http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Invalid_-_Louis_Lang_-_overall.jpg
'The Invalid," painted by Louis Lang, is very relevant when it comes to the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." "The Invalid" pictures a woman lying in a bed, her notebook in hand, blankly staring away from view. She seems to be enclosed in a room by herself, and appears to be lonely and isolated from the world; just as the woman in "The Yellow Wallpaper" appeared to be. I found the two to be very relatable because when I think of the woman in the short story, I think of how she was trapped in a room by herself, left with only her thoughts and a journal to write them in. I find this notebook in the painting to be significant in my comparison because it shows that without company, we are left alone with our thoughts and feelings. Personally, I believe that the notebook in the painting represents her only access to communication. Just like in "The Yellow Wallpaper," the woman in the panting seems to have no way to reach out to society other than through this medium. Also, In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the woman was controlled by her husband, and forced to undergo a “rest cure” in order to get better after having their child. Going through this “cure” registers one as “invalid”, which is what Lang’s painting represents entirely. Becoming isolated and “invalid” from society can have profound effects on one’s psyche, providing the potential for mental instability and the mind’s subsequent decline. Over time, the woman’s mind started to decline as she began to “smell” the color yellow and she had a hallucination of a woman trapped in the wallpaper, and I believe that it was actually a projection of herself and a representation of her entrapment. Throughout the story, the bed rest and isolation took its toll, and I feel that “The Invalid” painting represents that well through a piece of imagery.
I like how you used a painting to make the connection between “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “Invalid”. However, I do not completely agree with the idea of the narrator being isolated and trapped in the room by herself because throughout the story it says that Jennie and her husband are always coming into the room where she is located to watch over her. So, physically she is not isolated, the idea of alienation is more psychological than anything else. She feels lonesome in the sense of not being able to express her true emotions to society or her own husband.
ReplyDeleteFirst, and formost, I love the fact that you chose a painting for this analogy. The manner in which you made connection between the painting and the story is engenius.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the painting influenced the story? I agree with the comparisons you made. Although, you did not touch on any differences, which would have set uniqueness. Overall, your piece was very well thought out. I love how you went into the connection between the "cure" and its "validity."