The Yellow Wallpaper Setting Essay
Setting’s Influence on the Short Story
The Yellow Wallpaper and Hills Like White Elephants
Readers tend to see setting as mere background noise, not noting anything particular about it or what it may represent. But for some stories, the setting can be very significant. It can reflect different aspects of the story, from the plot itself, to the characters, to the message it’s trying to portray. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway are two examples of how the setting can play an important role in a short story. Both stories use the setting to reflect the characters’ inner thoughts and to shed light on the theme.
In the 19th century, the mental health of women and feminist literature …show more content…
were not topics that were often, if ever, discussed. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a revolutionary of her time for combining these two topics in her short story The Yellow Wallpaper. The story focuses on a woman who has apparently come down with a bout of “nervous depression” (297) and has been whisked away for a summer of isolation and rest at a country mansion. Gilman explores the matter of how society at this time acted toward women and their mental health. Through the setting of the story, she shows how society’s views on these issues affected the main character, and in general terms, affect women at large.
Similarly, Hills Like White Elephants focuses on another sensitive subject regarding women’s health. The subject of abortion, back when this story was written and even today, is a very heated topic. Hemmingway has never shied away from approaching more taboo topics, and this story is not different from his others. The story centers around an American couple at a train station in Spain, cryptically discussing a decision that seems to be plaguing their lives. It is inferred that the topic being argued over is whether or not the woman should get an abortion. Through the description of the location and the surrounding area of the story, the author reflects society’s and the two characters’ thoughts on abortion and how these thoughts affect their actions.
Both Gilman and Hemmingway use the setting to emphasize the internal conflicts the characters are having. Gilman uses it to show how society’s view on the issue of women’s mental health, an issue that is very significant to the main character, is oppressing her. Hemmingway uses the setting to reflect the woman’s dilemma when confronting a major decision in her life.
The Yellow Wallpaper is set right around the turn of the century at a sprawling country estate somewhere in America.
The narrator has been taken there by her physician husband who has forbidden her to work or socialize until she is cured of her “slight hysterical tendencies” (297). Instead, he insists that the best thing for her to do is to not “think about [her] condition” (297), and to stay in her room and recover. The narrator describes the house where she is staying for the summer, saying:
[It is] the most beautiful place! It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me thing of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people. (297)
This description of the house reflects the way the narrator feels while she is there. The placement of house far back from the road mirrors the isolation she feels being confined to that house all summer. The house’s separation from the road and the town echoes the narrator’s separation from society as she is kept alone in the house. This imagery and setting also reflects the way women, especially those with mental health issues, were treated at this time; they were kept separate from humanity and were told that their isolation would help them recover, when in actuality, it was the opposite of what they needed to get
better. The wallpaper itself is key to the development of both the plot and the character. It is a physical representation of the main character’s descent into madness. At first the wallpaper repulses her, describing it “as if a boys' school had used it. It is stripped off -- the paper in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and in a great place on the other side of the room low down. I never saw a worse paper in my life.” As the story goes on however, she begins to bring up the topic of the wallpaper repeatedly and starts to see figures in the pattern that she did not see before. She becomes obsessed by the paper and by examining whatever shapes appear to her in it. She sees the figure of a woman trapped in the wallpaper, shaking the bars, trying to escape.
…in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard.
