I do not know what caused it, but last night I actually had a nightmare about Jane from The Yellow Wallpaper. Perhaps it is because of all the horror movies I watched growing up (and still do) despite being something of a scardy-cat. In my dream Jane was crawling all over my room, almost like Regan from The Exorcist, but with the apperance far more like a spider. After reviewing this dream on the way to campus, I have decided that The Yellow Wallpaper is only one of the most horrifying stories I have read. However, what tuly makes it scary is not Jane herself, but rather her husband:
Despite the animal factor that plays into the final few scenes of Jane fully loosing her mind, what was really the scariest part of the story was the basic acting out of the quote: "man's inhumanity to man". The husband (who I swear was stepping out on Jane) is the type of quasi-antagonist that really means well, and does not understand what he is doing is wrong.
This same aspect is also why children are in a way also horrifying. They have not developed the knowledge of right and wrong that adults do. This makes them effective in horror stories/movies, and the fact that the husband is basically being the "child" of the story is very interesting.
Going by that thoery, then the author was turning the "nuturer and nutured" role on its head by having the nutured attempt to be the nurturer. This can only lead to bad things, as the nutured has yet to know exactly what to do to take on the role of the nuturer. Because of this want-to-be role, Jane's husband cannot fully understand what he is doing is only hurting his wife. Perhaps he could, if he saw her as an actual person, and not just some shiny bobble that will look nice on his arm and have babies at various interfolds. This view point makes him more ill equiped to take on a role that he is by no means ready for.
After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Wow! What a creepy nightmare!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that John has good intentions but he's subscribing to old fashioned ideas and methods of treatment that are clearly not working for his wife. Perhaps, in John's eyes, his wife has transformed from a loving companion to nothing more then a patient he is determined to cure.
I agree with Angela, I think that John means well but sees his wife as a "patient" rather than his wife. I truly think he feels that he is curing her, and the main reason he faints is because he was sure Jane was progressing.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought to look at the story in this way! i LOVE the idea of the nurturer and nurtured being reversed. Very clever!
ReplyDeleteCreepy nightmare, indeed!
ReplyDeleteI have my doubts regarding John's intentions. I mean, I don't think he was actively trying to drive his wife towards insanity, but I do believe that he did not care for her as much as some may think he did. For once, he would be absent for days taking care of "serious cases", even though they were living within a few kilometers from a small village. In other words, there is the possibility that he might hsve cheated on his wife, and the serious cases were actually an excuse to justify his absence.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the other commenters in that he saw his wife as a patient. He also carries within him a veiled notion of superiority over the opinions of his wife, discrediting everything she said and telling her to stay physically and mentally still.