The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman and Paul’s Case by Willa Cather

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman and “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather introduce protagonists who are pressured to make choices as per the expectations of their surroundings. In an effort to find their true identities in a world full of opposition the isolation they feel brings devastating effects. Being misunderstood and controlled by his family and other people around him Paul, in “Paul’s Case”, becomes suicidal; trying to break free the societal bonds. The unnamed narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” becomes insane being confined by her loving but controlling husband.

Living in a humble neighbourhood in Pennsylvania Paul despises the commonness in his surroundings. He fancies fine art and a luxurious life style. He gets in trouble at school due to his lies and distain towards his teachers who accuse him of “Disorder and impertinence”.(Cather 232). His disengagement with any of the adult figures in his life makes it hard for him to have a good role model to look up to. In contrast to his rebellious nature in school, Paul excels in his part time job as an usher at the Carnegie Hall, since he loves its atmosphere.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator, a woman who suffers from depression, is only allowed minimal physical activity and limited mental stimulation as cure for her mental condition. She feels a need to express herself through writing but is forbidden by her husband, hindering her creativity. As she says in her journal “congenial work, with excitement and change would do me good” (Gilman 581). She continues to secretively write her true feelings towards her husband.

The protagonists in both stories are vulnerable to the control of their families and society. The faculty were merciless in their accusations of Paul who is called in to the principal’s office. Though none of the faculty members can identify the real problem, “They fell upon him without mercy.” (Cather 232). His father’s expectation of Paul to take after their neighbourhood clerk implies considerable control over Paul, even though he has no such ambition. Then the things get worse at school. Hence, “Paul was taken out of school and put to work” (Cather 239). Everything Paul enjoyed was taken away from him when he was not allowed in the Carnegie Hall.

The narrator does not have any control over her life and her well-meaning husband disregards her requests to work, grow and communicate. Against her will she is placed in a room with ugly yellow wallpaper, scratched floor and barred windows. She fixates on the imaginary woman who she believes is trapped behind the wallpaper. She writes “hardly lets me stir without special direction” (Gilman 581) in her journal, revealing the control she experiences.

Both Paul and the narrator must live within