Theme Of The Yellow Wall-Paper And A Rose For Emily

The Mess of the Male Supremacy It is unhealthy for any human being to have a restraint on their mind or life. Naturally, a person will become unstable living under such circumstances. People need to express their imagination and live freely in order to remain mentally stable. There are ways to restrain people who need help without controlling and taking away every aspect of their life. Where the female “madness” starts is different with every woman, but there is no doubt that there are certain factors and conditions that develop and escalate the insanity. Jane and Emily in the short stories, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, both prove to be victims of abuse from the male authority

The females in the short stories gradually sink into madness due to the isolation and restriction forced into their lives. Due to Jane’s husband enforcing a life in confinement due to her nervous breakdowns, it only takes a little time for the isolation to drive her mad. In the beginning of the story, it is clear that the narrator, Jane, suffers from post-natal depression, which is a common effect after childbirth. The way Jane sees her living quarters is much different than it actually is. She imagines the rings on the walls, the torn up wallpaper, and the bars on the windows as a nursery or a school for boys, when those features actually lead the audience to realize that it is a room for the mentally ill. Her husband, also her physician, believes that in order for her metal illness to be cured is to forbid her from exercising her imagination, working, and to keep her locked away. However, his theory proves to be wrong when her mind begins to see a world inside the wallpaper, caused by the abuse from confinement. Although her husband is doing this for what he thinks is best for her well

The insanity of the Grierson family is a known throughout town. Her and her father we’re known to the townspeople as, “Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip,” which proves the control and power he had over her, and also hints to a situation of abuse (Faulkner 97-98). After the death of her father, she is in denial. Miss Emily fears change, and since the authority figure over her left her, she is confused and refuses to accept that he is gone. In the article, "Uncovering The Past: The Role Of Dust Imagery In A ROSE FOR EMILY," author Aubrey Binder states, “When Emily’s father dies, the physical presence of his influence dies with him, but the effects of his actions remain to wreak havoc on Emily’s future,” meaning that the influence of control that he raised her with causes her to develop a need for control (Binder 2). Miss Emily is unaware of what a normal relationship is like due to living life under isolation. Just as her and her father’s relationship was based on isolation and supremacy, she transfers the control of her father to her new lover, Homer. Her idea of keeping Homer isolated and controlled is by murdering him, and keeping his lifeless body with her. Due to the only relationship Miss Emily ever had