Gilman and Chopin

When I start reading a story, I don't focus on how long it is but rather on the content of it. I don't think I have ever done that more than in this class because I have learned that there are so many hidden elements in the stories we have read that have more meaning than just words. To me, there isn't that much of a difference between a short story and a novel; the only difference I see is that the plot of a novel is more drawn out until the climax where suddenly everything makes sense whereas a short story gets to the climax at the end and it also leaves a sense of wonder.

When reading Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, I started paying attention to the relationships between the characters which was typical of the 19th century; the way in which John presided over his wife's health and life was not surprising in a time when men had the upper-hand in society. That was the part that was similar to the past stories we have read but what really astonished me was the way in which the main character described the wall paper because it was so detailed and bizarre to the point that it was confusing. However, as she said,"when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide--plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard contradictions" (506), it made me realize that maybe her description of the wallpaper was how she was feeling inside. First of all, this woman was writing in secret about how she felt and second maybe she felt like she couldn't write any other way than to portray the wallpaper as the menacing subject that was affecting her. It was even more apparent that she was describing herself when she said, "And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern--it strangles her so; I think that is why it has so many heads." (513). I think this shows so much about how the main character feels; she feels trapped and even though she might be suffering from post-partum depression, she wants more freedom and she creates these other "heads" in order to not feel alone. In the case of this short story, there is a lot of interpretation that can occur because it is a short story and the wallpaper has so much significance to it.

Desiree's Baby on the other hand is a little bit more straightforward with it's main idea. Even though we are not sure about what the story is really about in the beginning, we start seeing subtle clues and end up finding out what is really going on at the end. Everything is about love in the beginning, but there is an eerie feeling when it comes to talking about the baby and Armand. It is almost as if there are some other worldly aspects in the story like in The Hidden Hand, but we find out in this particular story that it all has to do with race. There is a lot of mystery and suspense built in this short story until the end when we find out that Armand "belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery." (521). This story has a moral aspect, which has to do with differences of race. It is very ironic how everything unfolds and how after all Armand is everything he despises and part of who he let go.

There are a couple of differences between reading a short story and a novel but overall they all have a purpose at the end, which is a lesson or a moral. Some stories may be more clear than others about what their purpose is and some may not just as with the vagueness of The Yellow Wallpaper and the clear irony in Desiree's Baby. In reality, there is very litte difference in reading a short story versus a novel because we have to interpret either one and search for the lesson or the moral of the story.