social and human sciences review مجلة العلوم الاجتماعية والانسانية
Volume 23, Numéro 2, Pages 481-492
2022-12-31
A Turn-of-the-century Woman’s Journey Into Madness In “the Yellow Wallpaper” (1892): A Fatal Self-assertion
Authors : Benlahcene Mallek .
Abstract
This paper explores the plight of the turn-of-the-century women swinging between the necessity to fit into domineering social and patriarchal constructions, and the desire to be self-determining women. More precisely, it examines Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper as a representative work of that era highlighting the female protagonist’s awakening and aspiration to stand against the dominating figures in her life. However, due to overwhelming social constraints and androcentric hegemony, Jane, the protagonist, experiences repressive anger and frustration, and ultimately displays aggressive behaviors to spurn the revered beliefs about true womanhood. This paper, thus, maintains that in the light of the suffocating social milieu, the shift from submissiveness to emancipation can be achieved through silent and subtle rejection and ultimately unconventional aggressive behaviors. Seemingly unheroic, these unconventional behaviors, including madness, enable Jane to dismiss the conventional role assigned for her as a woman and wife.
Keywords
Madness ; New Woman ; True Womanhood ; Turn-of-the-century
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