May 19th: Social Freedom or the Lack Thereof

After reading the works of Bradstreet, Irving, and Gilman the idea of social freedom was something that was a challenge to achieve. With all of these stories and poems having great influence from the era in which they were written, one can only assume that the world in which these authors lived posed social freedom issues to their lives. More specifically, each one of these authors explored this idea through deep symbolism, light hearted comedy, and poetry. Anne Bradstreet expressed her feelings and observations of social freedom through her own struggles and oppositions as they were, in my opinion, most clearly seen in her poem "Prologue". The doubt of those around her and also the dissatisfaction from others of her desires to write is shown when she states "I am obnoxious to each carping tongue / Who says my hand a needle better fits" (25-26). I believe that this shows how women and people who were in her same position at that time cried out to be able to do things that were restricted to men and frowned upon if others were to cross that boundary. Gilman explored something as intangible as social freedom through something very much so tangible- wallpaper. The wallpaper was merely a reflection of a woman paralyzed by the wishes of her husband and tattered and worn from the confinement of her social and mental limitations.  I loved her use of symbolism throughout the story and not only did this help aid her in the message she was trying to convey, but it also gave you something that you could relate to. We all have things in our lives that can sometimes make us feel trapped and hinder us from either doing as we so please, or being able to express ourselves in one way or another. These texts examine the different types of social freedom whether it is in mind, body or society. All of the characters  reached some sort of freedom from the sickly woman freeing herself as she tore down the wallpaper, Bradstreet continuing her journey despite what others thought, to Rip van Winkle escaping into social freedom from his nagging wife, and laziness. The main issues that hold these characters back from being truly free are their lives itself. Living in a society where the majority opposes their inner desires of freedom will always be a looming fact and challenge to battle. One main question I had about the readings or today was a connection I made between "To My Dear and Loving Husband" and "The Yellow Wallpaper". I realized that both of the women had husbands who loved and adored them though in very different situations. Could it be safe to say that they were both trapped because of their husbands and that the answer to social freedom for them would be through their husbands? Do you think that in a different scenario without the women being married, that social freedom would have come easier or harder for them? Today's theme reminded me of Cinderella in a weird way. I was watching the movie earlier and I was reminded of how she too longed for social freedom from her stepmother and stepsisters. She was trapped in her own house, cut off from the outside world, and shunned by her family. She only wanted to live out her dreams and make her imagination a reality but all of those limitations stopped her from doing so. Although Cinderella is more of a fairy tale, that was my biggest connection with our theme for today.