Imagine
a writer, they have some idea in their mind, a story. They then
write this story down, the act of writing is an act of translation.
They take an immaterial and language-less idea and translate it into
English. The written story and the idea in their head are no longer
the same, so they rewrite, re-translate, until the two match as
closely as possible, however no matter how much editing they do they
will never be the same exactly. One is an idea, the other is a
written English text. Now a reader comes in and reads this text.
They begin the process of interpreting the work, or translating it
from English to an idea in their mind. They are good reader, so they
edit the idea in their mind by rereading or by searching for
alternate translations of words from the text. They even start a
conversation with their fellow readers where they each attempt to
take the idea that they translated from the text and re-translate it
back in to English to share with each other. So as they discuss they
may break into several groups who share similar translations in their
minds. The author then finds these groups and attempts to share his
original idea. This may help these readers rework the ideas in their
minds, however at this point it would have little more strength to
edify then any other readers translation of the work. Because the
written text is not the same as the authors original idea, when it
comes time to discuss the text the author is no more important then
any other reader engaged in the discussion.
I will
use “The Yellow Wallpaper” to show how information from or about
an author may give unique insight and interpretation about a literary
work but is not integral to understanding or receiving enrichment
from that work.
Charlotte
Gilman states, “For many years I suffered from a severe and
continuous nervous breakdown,” continuing with “During about the
third year of this trouble I went. . . to a noted specialist. . .
This wise man put me to bed and applied the rest cure, to which a
still-good physique responded so promptly that he concluded there was
nothing much the matter.” This draws an obvious parallel to the
character Jane in “The Yellow Wallpaper” who was having nervous
breakdowns and is enduring the rest cure. So “I went home. . . and
come so near the borderline of utter mental ruin that I could see
over. Then. . . I cast the noted specialist's advice to the winds and
went to work again. . . ultimately recovering some measure of
power”(YW 1463). Jane again mimics this, however instead of finding
work she crosses the border into ruin. This comes from an article
written by Charlotte entitled “Why I wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper'”
where she explains her motivations for writing “The Yellow
Wallpaper.” This additional knowledge about the story's inspiration
adds interesting context. However if Charlotte had not written this
article the story would still speak for itself, the characters would
be unchanged and the lessons it shares would be no less effective.
“Mary
Perkins’ life became an emblem for all that was wrong with the
lives of nineteenth-century women. Relegated solely to the domestic
sphere, fated to endure one pregnancy after another, dependent upon a
husband for one’s livelihood and social status, a woman like Mary
Perkins had little for which to hope when the marriage contract
failed or went awry. It was a flawed system of which young
[Charlotte] Gilman wanted no part”(AW 195). It is easy to see how
Charlotte was influenced by her mother's tragic life and connections
can be made to characters and ideas in the story. Jane, the narrator
of the story, has recently given birth and has been asked to rest
instead of doing any useful work. Her husband is caring, but very
much in charge and unwilling to heed his wife's concerns. However
while knowing this fact about Charlotte's childhood may bring
supposition about the inspiration of the story it does not give
meaning to it. By reading the story a careful reader would know to
put the characters in their cultural context and does not need the
specifics of the authors life to see the validity of the actions in
the story.
“After
the birth of her one daughter, [Charlotte] experienced a severe
depression”(BL 265). Today this would be called postpartum
depression. Jane in the story is first introduced as recently given
birth, and as having been especially emotional since. Even that
“Gilman's first marriage ended in amicable divorce”(BL 265) can
be seen in Jane's husband John who was never mean or cruel to his
wife, just not understanding of her. The more I learn about
Charlotte's life the more connections to I see to her story, even the
simple fact that Jane is a writer as Charlotte is. However like any
great text “The Yellow Wallpaper” does not need any of this
information.
A
close reader does not need to be aware of Charlotte's life, of the
ideas of feminism, or of psychological principles to understand and
appreciate this story. To connect this story to these ideas helps
place it in a literary movement, an ideological sphere and into the
intellectual debate. But as an individual reader, which is what
everyone is, I can see the character's, primarily Jane, John and
Jennie, interact and liken them to my life. I can use it to model my
personal morals. This is the power of literature. This story can be
seen to have risen out of a growing concern in the culture it was
written in, and can be applied to the morals of persons today, and
the ethics of culture for as long as the story is read. This
transforming power over morals and ethics does not require direct
knowledge of the culture it was written in, nor does it require
personal knowledge of it's author. This premise is based on the
assumption that literature, and art in general, exists to edify and
enlighten. Again the wondrous power, “Now why should that man have
fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I
had to creep over him every time!”(BL 278) showing that to truly
expose ourselves to the mind or madness of another is not for the
weak. Or to truly understand the idea's presented by in author in
written text is not for the weak-minded. I do not include very much
information or interpretation of the work itself, I leave that to you
as a reader to find and enjoy.
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