Response to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was interesting to me. It reminded me of the precursor to the short story I wrote in English 11. (I will post it on my blog below this for reference.) John, the narrator’s husband seems to treat her in a loving way, but it is also degrading. Although he does not physically beat her, or use mean words, she does inherently show some signs psychological abuse through the way he is treating her. A song that comes to mind when reading this book reminds me a little of the song Polly by Nirvana. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPSYplu_3fA&ob=av2n)
Even though John did not kidnap the narrator, she is still his captive, and he is still the one in control. He keeps her from her child. He treats her like a child. At one point, he called her “baby girl,” which I thought was insulting to this woman, even though it was a term of endearment. It reminded me of a neonatal fetish that is common when judging beauty. People tend to be more attracted to people who exude a physical youth. This can be shown by light hair, big eyes etc. John showed some of this by putting her in a nursery and by dictating her daily life, much like if she was an infant. This may be because he feels more powerful when he can control every aspect of her life, or he may find her more attractive when he is in a dominant role. Whenever his wife seems to be upset he seems to mollify the situation by telling her to rest and be quiet, much like her problems were as trivial as a child whimpering and fussing.
The narrator seems to be very distressed, and oblivious to any other intentions her husband may have by keeping her locked up in the nursery. She believes that he is her hero, even if he is wrong. Her rapid thoughts that she writes eludes that she seems not to be getting better, especially with the fascination with the wallpaper. The wallpaper is described to be hideous, scrawling, having no order, with a woman trapped inside, along with having a horrid, lingering smell. This may be her reflection of herself. She may see herself as musty, disorderly, out of control, torn apart, and trapped like the woman whom she claims to creep along in the paper and behind trees. She may be reflecting her anxieties into the woman behind the paper because she knows that she is hiding her embarrassment of secretly writing. When she sees the bars, it may be the reflection of the barred windows, which are keeping her from leaving the room mentally and physically. Bars can be alluding to the idea of a prison. When their shadows are projected onto the wallpaper, I think that it is saying that her mind is barred too. I see the wallpaper as the manifestation of her mental state. She wants to leave her mind but her husband and the bars will not let her. She pleads to see her cousins and to leave that room, but her husband turns her down each time.
Jenny seems like an odd character to me. I am suspicious of her. She seems to be in too much of cahoots with John. She is the one who is taking care of the narrator’s newborn, and taking care of the house. I can almost see her almost taking over the narrator’s spot in the family. This may be why they have such a tense relationship.
Overall I feel that this short story is very interesting and should be studied further.