A Creepy Story

           If you will excuse my pun, I believe that The Yellow Wallpaper is a creepy story.  In all seriousness, however, the story is a very good insight to the treatment of women and the mentally insane in the nineteenth century. The narrator (who might be named Jane) is kept in isolation by her husband because he believes that it is for her own good: “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus — but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition…” (Gilman 2). In today’s society, a husband keeping his wife in a room that has bars over the window could get him arrested for abuse, but in the nineteenth century, it seems that such treatment was not uncommon. Other novels of the era like Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea depict similar treatments of women. In the gender-equal world of today, a woman is not considered to be the property of her husband, nor do social conventions require her to obey his every command. Also, modern women can write if they wish to, unlike the narrator, whose husband “hates to have [her] write a word” (Gilman 3).

Therefore, due to the vast differences of social conduct between Victorian-era England and modern society, this story can only truly make sense when studying it in the context of nineteenth century. The reader must understand that women in that time period had much less rights than they do today in order to learn more in depth about the social conventions of the era. If the reader does understand some of the story’s context, he or she will gain great insight about the treatment of women and mentally ill in the nineteenth century.

Work Cited

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. N.p., n.d. United States Library of Medicine. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

Heart of Gothic Novels

            Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness certainly fits within the constraints of gothic literature. The short novel contains many of the elements in traditional gothic literature, such as ghosts and a gloomy and horrid setting. Marlow creates visions of Kurtz’s ghost, and he often depicts Kurtz as a nightmare that haunts him. The ghostly and controlling nature of Kurtz are classic elements of other gothic novels such as Weathering Heights in which ghosts and the controlling Heathcliff are present.

Marlow describes Kurtz in nightmarish and ghostly manners after his death: “I had a vision of him on the stretcher, opening his mouth voraciously, as if to devour all the earth with all its mankind. He lived then before me; he lived as much as he had ever lived—a shadow insatiable of splendid appearances, of frightful realities; a shadow darker than the shadow of the night…” (Conrad 68). Marlow describes seeing Kurtz as some nightmarish figure that devours the Earth and all of the people on it, a vision that would certainly scare most people. Moreover, Marlow says that Kurtz is ghost because he lives in him as a shadow even after his death. Kurtz may not be a ghost in the traditional sense of a specter that haunts a house, but he does haunt Kurtz for the rest of his life as a dark shadow. The dead Kurtz is a reminder of the darkness of that resides in some places of the world. Marlow has a knowledge that haunts him, unlike the other men on the boat who are ignorant of the horrors that Marlow has experienced, because Kurtz is a dark ghost that haunts Marlow.

 The novel’s setting is frequently illustrated as dark and foggy, which creates an eerie feeling present in most gothic literature. The boat, before the native people attack it, is covered in an immense fog while traveling on the Congo. The fog creates a suspenseful feeling that is common among gothic literature. The exotic setting of Africa is also gothic in that most gothic novels do contain a setting that the protagonist is unfamiliar with.

Heart of Darkness contains many gothic elements such as references to ghosts, nightmares, and eerie settings, which can lead a reader to classify the novel as gothic.

Work Cited

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, 1902. Print.

Are All of the Brontës Literary Geniuses?

         The Brontë family seemed to have some stellar writing genes in their blood, for the sisters Charlotte and Emily produced two of the most influential pieces of literature, the novels Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, respectively. It therefore makes sense that the two novels have several similar characteristics. Both novels incorporate gothic elements as well as similar geographic settings. For instance, both novels include ghosts, a classic gothic element. The ghost of Jane’s uncle, Mr. Reed, seems to appear to her in the second chapter of Jane Eyre: “All looked colder and darker in that visionary hollow than in reality: and the strange little figure there gazing at me, with a white face and arms specking the gloom, and glittering eyes of fear moving where all else was still, had the effect of a real spirit…” (Brontë 28). Wuthering Heights also includes ghostly figures. The ghost of Catherine Earnshaw appears to Mr. Lockwood when he stays over at Wuthering Heights for the night. The novels also include settings that have moors. Jane finds herself at the doorstep of the moor house when she runs away from Thornfield and to the comfort of the Rivers siblings. In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff and Catherine fall in love on the moors next to Wuthering Heights.

