I believe it's high time to speak about the characters.
The main character or the protagonist of the story is the narrator herself. This is a young, upper-middle-class woman, newly married and a mother, who is undergoing care for depression. The narrator's doctors believe she has a “slight hysterical tendency” and the only way to cure it is to do different exercises, get plenty of air and avoid working. The story is told in the form of her secret diary, in which she records her thoughts as her obsession with the wallpaper grows. I suppose that the name of this woman is unknown as the author of the story was a feminist and she wanted to depict the destiny and life of all women at that period of time when they had no rights at all. I can say that the author uses indirect characterization to describe the protagonist of the story. There are a lot of examples when she tries to withstand her husband and show her own mind: “So I take phosphates and phosphites—whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until I am well again. Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good".
Because of strange attitude to her personality, the woman shrinks into herself: "I have found out another funny thing, but I shan’t tell it this time! It does not do to trust people too much." She gradually begins to see a female figure trapped behind the bar-like pattern of the wallpaper and realizes that both she and the figure are suffering from oppression and imprisonment. I suppose that the woman has gone mad as she starts cooperating with imaginary woman to set her free.
The other main character is John, protagonist's husband. John restricts her behavior as part of her treatment. Unlike his imaginative wife, John is extremely practical, preferring facts and figures to “fancy,” at which he “scoffs openly.” He seems to love his wife, but he does not understand the negative effect his treatment has on her. The real problem with John is the all-encompassing authority he has in his combined role as the narrator’s husband and doctor. John is so sure that he knows what’s best for his wife that he disregards her own opinion of the matter, forcing her to hide her true feelings. He consistently patronizes her. He calls her “a blessed little goose” and vetoes her smallest wishes, such as when he refuses to switch bedrooms so as not to overindulge her “fancies.” Further, his dry, clinical rationality renders him uniquely unsuited to understand his imaginative wife. He does not intend to harm her, but his ignorance about what she really needs ultimately proves dangerous. I am sure that by treating his wife as a “case” and not as a person with her own will, he helps destroy to her, which is really the last thing he wants.
As we can see, these people live in a union, but they don't underdtsnd that they are different and one helps another one to destroy herself. In such situation I'd like to cyte on Bohdan Stupka's poem:
This poem proves or reminds you that your life is in your hands and from your choice depends your further life...
Of course, we should not forget about the other characters:
Narrator's Brother who believes that the narrator's husband is right and supports him; Jennie - John's sister, the housekeeper; the Baby - narrator's child; Mary - Baby's nanny; Henry and Julia - relatives;
Mother, Nellie, Children - people we know almost nothing about.
The main character or the protagonist of the story is the narrator herself. This is a young, upper-middle-class woman, newly married and a mother, who is undergoing care for depression. The narrator's doctors believe she has a “slight hysterical tendency” and the only way to cure it is to do different exercises, get plenty of air and avoid working. The story is told in the form of her secret diary, in which she records her thoughts as her obsession with the wallpaper grows. I suppose that the name of this woman is unknown as the author of the story was a feminist and she wanted to depict the destiny and life of all women at that period of time when they had no rights at all. I can say that the author uses indirect characterization to describe the protagonist of the story. There are a lot of examples when she tries to withstand her husband and show her own mind: “So I take phosphates and phosphites—whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until I am well again. Personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good".
Because of strange attitude to her personality, the woman shrinks into herself: "I have found out another funny thing, but I shan’t tell it this time! It does not do to trust people too much." She gradually begins to see a female figure trapped behind the bar-like pattern of the wallpaper and realizes that both she and the figure are suffering from oppression and imprisonment. I suppose that the woman has gone mad as she starts cooperating with imaginary woman to set her free.
The other main character is John, protagonist's husband. John restricts her behavior as part of her treatment. Unlike his imaginative wife, John is extremely practical, preferring facts and figures to “fancy,” at which he “scoffs openly.” He seems to love his wife, but he does not understand the negative effect his treatment has on her. The real problem with John is the all-encompassing authority he has in his combined role as the narrator’s husband and doctor. John is so sure that he knows what’s best for his wife that he disregards her own opinion of the matter, forcing her to hide her true feelings. He consistently patronizes her. He calls her “a blessed little goose” and vetoes her smallest wishes, such as when he refuses to switch bedrooms so as not to overindulge her “fancies.” Further, his dry, clinical rationality renders him uniquely unsuited to understand his imaginative wife. He does not intend to harm her, but his ignorance about what she really needs ultimately proves dangerous. I am sure that by treating his wife as a “case” and not as a person with her own will, he helps destroy to her, which is really the last thing he wants.
As we can see, these people live in a union, but they don't underdtsnd that they are different and one helps another one to destroy herself. In such situation I'd like to cyte on Bohdan Stupka's poem:
This poem proves or reminds you that your life is in your hands and from your choice depends your further life...
Of course, we should not forget about the other characters:
Narrator's Brother who believes that the narrator's husband is right and supports him; Jennie - John's sister, the housekeeper; the Baby - narrator's child; Mary - Baby's nanny; Henry and Julia - relatives;
Mother, Nellie, Children - people we know almost nothing about.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий