‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘The Necklace’ short stories are a recommendable read given their relevance even in current times

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘The Necklace’ short stories are a recommendable read given their relevance even in current times.

The embedded message in both texts leaves the reader wondering and imagining the possible ending were they complete novels. The two stories present in a way similar plots in two different stories, the women in both stories feel ‘imprisoned.’ Both ‘the yellow wallpaper’ and ‘the necklace’ are ‘real fiction’; they focus on the daily happenings, lives, and relationships of people within the society, giving a look at normal humans and the societal influence on their lives.

In ‘the necklace,’ Mathilde despite being of poor background feels that she was born for the world’s luxuries, a world where she has an elegantly lavish lifestyle and envied upon, on the other hand, her dedicated husband, Loisel, is contented with their life and is willing to go through anything to make her happy—imagining that the wife would love to go to the ministerial ball (Maupassant, p10). He secures an invitation; he excitedly presents the letter to his wife, who is ungrateful because she feels she has no suitable dress to wear to the ball. Loisel determined to make her happy gives her money for a new dress. Mathilde is still unhappy because she feels she cannot attend the ball without a ‘single jewel,’ to this Loisel advises her to borrow from her friends. True to her imagination, the ball day turns out amazing, she feels happy as the minister even recognizes her. As the ball comes to an end and they get home, she realizes that the borrowed necklace is missing. Loisel, who, despite having to report to work the following morning, goes back the path they followed, looking for the missing piece in vain. Eventually, they have to replace the necklace, Loisel borrows money from friends to raise the cost price of a diamond necklace, back at home Mathilde has to perform household chores to which previously they had a servant do as they cut on cost and expenses (Maupassant, p12). For ten years, the couple goes through poverty and work tirelessly paying off the debt, only to realize that the borrowed necklace was nothing close to diamond but a fake.

In ‘the yellow wallpaper,’ the story is about a couple moving to the countryside so that the wife suffering from temporary depression can have complete bed rest a remedy she detests. In her vivid description of the situation, the character gives a prison-like narration to her surroundings; the ripped yellow wallpaper that seems to have a creepy woman behind bars is a clear indication of her detest for the place. Her husband, John, a physician, and his brother, a physician, seem to dictate what she can or cannot do during this time (Gilman, p648). She disagrees with them but reluctantly agrees with them because she is a woman. The author uses first-person narration style to present ‘the struggles of women in a male-dominated society’ as a theme in the story. Throughout the narration, the narrator seems to suggest that she has no means to challenge the decisions made by the men in her life because she is a woman. She seems to disagree with her husband’s way of handling of her condition, “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus- but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad.” She feels terrible that she is not even allowed to write or interact with the outside world; she stays in her yellow wallpapered room throughout the day (Gilman, p650). When the husband is not around, she takes out her journal and writes; she even opens the window and watches other people going about their business, something she would not do if he were around. Throughout the narration, women’s oppressed stature in the society is exemplified. She repeatedly uses the phrase, ‘but what is one to do?’ to bring out this. Later in the story, John manipulatively urges her to think of herself healing and getting better not for her but the kid and him, the husband.

Society and the world around humans have construed severally against man. Society gives a false impression of how humans should live their lives, how they should relate with one another, and to some extent, how some groups of people within the same society are viewed. In the necklace, Mathilde felt too good for the life she was leading. She dreamt of an elegant lifestyle, she imagined being rich and beautiful and believed that would make her happy. Despite being described as charming and beautiful, Mathilde in ‘the necklace’ is not contented. She wants to be envied for her beauty (Maupassant, p13). In a twist of tales, Mathilde enjoys the ball night in a new dress, borrowed necklace, rubbing shoulders with other stylish women feeling beautiful and ends up in turmoil for ten years paying back the money borrowed to replace the jewelry, at the end she realizes it was just an imitation. In many instances,’ humans have succumbed to the societal pressures of wanting to fit in, look and live in a certain way that society dictates that more often than not have led to many living beyond their means and living a lie. If only Mathilde had been contented by the modest life they were living and be honest about it, they would not have undergone that much trouble.

On the other hand, ‘the yellow wallpaper’ is an excellent depiction of women’s woes in a society that is predominantly male (Gilman, p648). Despite seeming to know how to handle her condition, she has to do as instructed by the husband, “I disagree with their ideas. I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?” For a long time, women were to be seen not heard, and their interests were, therefore, not catered for as much. When the narrator tries to share her thoughts with the husband, he asks her to practice self- control and act in a sane way (Gilman, p651). John takes her condition so lightly that he even tells other people that it is nothing but just ‘a slight hysterical tendency.’ The society viewed women second to men, and this greatly influenced the relationship between men and women at the detriment of women.

It is no doubt that society has a significant influence on how humans view and even perceive things, how they relate with one another, and the kind of life they lead at large.