Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

Incipient Female madness

The oppression of women in the Victorian Era

Having the two texts set in the Victorian Era, they distinctly display women’s obligation to be submissive towards men. Charlotte Gilman and Jean Rhys depict how women relied on the men in their lives and restriction to express themselves act as a catalyst for developing mental illness. The two protagonists in these two stories were both mistreated due to their individual differences from what is considered as ‘normal’ in society, due to the women’s sensitivities to their environment which caused them great distress over time that developed into madness. For example, Antoinette from Wide Sargasso Sea was discriminated from society due to her mixed race, her sex, and her status which led to her being bartered to another man as if she were an object. The unnamed protagonist in The Yellow Wallpaper was given the “rest cure” where she was locked in an attic with tedious wallpaper and away from her beloved newborn child. The narrator must follow her husband’s enforcement of the “rest cure” which was commonly used for women with idiopathic mental instability. The protagonist was diagnosed with “temporary nervous depression” by her husband who exercised control over her life to ensure her condition improves. However, the “rest cure” provided by her husband, John, only causes her mental state to further deteriorate. It is evident in the beginning of the short novel that the protagonist believes her husband means well for her as she declares that “he is very careful and loving…”. Despite this, the way he “hardly lets [her] stir without special direction” foreshadows the aftermath of his treatment for her. The protagonist’s immediate negative thoughts on moving to the house, which was John’s decision, is plain to see when she compared it to the image of a “haunted house”. This is further disclosed by her suspicions seen in the rhetorical questions “why should it be let so cheaply? And why have stood so long untenanted?”. When she voices her hatred towards her room, John “… would not hear of it” and was determined to have them stay where he had planned. Thus, she is forced to comply to his orders which puts her in a position with no power. He even takes her baby away from her because he believes that she is incapable of taking care of the infant. The unnamed protagonist expresses her distress as

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