And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern -- it strangles so…
She becomes completely enraptured by this wallpaper, eventually losing her grasp on reality because of it. The figures she sees in the pattern are projections of what she is feeling about her situation. Much like the woman in the wallpaper, she feels trapped by her husband and by society because they refuse to listen to her and give her the proper help she needs. Much like Gilman’s story, the setting of Hills Like White Elephants reflects the internal conflict of the characters. It is set at a remote train station somewhere in Spain, surrounded by hills being described as “…long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun.” The two characters are waiting for their train there, enjoying a drink. The pair engages in a conversation, and the conversation quickly turns into a slight argument about the woman deciding whether or not to get an operation, which one can deduce is an abortion. The woman reflects on the white hills surrounding them, saying “they look like white elephants”. The barrenness and colorlessness of the land around them and the round, white nature of the hills can reflect the decision the woman has to make. She has to decide between getting an abortion, perhaps leading to infertility, which is signified by the desolate landscape, or having a child, which is signified by the rolling hills. The train station is also a reflection of the character’s inner conflict. Train stations are usually just stopping places between points where one would decide which direction they want to continue in. In the context of this story, the two travelers must decide where to go, both literally in terms of what their next destination will be, and figuratively in terms of what path they're going to choose for their lives and their relationship. Expanding on the symbolism of the story being set in a train station, the train tracks themselves are significant. There are two sets of tracks, both running parallel to each other, never crossing. The narrator comments that on one of the tracks the “express [train] from Barcelona” would be coming, and it would be travelling to Madrid. If the couple were to get on that train and ride to Madrid, it can be assumed that the woman would have the operation done there. However, there is another choice; they could decide not to have the abortion, and then get on a train going the other direction, theoretically leading to life as a family. The train tracks represent this decision. The run perfectly parallel, but they never cross or intersect, showing that there is no room for compromise in this choice. The couple is only able to choose to go in one direction. Setting is an important literary device, especially in the short story. When the length of a story is constricted, the author has to employ certain strategies in order to get the theme of their story across fully. The setting not only provides background information and gives a time and a place to the story, it can also serve as a means for expressing the theme of the work and the conflict for the characters. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway are two stories that employ the setting to act as a way to convey the deeper meaning of their stories. Both of these works deal with the sensitive topic of women’s health, both mental and physical, and the main characters of each story face a dilemma related to that topic. The authors use the setting to communicate the inner conflict the characters are having with themselves and with society at large through symbolism. In Gilman’s story, the description of the house and the character’s obsession with the yellow wallpaper show her struggle with her husband’s denial of her mental illness. Hemmingway’s story uses the setting of a train station amongst hills and barren land to portray the main characters struggle as she tries to decide what path to take for her life and the possible life of her baby. Both of these stories use setting as an important vehicle in order to articulate their respective themes.
The Yellow Wallpaper and Hills Like White Elephants
Readers tend to see setting as mere background noise, not noting anything particular about it or what it may represent. But for some stories, the setting can be very significant. It can reflect different aspects of the story, from the plot itself, to the characters, to the message it’s trying to portray. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway are two examples of how the setting can play an important role in a short story. Both stories use the setting to reflect the characters’ inner thoughts and to shed light on the theme.
In the 19th century, the mental health of women and feminist literature …show more content…
were not topics that were often, if ever, discussed. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a revolutionary of her time for combining these two topics in her short story The Yellow Wallpaper. The story focuses on a woman who has apparently come down with a bout of “nervous depression” (297) and has been whisked away for a summer of isolation and rest at a country mansion. Gilman explores the matter of how society at this time acted toward women and their mental health. Through the setting of the story, she shows how society’s views on these issues affected the main character, and in general terms, affect women at large.
Similarly, Hills Like White Elephants focuses on another sensitive subject regarding women’s health. The subject of abortion, back when this story was written and even today, is a very heated topic. Hemmingway has never shied away from approaching more taboo topics, and this story is not different from his others. The story centers around an American couple at a train station in Spain, cryptically discussing a decision that seems to be plaguing their lives. It is inferred that the topic being argued over is whether or not the woman should get an abortion. Through the description of the location and the surrounding area of the story, the author reflects society’s and the two characters’ thoughts on abortion and how these thoughts affect their actions.
Both Gilman and Hemmingway use the setting to emphasize the internal conflicts the characters are having. Gilman uses it to show how society’s view on the issue of women’s mental health, an issue that is very significant to the main character, is oppressing her. Hemmingway uses the setting to reflect the woman’s dilemma when confronting a major decision in her life.
The Yellow Wallpaper is set right around the turn of the century at a sprawling country estate somewhere in America.
