Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper" and Wharton's "The Lady Maid's Bell"

Sample Solution

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a classic example of gothic fiction. It contains all of the elements listed in the question:

• Confusion of actuality and fantasy by the main character: The narrator of the story, a young woman confined to a room by her husband, becomes increasingly obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her room. She begins to see patterns and images in the wallpaper that no one else can see.
• Unreliable or misguided, and hence misleading, narrators: The narrator of the story is clearly unreliable. She is delusional and her descriptions of the wallpaper and her surroundings are often inaccurate.
• Emphasis on the psychological states of the characters: The story is primarily concerned with the psychological state of the narrator. She is clearly suffering from a mental illness, but her husband refuses to believe her and insists that she is simply overworked and needs to rest.

Full Answer Section

• What are thought to be ghosts, spirits, specters, phantoms: The narrator eventually comes to believe that the wallpaper is haunted by the ghost of a woman who was also trapped in the room.
• A woman in distress: The narrator is a woman in distress. She is trapped in a room by her husband, who does not understand her or her needs. She is also suffering from a mental illness.
• Detached, dispassionate keepers who dominate, or attempt to dominate, the heroine: The narrator's husband is a detached and dispassionate keeper. He dominates her and does not listen to her concerns about her mental health.
• Impressionistic descriptions and images: The story is full of impressionistic descriptions and images. For example, the narrator describes the yellow wallpaper as having "a smell that was like the smell of yellow."

However, "The Yellow Wallpaper" escapes the imitations of conventional gothic fiction in a number of ways. First, the story is not set in a dark and gloomy castle or other gothic locale. Instead, it is set in a bright and airy room. Second, the story does not have a traditional gothic plot. There is no mystery or suspense to be solved. Instead, the story is focused on the psychological descent of the narrator. Third, the story does not have a traditional gothic ending. There is no supernatural resolution to the story. Instead, the story ends with the narrator completely insane.

I believe that "The Yellow Wallpaper" escapes the imitations of conventional gothic fiction because it is not primarily concerned with the supernatural. Instead, the story is concerned with the very real issue of mental illness. Gilman uses the elements of gothic fiction to create a sense of unease and suspense, but she ultimately uses them to explore the psychological state of the narrator.

Part B

Edith Wharton's short story "The Lady Maid's Bell" also contains elements of gothic fiction. The story is set in a dark and gloomy house, and it features a number of supernatural elements, such as a ghost and a haunted bell. However, the story is also concerned with the psychological state of the protagonist, a young woman named Lady Mary Wing.

Lady Mary is a young woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage. She is unhappy and isolated, and she begins to see visions of a ghost. The ghost is a woman who was murdered in the house many years ago. Lady Mary becomes increasingly obsessed with the ghost, and she eventually comes to believe that she is the reincarnation of the ghost.

Both "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Lady Maid's Bell" are stories about women and their mental health. Both stories explore the ways in which women can be trapped in oppressive situations and the ways in which their mental health can suffer as a result.

In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator is trapped in a room by her husband, who does not understand her or her needs. She is also suffering from a mental illness, but her husband refuses to believe her. Under these oppressive conditions, the narrator's mental health deteriorates and she eventually goes insane.

In "The Lady Maid's Bell," Lady Mary is trapped in a loveless marriage. She is unhappy and isolated, and she begins to see visions of a ghost. The ghost is a woman who was murdered in the house many years ago. Lady Mary becomes increasingly obsessed with the ghost, and she eventually comes to believe that she is the reincarnation of the ghost. Lady Mary's mental health also deteriorates as a result of her oppressive situation.

Both stories suggest that the mental health of women can be affected by their social and environmental conditions. When women are trapped in oppressive situations, they are more likely to suffer from mental illness.

These stories are still relevant today because they explore issues that are still faced by women today. Women are still more likely to be victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. They are also more likely to live in poverty and to have