cleverly the man tries to dominate the scene. The setting of the story is in Spain around in 1927 and the place is a bar in s train station. A man and a woman, the two main characters in the story, are engaged in a conversation as they have drinks at the bar. The topic of their serious discussion is not stated explicitly but one can gather that it is about the abortion for the girl. Ernest Hemingway’s mention about the statement by the man, “It’s just to let the air in,” (212) is the indicator about the gravity of the conversation. In the absence of clear-cut guidelines relating to the story, Hemingway successfully employs the technique of challenging the reader’s imagination, and that is the elegance of this story. The reader has a task cutout for him to assume about the possible conclusion of the story but can guess well that there is going to be persecution of the woman in question, subtly though! A powerful imagery is the hallmark of this story, in the title and through the dialogues. The girl thinks of white elephants in relation to the mountains in Spain. A white elephant is a metaphor for a big possession that is difficult to handle and maintain which consumes much and delivers less. The name of the woman is Jig and the man is the American. Their relationship is vague and is not clearly defined. Without marrying they have initiated a physical relationship resulting in girl’s pregnancy. They move from place to place with abrupt halts. Their conversation is childlike without any undercurrent of serious responsibility, as the American tells her to “cut it out” (212) and Jig replies, “you started it” (212). Being sensitive, she is uncomfortable about discussing the topic of abortion. She speaks through her heart; her emotions generate from her inner world, whereas the American is a conversationalist and tries to introduce the art of public relations in his talk with Jig with the confidence that he will able to dominate her and impose his wishes on her. He is trying to outsmart her. He somehow wishes to get rid of the mess that he has created for himself, and says in an argumentative and emphatic tone, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig."(212) Jig, it seems, is not interested in terminating the pregnancy, and she is thoroughly uncomfortable with the suggestion of the American. Still, she is inclined to toe the line of action suggested by him, being unable to challenge him. This indicates the hopeless position of the woman and how the circumstances have overpowered her, but the same circumstances do not impact the thinking and sensitivity of the concerned man much. He almost disowns the responsibility for the plight of his woman but does not say it explicitly. Pregnancy has created a new circuit in her life and opens up unthought-of dimensions. This is an important sociological question as to how the traditional society will view their physical relationship before marriage. What appeals to her once, no more enchants her, in the changed circumstances. She craves for the child, but realizes that the present lifestyle is not possible with the responsibility of taking care of the child. Therefore, the American persuades her for the abortion and pleads that it is an “easy” and “simple” process and when that is done, it is possible to recoup the level of happiness they have been enjoying. Jig is in a serious dilemma. Normally the reader at this stage thinks that the delicate problem between the two relates to the “still born,” child. Besides, it is an emotional and ethical issue. She is frustrated and wishes to end the conversation on the topic and asks him, to “please please please please please please please stop talking". (214)When he again attempts to restart the conversation, she threatens to scream. This indicates how helpless she is and the man has an upper hand on the issue. He is insensitive, his dialogues are cosmetic, and he is just interested in finding the escape route. What he is doing is little short of emotional blackmail of a sensitive woman who cares a great deal about him. The American’s comments of "I don't want anyone but you"(215) and "I don't want anyone else"(215) are business-like and devoid of genuine sentiments. His heart is dry and affection-less. He almost expresses hatred for the child that is yet to emerge in this world and in place of the heart he must be having a stone. The American is a clever psychological manipulator. Conclusion: To talk about abortion ninety years ago could not be as easy as it is in the present times. Yet the American in the story “Hills Like White Elephants” exercises pressure on Jig and tries to bully her psychologically. Their relationship has lost the warmth and has turned icy like the mountainous terrain covered with sheets of ice. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is concerned with the age-old tradition of unequal status of women in the society that has a direct bearing on the institution of marriage. Women are forced into seclusion as per the prevalent conventions of the society. Suffering of women is the theme of both the stories and as such the institution of marriage has many loose ends. The traditional woman has always been at the receiving end and at every stage of her life. No religious tenets, no sociological convulsions, no economic solutions, no technological advancement, no feminist theories have been able to eradicate completely the secondary position of women as compared to men and she is compelled to walk under the protective umbrella of menfolk, who have held it not out of benevolence, but as an act of authority. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” In Great Short Stories by American Women. pp. 73-88. Candace Ward, ed. New York: Dover, 1996 Hemingway, Ernest. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: Scribner; The Finca Eigia Edition, 1998 Read More