Thursday, March 08, 2007
Charlotte Perkins Gilman III
Katja
ENGL 48B
Journal # 29, Gilman III
8 March, 2007
"She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession. I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which has made me sick!" (Charlotte Perkins Gilman 836)
The quote, taken from Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-paper, captures the essential tension in the protagonist’s existence. Bound to compare herself to her closest household peer, her sister-in-law, she points out the fundamental differences between the two of them.
John’s wife, the main character, cannot but notice the chipper efficiency of her sister-in-law, which she herself is lacking. Even her husband John carries the family trait; he "is practical in the extreme" (833). To our heroine this busyness seems senseless. I fear she is a lone intellectual among pragmatists. This lack of true friendship adds to the sense of alienation in the story. She is an island of creativity and cerebral activity in an ocean of utility.
One gets the sense that the sister-in-law finds writing equivalent to idleness, which surely is equivalent to sin, and sin can only lead to bad things. I picture the sister-in-law as a whirlwind of efficiency, a somewhat bossy, stout, wholesome character who refuses to take no for an answer. She has gladly accepted her lot in life and hopes to bring her brother’s wife around to her way of thinking.
Gilman’s not so subtle pique at housekeeping as the end-all and be-all of female accomplishment is funny and lets the reader sympathize with the protagonist’s situation. I think Gilman really worked towards changing the female experience with her work. By creating this semi-autobiographical piece she hoped to usher in a new realism regarding women’s lives, emotions and contributions to society.
ENGL 48B
Journal # 29, Gilman III
8 March, 2007
"She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession. I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which has made me sick!" (Charlotte Perkins Gilman 836)
The quote, taken from Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-paper, captures the essential tension in the protagonist’s existence. Bound to compare herself to her closest household peer, her sister-in-law, she points out the fundamental differences between the two of them.
John’s wife, the main character, cannot but notice the chipper efficiency of her sister-in-law, which she herself is lacking. Even her husband John carries the family trait; he "is practical in the extreme" (833). To our heroine this busyness seems senseless. I fear she is a lone intellectual among pragmatists. This lack of true friendship adds to the sense of alienation in the story. She is an island of creativity and cerebral activity in an ocean of utility.
One gets the sense that the sister-in-law finds writing equivalent to idleness, which surely is equivalent to sin, and sin can only lead to bad things. I picture the sister-in-law as a whirlwind of efficiency, a somewhat bossy, stout, wholesome character who refuses to take no for an answer. She has gladly accepted her lot in life and hopes to bring her brother’s wife around to her way of thinking.
Gilman’s not so subtle pique at housekeeping as the end-all and be-all of female accomplishment is funny and lets the reader sympathize with the protagonist’s situation. I think Gilman really worked towards changing the female experience with her work. By creating this semi-autobiographical piece she hoped to usher in a new realism regarding women’s lives, emotions and contributions to society.
# posted by Katja @ 2:24 PM 
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This quote reminded me of Wolf's "angel in the house." In The Yellow Wallpaper I think it shows the tension caused by the narrator's socialization as a woman - she should be happy being a homemaker and a caretaker, but she isn't.
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