Yellow Woman
Introduction: The concept of the change and longevity of the fairy tale (or myth) is well illustrated in the story “Yellow Woman” by Leslie Silko. Not only is the story a modern explanation of a traditional Native American myth, but the style that Silko uses to tell it evokes and adapts the oral communication style that those old myths were passed down with. The story is also very self-consciously aware of its place as a modern revision of a myth, and makes many internal references to this aspect of itself. “Yellow Woman” becomes, in effect, the modern version of a Native American myth or legend, and therefore is a perfect example of the way in which old tales are made new.
If one analyzes “Yellow Woman,” one can see that Silko was attempting to explore the origins of these myths and what they mean in a modern context. The narrator of the story talks about how her grandfather used to tell her stories of the ka’tsina, or mountain spirits, and the Yellow Woman, both of whom would seduce and kidnap lonely travelers. These stories may have arisen as cautionary tales, but Silko claims that they might be explanations of actual abductions or seductions in the past. Silva, who claims to be a ka’tsina spirit, at one point replies to the narrator’s incredulity about them being ka’tsina and Yellow Woman by saying, “But someday they will talk about us, and they will say, ‘Those two lived long ago when things like that happened.” (431) Silko is making the case through Silva that these myths and legends could have had routine origins, as people looked for answers to where their family members went when they disappeared. It is possible that people back home on the reservation might make the narrator’s disappearance into a story to...
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...n” is a great example of an old myth or tale reconstructed and adapted for a modern audience in a new medium. It is a progression on one hand in its use of modern language, setting, and style but it is also the product of the old myths in that it is essentially the same on the thematic level. In addition, the level of self-awareness on the part of the narrator and, by extension, the author marks it out as an illustration of the very notion of evolutionary changes of myths and fairy tales. Adaptation is the solution to the fairy tale, and fairy tales have been endlessly changing themselves throughout history and, by some strange transforming or enchanting power endlessly staying the same.”
Works Cited:
Leslie Marmon Silko. “Yellow Woman.” The Seagull Reader: Stories, Second Edition. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 2008. 427-437.
“Yellow Woman” written by Leslie Marmon Silko is a short story based on a Native American Legend story. In this Legend story, a woman has been taken away from her family for a period of time. The Yellow Woman are taken by a Ka’tisna spirit which is better known as a mountain spirit. Throughout the story, the reader learns that the narrator is in an overarching battle with her personal identity as a Pueblo Indian Woman. On top of the narrator's battle with understanding her personal identity she is in a constant battle with trying to understand what events are happening in real life as well as what events are remnants of this legend story told by her grandfather. In sum, the struggle that the narrator has is the common theme occurring throughout.
In “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit”, Silko uses several techniques in her writing to make clear her viewpoints on beauty, harmony, and the differences between modern and Pueblo societies. She writes about recollections of lessons taught to her in the past such as teachings and stories from her grandmother and aunts. Silko uses flashbacks of impacting events to make the reader fully realize the large difference between modern and Pueblo society. The stories of Yellow Woman offer Silko a unique means of educating the reader about the Pueblo’s views on harmony and the beauty of others.
The novel combines elements of the traditional novel form and features of the Native American oral tradition. Many sections are broken up with poems that typically tie into the ancient stories of the tribe. There are breakdowns of actual ceremonies in the work itself. Furthermore, another element of oral storytelling Silko uses expertly is the nonlinear fashion of the story. Sections of the novel flashback in time and jump forward in time in order to draw distinction parallels in themes. All of these elements paired with some essentials of the classic novel structure almost seems to create a fresh, new medium that is engaging for the
In addition to stereotypes, Gilman also showed how powerful women could be and that gender does not play a role in mental capability. “The Yellow Wallpaper” shared how hard women had to work to have their voices heard and the struggle it took to happen. She wanted women to know that they could take control of their own lives, just like she did.
