"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Awakening"


"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story from a woman's perspective on the vacation she is taking as her husband/physician thinks she is too "stressed". The cause of this stress is her newborn child, who she doesn't like to hold because it, more or less freaks her out. And so she is taken out to the country and forced to stay in a place she doesn't like and remains with in a room she cannot stand. Particularly its yellow wallpaper. The room it's self was supposed to be a room for children, despite what appear to be shackles on the walls and bars in the windows, making the room it's self more of a prison, if not in reality an institution. And the yellow wallpaper drives her to the point of insanity, where she sees a woman living in the wallpaper and she in fact begins to crept around on the floor, and the man we presume to be her husband passes out on the floor.


"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Awakening" both take on the role of motherhood in the nineteenth century. Wives were expected to have children and tend to their every need. In "The Awakening" Edna doesn't hate her children, but she prefers it when they aren't around and she doesn't value them over herself. The narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" doesn't even feel comfortable holding her child, preferring others to tend to it. It is interesting to note that both woman feel guilt over this, which is heightened by women they are close to who take on the domestic role for women with ease. This is for Edna, her friend Adele, and to the narrator it is John's sister, Jennie.


Both of the women are considered to be wrong. Women at the time were supposed to live for their children and husband, and neither of them are capable or satisfied doing so. For the narrator, this meant being sent to an asylum to try and correct her ways and fix her "slight hysterical tendencies." This goes horribly awry and she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, there by removing herself from society and "freeing" herself from the constraints that were placed on women. Edna tries to become attune to her emotions and find her place in society, who she wants to be and who she wants to be with. But she is pulled back and forth and cannot decide to be completely independent or to accept her life as it is. And she eventually is "freed" through her death, in which she is alone and in peace, letting the waves take her.


Though death or insanity may not be the first response when one expresses their desires to be free of a society that expects them to conform to a certain lifestyle. Yet both woman, are at peace and accept things the way they are at last in their final moments. To them, their children and husbands no longer matter, and neither do the opinions of society. Both these stories show woman authors showing their frustration in the society they live in and their attempt to show society what it is that they are in reality forced to give up.

Sherlock Holmes vs Pudd'nhead Wilson

     The ways that a detective works are common and you can find them in many novels when you analyze them closer. We saw the detective skills really shine in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which is really commonly known to be one of the better detective novels made. Even when you mention detectives many people will automatically think of Sherlock and Dr. Watson, even if they haven't read the stories. Sherlock Holmes can be known from stories told by people, shows, or even movies. Though the media may not portray Sherlock the same as the stories the name and idea of the character of him still stick around in their heads. So, Sherlock Holmes can be seen as one of the most known and most common detective stories out there. 

     Though detectives can be found in many other things, particularly other novels or stories. An example of this is the book we just finished in class called Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain. It shows the detective work that you could find when reading a Sherlock Holmes story. The character in the book uses certain things to help lead him into finding out exactly who the culprit is. Some of these things are finger prints, eye witnesses, and disguises. With these helpful pieces of evidence he is eventually lead to the culprit being “Tom” who he discovers is actually Chambers. So, him using these detective skills he uncovers not only who the culprit was, but also that Roxana had switched Tom and Chambers right after they were born so that her son could lead the life of a wealthy white. Even if Pudd'nhead Wilson doesn't have the great observation skill that Sherlock has he was still able to figure out who the real culprit was and not Luigi who was being blamed for the act of crime. 

      Pudd’nhead Wilson is no Sherlock Holmes but it helps show that a story can not be purely based off the detective skills that the main character has. Any novel that has somewhat of a mystery can be a detective story. These stories plots will be more centered around more of a storyline where they are focused on more developing characters or not just the solving of the chrime. Though Sherlock Holmes can do this because the main characters are mostly introduced since it is a series of multiple Sherlock stories, whereas Pudd’nhead Wilson is one book alone and has to put aside time for all the characters. In the end they are both good, but in their own ways.