However, the novels also have their own distinct style; the narrator in Jane Eyre addresses the reader directly in many instances, while Emily Brontë frequently changes its narrator within the frame narrative. Charlotte Brontë is very abrupt in addressing the reader when she declares that Jane married Mr. Rochester. Jane uses the very short and to-the-point sentence, “Reader, I married him” (Brontë 915). Emily Brontë doesn’t directly address the reader like her sister, but she very uniquely changes who narrates Wuthering Heights. Initially, Lockwood is the narrator, but then Nelly becomes the narrator for some time with shifts between Lockwood and Nelly as the narrator; at some points, even Heathcliff narrates. The novels are different in terms of message as well. Emily Brontë’s message is that love triumphs over revenge, as evidence by the fact that at the end of the novel Cathy and Hareton marry despite the intrusions of the vengeful Heathcliff. The message of Jane Eyre has not to do with revenge, but to do with the importance of autonomy and independence; Jane starts as an orphan with no autonomy and eventually becomes an independent woman who has a large sum of money and is on an equal footing with her husband.

In many ways, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights grew from the same soil. They each have their own distinct style, but they share many of the same elements.

Work Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Bookbyte Digital, 1847. iBooks.

To Serve in Heaven or to Rule in Hell?

           In Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Lucifer not as an inherently evil being, but as a character who can be justified for his actions. Milton portrays Lucifer as an ambitious archangel who may be misguided in his actions, yet his actions are justifiable and relatable to the struggles of the everyday people.

            Lucifer decides that he would rather rule in hell and be evil than serve God and live in paradise; however, Milton provides justification for Lucifer’s actions: “if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure…” (Milton 256-261). Milton illustrates in this quote that Lucifer simply wanted to be free from God. He does not wish to be less than the he who thunder made great, clearly a reference to God. He also wishes to be secure and safe, a desire that most people can relate to. In fact, many of the revolutions in history were the cause of people not feeling secure under a ruler; they wanted to be free from servitude, for it is the common desire of all people to have freedom. Lucifer is in the same exact position. He did not necessarily want to reside in hell, but for him “To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell” (Milton 262). To Lucifer, his ambition of ruling and being free from God is worth having to live in hell. Thus, Lucifer is portrayed as an ambitious character who is not completely evil because his ambition is justified for his desire for freedom.

            Milton’s portrayal of Lucifer has certainly influenced the work of other writers. The most obvious example in literature would be his influence over the work of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the novel, the monster uses Paradise Lost in order to teach himself how to read, but what the monster finds is that his situation is very similar to Lucifer’s. Both the monster and Lucifer were abandoned by their creators, and are forced to live in exile. Milton’s Paradise Lost has created a character that is not entirely evil, but one that is certainly justified and relatable.

Works Cited

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Scott Elledge. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1975.

A Tragical Comical Romantic Tempest?

