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\begin{document}

\title{The physical and metaphorical significance of claustrophobic spaces in
Kincaid's `Girl' and Gilman's `The Yellow Wallpaper'.~~~~}



\author[1]{Moradeyo Adeniyi}%
\affil[1]{Affiliation not available}%


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  \date{May 17, 2024}


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\begin{quote}
Jamaica Kincaid's `\emph{Girl}' and Charlotte Gilman's `\emph{The Yellow
Wallpaper}' are two stories centered around the experiences of women in
society. Through the use of space, they exemplify ways in which society
confines women, albeit from different points of view.
\end{quote}

Kincaid's `Girl' made its first debut in the New Yorker in 1978. Unlike
the typical format of stories, this story takes the form of a single
ongoing sentence where the narrator advices a younger girl. The
narrator, who comes off as a mother or someone in a position of moral
authority over the younger girl, gives a set of rules, while the
narratee is barely given an opportunity to express herself.

This story buttresses the highly performative aspect of gender and the
`making of woman'; it is apparent that there is a power dynamic where
the addressed is at a disadvantage and thereby confined to the limits of
societal expectations, similar to how claustrophobic spaces give little
room for movement. In the narrator's rules, we see the traditional
expectations of women in patriarchal societies such as `this how to sew
on a button', `this is how you set a table for dinner', `this is how you
sweep a whole house' and so forth. Throughout the story, the narrator
gives advice that will groom the young woman into the normative ideal
woman. These instructions are in line with the social norms of gender
where women are expected to cook, clean, take care of the home and be
docile.~\emph{Women are taught in such societies that subservience to
men is important and their self-expression should be carefully centred
around men's egos.}~This can be seen in this story when the narrator
emphasizes how the young girl should behave in the presence of men.

\emph{In the typical binary postcolonial society where men are
considered dominant, women inevitably become acquiescent}~as a direct
result of having less social capital. In other words, women are not only
regulated in their homes but also on a large scale societally. Such
rules and expectations restrict self-expression by requiring women to
act in a certain way - no room for personal aspirations or desires
outside of tradition. The narratee's life is being defined with little
room for rebellion. The daughter's first rebuttal `\emph{but I don't
sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school'~}is ignored to
signify that society will not reward compliance as that is what is
expected of a woman. The fear of not being the ideal woman is used to
keep the narratee in check. As can be seen with the last line, the
narrator responds to her question `but what if the baker won't let me
feel the bread?' by saying `\emph{you mean to say that after all you are
really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the
bread?}'.

Society is the metaphorical claustrophobic space in this
story;~\emph{women are kept in a box and are expected to stay there by
stifling any form of individuality}. It is clear that the narrator
identifies the potential for frustration from all the restrictions and
gives rules that indicate a `transgressive potential of performance'
(Janes ``Kincaid''). For instance, the narrator mentions ``this is how
you smile to someone you don't like too much; this is how you smile to
someone you don't like at all''. In the same way tight spaces give
little room for manipulation, this transgressive loophole shows the
narrator is aware and understands that gender performance is
restrictive. Thus, there is an attempt to incorporate advice that allows
for some authenticity. As a reader, one is put in the position of the
narratee by being on the receiving end of the advice. With every phrase,
the reader feels more locked in and desires begin to feel out of grasp.
The momentum and exactitude of the instructions coupled with the
judgemental statement at the end, causes one to feel overwhelmed for the
symbolic lack of breathing space. This story can be seen as a societal
analogy of a tight, crowded and windowless room.

On the contrary, Charlotte Gilman's story involves a concrete physical
space. The Yellow Wallpaper was first published in 1892 and was
initially interpreted as a horror story . In 1973, 5 years before
Kincaid's Girl was published, readers began to approach this story from
a feminist perspective as this was a period when feminist ideals began
to surface as a movement. Similar to how the references to weather,
landscape, agronomy and cooking provide a sense of rootedness
in~\emph{Girl}, The Yellow Wallpaper makes use of descriptors to
establish the location of this story. It takes place in a lonely
`colonial mansion' that is `quite alone, standing well back from the
road, quite three miles from the village' . This lets us know the
building is secluded from the busyness of the town, even though she can
see people from her window. In the same vein as Kincaid's girl, there is
a power dynamic present between the narrator and her husband who is
representative of society.

The narrator in this story is seemingly suffering from post-partum
depression and her husband, who is a physician, rents an untenanted
building for three months to aid her recovery. He chooses the nursery as
her room and as aptly described by Loralee MacPike, ``the fact that the
narrator's prison-room is a nursery indicates her status in society. The
woman is legally a child; socially, economically, and philosophically
she must be led by an adult --- her husband; and therefore the nursery
is an appropriate place to house her'' (Janes ``Gilman''). The pattern
of infantilization is also apparent in her husband's choice of language.
He refers to her as `little girl'. Typically, children are not always
able to make informed decisions and require constant guidance. By
infantilizing his wife, the husband suggests she is incapable of making
independent choices and he is in the best position to judge what is in
her best interest. When the narrator comments about her appetite to
correct the physician's notion that it is improving, he dismissively
replies `bless her little heart'. This is the same way the young girl's
statement about not singing benna in Sunday school is dismissed in
Kincaid. Both the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper and the young girl
are confined by people with higher societal authority who believe they
have the best judgement. Not only is the narrator physically restricted
to her physical setting, she is also mentally and expressively
restricted by her husband's stubbornness and gaslighting.

