Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And Woman Hollering Creek

Elizabeth Cady Stanton once stated, “the best protection any woman can have…is courage.” Throughout history, women have had a difficult time expressing themselves and struggled finding help from society, often finding that help within themselves or other women like them. “Woman Hollering Creek,” by Sandra Cisneros, tells the story of a woman who is trapped in an abusive relationship and is capable of escaping while “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story of a woman confined by her own husband, society, and to a room in which she is unable to escape. Although being distinct from one another, Cisneros’ “Woman Hollering Creek” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” both use symbolism, metaphors, and dramatic irony to demonstrate

Cisneros provides characters with names such as Soledad and Dolores to represent the loneliness and pain Cleófilas feels as she discovers her husband’s true personality. By stating, “[Soledad and Dolores] were too busy remembering the men who had left through either choice or circumstance and would never come back” (Cisneros), reader can interpret the symbolism of their names to show that Cleófilas will only be held back by her husband and if she continues to stay with him she will only live a life with no value. Although a false sense of marriage and love have caused Cleófilas to accept any abuse received by her husband, Cisneros then introduces new characters named Felice – happy – and Graciela – grace – to the story. The importance of these characters can be represented by, “[they] are the co-mothers that bring Cleófilas to her new birth, her new understanding of her culture’s myths, and her release from her role as passive victim of violence.” (Hicks). The mere fact that Felice had no husband and had chosen out a pickup astonished Cleófilas as if it were impossible to do. With the final sentence, “then Felice began laughing again, but it wasn’t Felice laughing. It was gurgling out of her own throat, a long ribbon of laughter, like water,” Cisneros shows how the story has flipped, it is no longer a story of scared woman, but a story of a freed woman and the creek

The yellow wallpaper soon becomes sickening to the narrator which is expressed by, “it is a dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others. No wonder the children hated it!” (Gilman). Yellow is normally used to symbolize hope or positive thoughts which the narrator is unable to obtain due to the fact of being confined in the room. As time passes, the narrator becomes more and more obsessed with the wallpaper even believing there are people living inside which symbolize how she feels trapped and helpless. Since she has stayed in the room for such a long time, the yellow wallpaper soon become too much for her to handle which leads to her mental health slowly