      The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, can neither be called a tragedy nor a comedy. The plot is much too serious to be classified as a comedy, yet unlike other Shakespeare's tragedies, such as Macbeth or Hamlet, none of the main characters are killed. The Tempest is therefore a romance. It simply acknowledges the presence of evil, but evil never actually takes action, and while comedy is present, the play is too dark to be a comedy.
      A Romance describes a play that encompasses both the elements of a tragedy and a comedy (Schwartz). Like a comedy, The Tempest ends happily with Prospero and the shipwrecked sailors deciding to leave the island. At the end of act V, Prospero says, "in the morn I'll bring you to your ship and so to Naples, Where I have hope to see the nuptial Of these our dear-beloved solemnized; And thence retire me to my Milan..." (Shakespeare 164-165). Not only is Prospero leaving the island and returning to his dukedom in Milan, but his daughter will be happily married to Ferdinand, the son of Alonso. Also, Prospero tells Ariel that he is free from servitude after treating him poorly in act I, in which Prospero calls Ariel a "malignant thing" amongst other blatant insults (Shakespeare 32).
      In tandem with comic elements, the play contains some similar elements to those of a tragedy; however, it is important to note that in a tragedy there is evil, while in a Romance evil is only acknowledged and does not necessarily act (Schwartz). In act II, Antonio and Sebastian plot to kill their own brothers, but the plan is not executed. The act of killing one's brother is acknowledged as evil, but the evil never actually acts like it does in a tragedy. However, similar to tragedy, one of the characters exacts revenge on another. In this play, Prospero sends Ariel to wreck the ship that Alonso and Antonio were on so he can confront them after they took away his dukedom: "Hast thou, spirit, Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee?" (Shakespeare 27). Prospero does not actually get the revenge he intended though; instead, like in a Romance, he forgives them for their actions, and he returns with them to Milan.
      The Tempest, although it was originally classified as a comedy, should be classified as a Romance. The play acknowledges evil, while evil never truly acts, and it is comical, yet the plot is too serious to be classified as a comedy; therefore, The Tempest is a Romance.

Works Cited 

Schwartz, Debora B. "Shakespeare's Four Final Plays: The Romances." 2005.Web. 13 January 2015. 

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. BookByte Digital. iBooks.

   

Can you guess that style?

           Like what you build, build what you like. A statement to live by, for laziness in the grand craft of architecture is responsible for robbery and other crimes. A statement to live by, for, when the footsteps come and the robbers are there to take what is not theirs, laziness in the grand craft of architecture will be devastating. 

            There were three brothers, and each was presented with an opportunity to use architecture to create a home. Being wealthy men of business, they bought the materials they needed to fit their designs. The first brother, went to the local farmer, and paid him a handsome dollar for a handsome roll of hay. The second brother, being a man of business but also a man of nature, went to the forest and searched for many sticks. He found sticks, but most were as thin as thread, and all were as weak as the as the mind of the man who picked them as building material. However, the third brother, a man of superior intelligence and of intellect far greater than his peers, used an orthodox material: bricks. Had the other two brothers been prophetic, perhaps they too would have done their do diligence, and do away with laziness in the grand craft of architecture.

            They, being wealthy men of business, built their homes of grand design in a well-respected neighborhood, yet the footsteps were still coming after them. On the day succeeding the day in which their homes were built, the footsteps arrived. It was Mr. Wolf, and he, being so humiliated from previous business dealings with the three brothers, sought his revenge through unprecedented methods, and he, having noticed them crossing the countryside with their materials, walked to the doorstep of the first brother, whose was made of hay. He yelled, “Let me in! I demand that you repent your actions, and therefore give me compensation for what you have humiliated me for.”

            The first brother shouted back, “I shall never let you cross my threshold. Go away!”

            “Then I shall knock your house down with the force of my punch.”

            He punched the house, and, being so grandly designed, it crumbled. The brother lay there dead as a result.  Mr. Wolf proceeded to the second brother’s grand house of sticks, but he too refused to let him in, so he, with great force, destroyed his home as well. The second brother lay there dead from the collapse. Mr. Wolf had one more brother to exact his revenge upon; however, the third brother was a man of intellect, and he built his house out of brick, a material too sturdy to punch. Mr. Wolf was also a man of intellect, however, so he made the shrewd observation that the third brother had created a chimney. He climbed onto the roof of the house and dived down the chimney with the utmost confidence in his plan, but the third brother, as if he were prophetic, created a fire at the bottom of the chimney that burned Mr. Wolf. He ran around inside the house with his clothes on fire; he begged the third brother for forgiveness, and implored him to extinguish the flames. He did oblige, but this he said to him: “Leave my house, and never return. If you do, I might not be so kind.”

            Mr. Wolf left humiliated by him once more, but there was nothing he could do. The brother was a master at the grand craft of architecture.