There are various facets as to how the setting is a claustrophobic
space. In describing the nursery she rests in, she mentions the
furniture is `inharmonious', the floor is `scratched', the wallpaper is
`torn off in spots' and the sides of the bed posts had been `gnawed at'.
The interior design of living spaces often have the ability to affect
one's state of mind. The way one would feel discouraged coming home to a
messy room after a long day of work, discordant furniture also has the
effect of causing one to feel overwhelmed and caged in. This in turn
affects mood, behaviour and can cause irritability. This is highlighted
when the narrator describes the wallpaper pattern as `infuriating' and
`torturing'. Her suggestion to move to one of the more visually pleasing
rooms downstairs is turned down by her husband. He also monitors her
activity within the nursery. When she gets up at night to take a closer
look at the wallpaper, he tells her not go `walking about like that'
because she'll get cold. He speaks to her as though she is not a grown
woman capable of basic safety. Even within the enclosed physical space,
her movement and will are restricted. In contrast with Kincaid's girl,
transgressive action is not encouraged here but the narrator does so
regardless --- she lies constantly about her thoughts and emotions to
her husband to retain some form of authenticity. Although she is
confined to such a displeasing space, she would rather it be her than
her newborn. This consideration shows she recognizes the impact of such
an environment on one's expression and movement and would not want her
child to experience it. Relief from living in a confined space does not
stop when one steps out either, because they know they will have to
return. This is why when she walks into other parts of the house and
when she goes riding, she believes the smell of the wallpaper follows
her around.

A major part of this story that is significant to the topic of
claustrophobic spaces is the yellow wallpaper in the room. At the start
of the story, she vividly describes her disdain for the pattern and
mentions it commits `every artistic sin'. She goes further to label the
color `repellant, almost revolting; a smouldering unclean yellow'.
Eventually, she begins to see what she believes is a woman stuck behind
the incongruous pattern of the wallpaper. The narrator states this woman
is subdued during the day, which metaphorically suggests how women are
expected to be complacent as they go about their daily lives. She states
that she sees her during the day on the roads beneath the trees and
walking down the lane. I believe this refers to regular women going
about their business, but she sees them as submissive women `creeping'
around, being careful to remain within societal standards. The only safe
haven for eccentricities are in the dark, i.e. the only safe time to
pause performative expectations is when no one is watching. It is not
until she discovers this entrapped woman that she feels she has
something to look forward to. This also shows a potential side effect of
claustrophobic spaces. When one is repressed for too long, it can take a
mental toll. In this case, the narrator begins to hallucinate.

While her narration stops being reliable, the woman stuck in the
wallpaper remains relevant as it mirrors her own situation --- being
stuck in the nursery and confined by poorly informed judgements. She
convinces herself that the woman in the wallpaper desires to be freed
from its confines and makes it her mission to do so on the last day of
their stay. Upon seeing the torn wallpaper, Jennie, her husband's
sister, laughs and says she wouldn't mind ripping it herself. In a prior
scene, she also catches Jennie staring at the wallpaper intently. The
two brief moments of solidarity between both women suggests a joint
understanding --- and empathy on the part of Jennie. It comes off as
Jennie subtly acknowledging the enforced domestic state they are both
in, but being powerless to do anything. Tight spaces tend to feel like
the walls are closing in and the narrator's frustration peaks when she
finally tears apart the wallpaper. Ironically, at the end of the story,
she locks herself in but states she `got out at last'. This goes to
prove her transgressive act of rebellion was the escape she needed.

To conclude, both stories contextualize claustrophobic spaces by
presenting as the similar realities of women across societies ---
suppressed, domesticated and often infantilized. Acts of self expression
are often rebuked and seen as rebellious. There is little to no room for
individuality, just like tight spaces have little room for movement. The
same way it gets harder to breathe in tight spaces is the same way women
get overwhelmed with the unending societal expectations and judgment.

Works Cited

Janes, Daniela. ````Jamaica Kincaid, `Girl.'\,'' ENG213: The Short
Story, 3 June 2020, UTM. Lecture.

Janes, Daniela. ````Charlotte Perkins Gilman, `The Yellow
Wallpaper.'\,'' ENG213: The Short Story, 14 May 2020, UTM. Lecture.

Kincaid, Jamaica. ``Girl.''
PDF.~\url{https://www.bpi.edu/ourpages/auto/2017/10/14/55813476/Girl\%20Jamaica\%20Kincaid.pdf}

Gilman, Charlotte. ``The Yellow Wallpaper.'' PDF, pp
647--656.~\url{http://socrates.acadiau.ca/courses/engl/rcunningham/1413-F09/YellowWallpaper.pdf}

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