According to Bruno Bettelheim, fairy tale ‘characters are typical rather than unique’. Often, the characters of the lais are drawn simply. In “Guigemar”, Guigemar is the stereotypical “knight”, described as “handsome”, “wise”, and “brave”, while the “damsel” is “noble, courtly, beautiful and wise” (43, 46). Their love is even justified by the first serving maiden’s statement, “You are handsome and she is beautiful,” grounding their characters in superficial descriptors (49). The damsel’s husband is even openly stereotyped when the narrator uses “all,” as in “for all old men are jealous and hate to be cuckolded,” (46). “Yonec” repeats this stereotype, while the knight is “handsome”, the damsel’s husband is again a “jealous”, “old” man (87).
Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blond on Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1994. Print.
In “Yellow Woman” by Leslie Silko, the story is suggested to be mythic in origin, and not about adultery. The narrator is not given a name which adds to the ambiguity of the story and raises the possibility of the unnamed narrator being Yellow Woman. The setting and time are ambiguous when Silva (or Whirlwind Man) and the narrator are in the mountains, highways, pick-up trucks, and Jell-O is all mentioned. Making it clear that it is the twentieth century and the unnamed narrator is living in modern times. Yet, when Silva and the narrator are in the mountains all these things disappear making the flow of time ambiguous. The unnamed narrator herself wonders if what is happening is part of the legends of “the ka’tsina spirit” and refuses to acknowledge it till the very end of the story. The narrator not having a name, the ambiguous setting and time, and the narrator herself wondering if she is the Yellow Woman is evidence to disprove that “Yellow Woman” is about adultery.
Fairy tales have been retold and rewritten many times throughout history, and each author puts their own spin on the original story. “Bluebeard” is a story with many different versions, each with its own unique characteristics and style. A commonly known “Bluebeard” story written by Charles Perrault is interesting to compare to a version written by Donald Barthelme because the content in each seems so different from one another, but when examined more closely, the two actually have similarities. In comparison to Perrault’s version of “Bluebeard”, Barthelme’s more recent story incorporates a similar basic plot line and uses the same adult themes, however, through modernizing the story, he ultimately revises our understanding of the fairy tale genre itself.
“The motif of magical transformation is a crucial element of the fairy tale, without which the humble status of hero would be no match for the powers of evil that she confronts.” (122).
"The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts a woman in isolation, struggling to cope with mental illness, which has been diagnosed by her husband, a physician. Going beyond this surface level, the reader sees the narrator as a developing feminist, struggling with the societal values of the time. As a woman writer in the late nineteenth century, Gilman herself felt the adverse effects of the male-centric society, and consequently, placed many allusions to her own personal struggles as a feminist in her writing. Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a psychological journey that correlates with the advancement of her mental condition. The restrictions which society places on her as a woman have a worsening effect on her until illness progresses into hysteria. The narrator makes comments and observations that demonstrate her will to overcome the oppression of the male dominant society. The conflict between her views and those of the society can be seen in the way she interacts physically, mentally, and emotionally with the three most prominent aspects of her life: her husband, John, the yellow wallpaper in her room, and her illness, "temporary nervous depression." In the end, her illness becomes a method of coping with the injustices forced upon her as a woman. As the reader delves into the narrative, a progression can be seen from the normality the narrator displays early in the passage, to the insanity she demonstrates near the conclusion.
Prior to the early twentieth century men dictated women’s role in society. Charlotte Gilman uses her novella “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) as a symbolic reflection of oppression of women in a paternalistic society. Her novella challenges the idea of women being depicted as weak and fragile.
“The Yellow Wall-paper” is an amazing story that demonstrates how close-minded the world was a little over a hundred years ago. In the late eighteen hundreds, women were seen as personal objects that are not capable of making a mark in the world. If a woman did prove to be a strong intellectual person and had a promising future, they were shut out from society. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote her stories from experience, but added fictional twists along the way to make her stories interesting.
Fairy Tale Text & Motif. Prod. Distribution Access. Distribution Access, 2001.Discovery Education. Web. 1 December 2001. .
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.
Zipes, Jack. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.