The Yellow Wallpaper uses a unique, flexible format that allows for many interpretations. Gilman’s writing is given a greater purpose when she brings attention to topics and problems that have been overlooked. In order to achieve this, the author uses a descriptive style. The Yellow Wallpaper depicts Id, Ego & Lacanian psychosis seamlessly. The narrator is clearly disturbed. The id was ruthlessly suppressed; yet, it still tries to” be noticed. She is afraid to face “some ripples of her unconscious”. It is because of this that she feels happy when she writes. If she cannot vent her feelings and thoughts, her mental condition quickly deteriorates. Gilman (846) says that she thinks “It would be nice to have a few minutes of writing time every now and then, just to let go of some ideas.” She wants to fulfill her needs by writing and expressing her emotions freely. John’s tight control over her forces the narrator to hide and retaliate, even though she knows it will be beneficial.
She retaliates by repressing her feelings or irritations. She is battling her own id and suppressing it. Her superego tells her that she must please her husband, and take care of her child. But some part of her Id is stopping her. This constant struggle between id/ego/superego has rendered her inert. She is consumed with her repressed feelings, as evidenced by the patterns she sees in her room. She shouts, “I have finally escaped,” “In spite you and Jane!” The narrator says: “I’ve got out at last,” “In spite of you and Jane!” Her subconscious resentment is shown by her use of third-person. The narrator struggles to understand herself in a controlled environment and feel free. In order to get away from what she feels is holding her hostage, she dissociates her motherhood, her role as a wife, her patient status, and her other roles.
The Lacanian hypothesis explains how the narrator tries to form herself using the yellow wall paper and her journal. The fact that she crawled around on all her fours in the whole room is a sign of psychosis. According to Hume, “Wallpaper”, represents her “repressed self or other”. The desire to socially confirm herself is what haunts her. The desire to be uncanny, forbidden and unreadable; unreadable or lawless”. She showed her instability through the severed disconnect with reality. The “mirror phase” is illustrated by the narrator’s inability in self-constitution to distinguish fantasy from reality. By reverting to a state of infantile innocence, she is returning to the “mirror stage”. She is constantly exploring tactile and sensory stimulation, which is why her wallpaper obsession comes from. She is shedding her oppressed identity as a woman with mental instability by returning to the “mirror” stage.
The reader will be able to better appreciate the story The Yellow Wallpaper by understanding the Id and ego. Though The Yellow Wallpaper is usually viewed as a feminist work, its psychoanalytical roots are also evident. Gilman’s tale will continue enthralling and touching readers for generations to come.
Works Cited
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Robert S. Levine. Ninth Edition. Between 1865 and 1914, W.W. Norton & Company published a volume of material on various topics. This volume contains information on a range of topics from this period, including politics, economics, culture, and more. It provides a comprehensive look into the history of this period, as well as insights into the development of society during this time.
Gul, Sani. PSYCHOANALYTICAL READING OF THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, University of Swabi, Nov. 2013, www.vfast.org/journals/index.php/VTESS/article/view/133/167.