Julia Kontos
Meditation:
The Path to Liberation
In
works by Hawthorne, Gilman, and Wordsworth, liberation and self-realization are
prevalent. “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows Georgiana’s liberation
through her death. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman,
however, the narrator’s liberation is brought on by the mental breakdown she
has after realizing that she is similar to the barred woman she sees in her
wallpaper. Lastly, in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, the
speaker becomes freed from his feelings of depression as he finds solace in the
nature around him. Much like in the pieces of literature by Hawthorne, Gilman,
and Wordsworth, feelings of liberation can be experienced through Zen
meditation.
In
“The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Georgiana is demeaned by her husband,
Aylmer, who is repulsed by the birthmark on Georgiana’s face, and makes sure
that she knows how ugly he thinks it makes her. Aylmer has a sort of obsession with his wife’s only flaw,
which causes him to be unable to appreciate his wife’s true beauty. Georgiana
becomes entrapped by the criticism her husband is constantly throwing her way,
and she eventually begins to believe that she is as ugly as her husband says,
just because of her mark. Georgiana begins to hate her birthmark just as much
as Aylmer, so she allows him to remove it. However, by removing her birthmark,
Georgiana dies. Her death is viewed as liberation, as she becomes freed from
the criticisms of her husband, as well as the criticisms she began to inflict
upon herself. The aspect of liberation in “The Birthmark” is related to
meditation, because meditation allows people to reflect upon themselves and
become fully aware of themselves. This self awareness then leads to a
liberation from inner demons, much like Georgiana’s inner demon – her
birthmark. Although Georgiana is dead, she can finally feel peace, a feeling
that she was not able to enjoy as a result of her husband. Zen meditation allows
people to feel that peace because, for a certain period of time, the mind is
clear from all thoughts, especially the negative and haunting ones.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman is
similar to meditation in that the two both depict the slow process of becoming
freed from the mind. This story is in the form of multiple diary entries, by
which the writer is slowly realizing who she is and the extent of her
entrapment not just by her husband, but also by herself. The narrator
experiences incredible joy once she is freed from herself, as she writes, “It
is so pleasant to be out in this great room and creep around as I please”
(398). The narrator greatly enjoys being able to live outside of her mind. The
feeling that the narrator experiences is similar to the feeling of properly
meditating, as meditation involves clearing the mind and being able to enjoy a
thought-free mind for extended periods of time. Furthermore, Zen meditation
creates a sense of openness with one’s self, allowing people to be more accepting
of themselves, much like the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper”.
Similarly, “I
Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” describes a man that feels liberated from his
depression as he grows closer to nature. The speaker describes his depression
as wandering “lonely as a cloud”, yet when he looks at the beauty of the nature
around him, he gets freed from his feelings of loneliness. Wordsworth writes, “when
on my couch I lie/in vacant or pensive mood/…my heart with pleasure fills/and
dances with the daffodils”. Through this passage it is clear that the speaker
feels a sense of liberation when he thinks of the beauty around him, much like
the effect meditation has, as meditation draws one closer to nature. Meditation
causes people to awaken their senses and to take notice of the all-encompassing
natural beauty of the earth.
Zen meditation is
closely tied with the works by Hawthorne, Gilman and Wordsworth, as they are
all touch upon feelings of freedom. Hawthorne shows how truly haunting inner
and outer demons can be, and he also shows the liberation that can be received
from death in cases like Georgiana’s. Gilman provides readers with the
liberating feeling of escaping from the entrapment of one’s own mind. Lastly,
Wordsworth depicts how the beauty of the earth can help set one free from the
inner torment of one’s mind. These pieces of literature are much like
meditation, as they describe the many different ways of feeling liberated after
a mediation session.
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