Victoria Jamiel
Dr. Ellis
Understanding
Literature
17 September
2013
A Beautiful Mess
In
the short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Birthmark,” and also in the
poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” it is evident that people take for
granted the current beauties they are surrounded by daily. Nathaniel Hawthorne
describes in “The Birthmark” a husband who takes for granted his wife’s natural
beauty in the search for perfection. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the author
Charlotte Gilman depicts a troubled wife who is driven insane by limitations
enforced on her by her husband. Lastly, William Wordsworth illustrates nature’s
pure beauty in “I Wander Lonely as a Cloud,” but fails to appreciate it until
he is no longer outside. The desire to change things that are already “perfect”,
and therefore unappreciated natural beauty, leads to its ultimate destruction.
In
“The Birthmark,” Hawthorne focuses on a husband who is so obsessed with making
his wife perfect, that he ultimately loses her all together. Aylmer is a devoted scientist and uses his wife, Georgiana,
as a science experiment to make the birthmark on her cheek disappear. Aylmer
confesses, “…dearest Georgiana, you came so nearly perfect…that this slightest
possible defect…as being the visible mark of earthly imperfection” (Rubenstein 467). Aylmer
cannot look past this small mark upon her face. He is unable to embrace it is a
gift, like many people tell Georgiana it is. His selfish, stereotypical antics
and pursuit of “ultimate perfection,” results in the death of his wife.
Aylmer’s lack of acceptance has left him alone and without the woman he loves.
In
“The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman exemplifies a husband unable to see his wife’s
beauty within, which results in the loss of her true self. The narrator’s
husband, John, is a physician and lets his wife’s diagnoses of nervous
depression control their lives. He does not allow her to leave the house, take
part in physical activity, or simply express her feelings in her diary. Every
day she is confined to a small room with putrid yellow walls. The narrator
becomes so engulfed and making her husband happy with her that she becomes
increasingly insane throughout the story. As she tries to catch the woman she
believes is living in the yellow walls she admits, “…and I don’t want anyone to
come in until John comes home. I want to astonish him” (Rubenstein 397).
John belittles her potential, and refuses to acknowledge her inner feelings. He
is living in denial, and his lack of acceptance forces her to relentlessly strive
for it. She goes insane trying to impress him, and loses all sense of reality.
John’s unwillingness to look past his wife’s disease and understand her
emotions, causes him to John lose her “inner beauty” and “being”.
The
poem, “I Wandered Lonely as
a Cloud,” beautifully depicts nature and especially emphasizes the natural
motions of daffodils. The speaker does not truly appreciate the beauty until he
is home, sitting on his couch. Only then does he express, “my heart with please
fills, and dances with daffodils” (Myer 635). It is important to live in the
moment, before what is truly important and meaningful becomes just a memory in
the past.
This
is similar to the performance given by Odds Bodkin, given on September 16th.
He played the guitar while narrating a story of Homer from ancient Greece. He
delivered his performance with passion, as he forced the audience to create
images in their minds. The combination of his music, humor, and invigorating
dialect was pure bliss. I am so happy I was able to realize that in the moment,
and embrace it rather than not accepting of its abnormality, and missing out.
So
often people search for flaws in others and their surroundings. They strive for
perfection and instant satisfaction. It is only when they take the time to
stop, and embrace what is right in front of them that they will be able to
reach pure happiness. Otherwise, the endless battle for ultimate perfection
leads to dissatisfaction and often the loss of something they once loved.
Myer,
Michael. Poetry. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
Rubenstein,
Roberta, and Charles R. Larson. Worlds of Fiction. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice
Hall, 2002. Print.
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