Family Dynamics In Circe, By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Relationships can be extremely complicated, especially when it comes to navigating the challenges that are introduced by family dynamics. In Circe by Madeline Miller, Circe endures the constant disapproval of her family for not living up to their expectations of what she should be. Circe’s relationship with her parents was strained, with them often demeaning her in the beginning, such as describing her as “Dull as a rock. Circe has less wit than bare ground. Circe’s hair is matted like a dog’s” (Miller 41). Circe’s parents disregard her for not living up to their standards of being beautiful or having power. Her status makes her be seen as the most insignificant and overlooked by her parents. Not only do her parents see her as not living up

Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows how the main character’s deteriorating mental state from going deranged is not helped by her family. When she questions her own mental state “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter but temporary nervous depression” (Gilman). She is hesitant to try to get help because her husband is making her think that everything is okay and she does not need to get help. Even if he intended to do something good, which historically when this story was written in 1892, mental health which even if it wasn't taken as seriously, he ended up worsening her condition in the end and convinced her it was only just a temporary attack. The condition that she suffers from leads to growing insecurity Which is explained in “I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. I'm sure I never used to be so sensitive. I think it is due to this nervous condition” (Gilman) She does not believe it's due to a more serious condition because she's been told that it was only a simple nervous breakdown. Because there's so much trust in her husband, she will believe everything that he says, which causes all this harm in the first place. This is similar to real world problems where children act differently because they feel the need to trust someone, to learn

In Caged Bird it is a juxtaposition between two birds, one who is free and is shown as being elated and one who is restrained by an owner and forced to do actions, at the owner's pleasure. Within the story, The mistreated bird suffers from “ [his]wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill” (Anelgou). The bird, being limited to its owner, shows the impacts of having been under its owner's grasp for its entire life with no freedom and , not living life as it should be , by how it has fear in its voice. The owner can be seen as its parental figure because of . It shows how the scars that it had to endure from being restrained shaped its identity with fear of its owner. While the free bird who has no limitations is described as, “The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees” (Angelou). The free bird is able to express itself and symbolizes the desire for autonomy of the caged bird. The free bird has no one controlling over it, and is able to experience life instead of being confined to the very small life that the bird who is encaged experiences. Both the free bird and the caged bird show how different