The narrator has been taken there by her physician husband who has forbidden her to work or socialize until she is cured of her “slight hysterical tendencies” (297). Instead, he insists that the best thing for her to do is to not “think about [her] condition” (297), and to stay in her room and recover. The narrator describes the house where she is staying for the summer, saying:
[It is] the most beautiful place! It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me thing of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people. (297)
This description of the house reflects the way the narrator feels while she is there. The placement of house far back from the road mirrors the isolation she feels being confined to that house all summer. The house’s separation from the road and the town echoes the narrator’s separation from society as she is kept alone in the house. This imagery and setting also reflects the way women, especially those with mental health issues, were treated at this time; they were kept separate from humanity and were told that their isolation would help them recover, when in actuality, it was the opposite of what they needed to get
better. The wallpaper itself is key to the development of both the plot and the character. It is a physical representation of the main character’s descent into madness. At first the wallpaper repulses her, describing it “as if a boys' school had used it. It is stripped off -- the paper in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and in a great place on the other side of the room low down. I never saw a worse paper in my life.” As the story goes on however, she begins to bring up the topic of the wallpaper repeatedly and starts to see figures in the pattern that she did not see before. She becomes obsessed by the paper and by examining whatever shapes appear to her in it. She sees the figure of a woman trapped in the wallpaper, shaking the bars, trying to escape.
…in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard.
And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern -- it strangles so…
She becomes completely enraptured by this wallpaper, eventually losing her grasp on reality because of it. The figures she sees in the pattern are projections of what she is feeling about her situation. Much like the woman in the wallpaper, she feels trapped by her husband and by society because they refuse to listen to her and give her the proper help she needs. Much like Gilman’s story, the setting of Hills Like White Elephants reflects the internal conflict of the characters. It is set at a remote train station somewhere in Spain, surrounded by hills being described as “…long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun.” The two characters are waiting for their train there, enjoying a drink. The pair engages in a conversation, and the conversation quickly turns into a slight argument about the woman deciding whether or not to get an operation, which one can deduce is an abortion. The woman reflects on the white hills surrounding them, saying “they look like white elephants”. The barrenness and colorlessness of the land around them and the round, white nature of the hills can reflect the decision the woman has to make. She has to decide between getting an abortion, perhaps leading to infertility, which is signified by the desolate landscape, or having a child, which is signified by the rolling hills. The train station is also a reflection of the character’s inner conflict. Train stations are usually just stopping places between points where one would decide which direction they want to continue in. In the context of this story, the two travelers must decide where to go, both literally in terms of what their next destination will be, and figuratively in terms of what path they're going to choose for their lives and their relationship. Expanding on the symbolism of the story being set in a train station, the train tracks themselves are significant. There are two sets of tracks, both running parallel to each other, never crossing. The narrator comments that on one of the tracks the “express [train] from Barcelona” would be coming, and it would be travelling to Madrid. If the couple were to get on that train and ride to Madrid, it can be assumed that the woman would have the operation done there. However, there is another choice; they could decide not to have the abortion, and then get on a train going the other direction, theoretically leading to life as a family. The train tracks represent this decision. The run perfectly parallel, but they never cross or intersect, showing that there is no room for compromise in this choice. The couple is only able to choose to go in one direction. Setting is an important literary device, especially in the short story. When the length of a story is constricted, the author has to employ certain strategies in order to get the theme of their story across fully. The setting not only provides background information and gives a time and a place to the story, it can also serve as a means for expressing the theme of the work and the conflict for the characters. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway are two stories that employ the setting to act as a way to convey the deeper meaning of their stories. Both of these works deal with the sensitive topic of women’s health, both mental and physical, and the main characters of each story face a dilemma related to that topic. The authors use the setting to communicate the inner conflict the characters are having with themselves and with society at large through symbolism. In Gilman’s story, the description of the house and the character’s obsession with the yellow wallpaper show her struggle with her husband’s denial of her mental illness. Hemmingway’s story uses the setting of a train station amongst hills and barren land to portray the main characters struggle as she tries to decide what path to take for her life and the possible life of her baby. Both of these stories use setting as an important vehicle in order to articulate their respective themes.