Yellow Woman Analysis
World Literature
7/20/2011
Yellow Woman Analysis After reading “Yellow Woman” a sense of mystery is imposed on the readers. The story itself is very short and dreamlike. It is as if there is no beginning to the story. The narrator wakes up on the sand of a river bank next to a man she does not know. The man known as Silva acts very strangely towards her throughout the entire story. He is always laughing and smiling while at the same time forcing the narrator to do what he wants. By the same token, the narrator never puts up any sort of a fight to leave. The Narrator in the story knowingly follows Silva’s every word even knowing deep down she knows that she probably shouldn’t. She uses her time with him as an escape from her own living situation because it is exciting and new. The narrator of the story struggles with her identity and begins to worry if she is becoming the fabled Yellow Woman. The story “Yellow Woman” is extremely sexually charged with many things in the story being metaphors for sex. The story even begins with the narrator waking up after a night of sex with the mysterious Silva saying “My thigh clung to his with dampness”. The narrator is on the other side of the river, symbolizing that she has crossed over a boundary line physically as well as with her actions. The narrator acts completely instinctual at the beginning and does not really think about before her actions. The narrator tells us later that she “did not decide to go. She just went”. She is caught up in the rush she is experiencing by doing what she is not supposed to. Since she began her domestic life she has not been able to experience acting out of spontaneity.
The woman is experiencing a feeling that many people feel when they get married and start a family. Days become very repetitive and life becomes more about your family than yourself. People begin to miss the days where they could just go out and do whatever they want on a whim. When Silva asks her if she is coming
7/20/2011
Yellow Woman Analysis After reading “Yellow Woman” a sense of mystery is imposed on the readers. The story itself is very short and dreamlike. It is as if there is no beginning to the story. The narrator wakes up on the sand of a river bank next to a man she does not know. The man known as Silva acts very strangely towards her throughout the entire story. He is always laughing and smiling while at the same time forcing the narrator to do what he wants. By the same token, the narrator never puts up any sort of a fight to leave. The Narrator in the story knowingly follows Silva’s every word even knowing deep down she knows that she probably shouldn’t. She uses her time with him as an escape from her own living situation because it is exciting and new. The narrator of the story struggles with her identity and begins to worry if she is becoming the fabled Yellow Woman. The story “Yellow Woman” is extremely sexually charged with many things in the story being metaphors for sex. The story even begins with the narrator waking up after a night of sex with the mysterious Silva saying “My thigh clung to his with dampness”. The narrator is on the other side of the river, symbolizing that she has crossed over a boundary line physically as well as with her actions. The narrator acts completely instinctual at the beginning and does not really think about before her actions. The narrator tells us later that she “did not decide to go. She just went”. She is caught up in the rush she is experiencing by doing what she is not supposed to. Since she began her domestic life she has not been able to experience acting out of spontaneity.
The woman is experiencing a feeling that many people feel when they get married and start a family. Days become very repetitive and life becomes more about your family than yourself. People begin to miss the days where they could just go out and do whatever they want on a whim. When Silva asks her if she is coming
Cited: Silko, Leslie. “Yellow Woman”. The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Ed. 2. Peter Simon. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.: New York, 2009. Print