Strong Wings

We’ve always been told that imagination and curiosity is the key to success; but what if it is the opposite? Whether we like to admit it or not, we as humans live in a fantasy world. We subconsciously save ourselves and our sanity from the realization of the horrors that reality holds. Throughout evolution, we have been programmed to conform and to see the world through a tunnel-vision like aspect and this perception of the external world presses in on us and forces us into who we are. But in three stories - “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather, and “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin- the characters find their inner selves by expressing themselves and their thoughts through some form of art, and literally drive themselves insane - at least that’s what the conformers call it.
“The plot of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the narrator’s attempt to avoid acknowledging the extent to which her external situation stifles her inner impulses” -Sparknotes
Basically what this quote is saying, is that once you see the reality of the world there is no returning to the more innocent or ignorant outlook on it. In this case, the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” realizes that the world around her will not allow her to be herself or act as she pleases. She is trapped within the perceptions and expectations people have of her. If she was even able to follow through with her “inner impulses” society would not accept her for who she becomes - or who she always was. She attempts to avoid acknowledging this to try to be the woman she was before she was “ill” for she was happy at that time, even though a part of her was being held back. In this case, the quote “ignorance is bliss” definitely applies.
One thing she wishes to do is write, which she is forbidden to do by her husband and physician. Writing may be what opened the door to the harsh reality of society for her, yet she still yearns to do it. They say if she doesn’t open her imagination and express herself, she will surely get better. Since she has already been exposed to the reality, this only makes it worse. This makes her feel oppressed. She ends up tearing apart the wallpaper, releasing the woman who is trapped inside - who is actually a reflection of herself - and then achieves the relief of being free, even though she understands she will not be accepted by society but instead will be seen as a creeping figure.
Edna Pontellier, the main character of “The Awakening”, has the same epiphany by finding herself and reality through her imagination and art. After being only semi-conscious and accepting her life how it was - married, has kids and money - she realized that was not the life she desired and that there was a difference between her external reality -society’s- and her internal - her personal own. She wakes from her semi-conscious state and acts upon her internal impulses. She is guilty of adultery and does very selfish things as a result, which is clearly not accepted by society. On this note, Edna is less happy than she was to begin with but just like the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, she is unable to continue living the life she had previously due to the fact that she is exposed to the harsh reality of the world and the expectations of society that she knows won’t accept her.
Many critics argue against this, claiming the two stories are actually linked because they both revolve around the idea of feminism.
“The Yellow Wallpaper is a feminist text, telling a story about a woman’s struggles against male-centric thinking and societal ‘norms’.” - William Ames
When considering this point of view, it is easy to see Edna’s external situation the same way. The male dominant society could be what throws the women into an “awakening”. They have jobs they have to accomplish and this is what keeps them from being able to openly be themselves, but when taking another story into consideration, we realize it is not just women that deal with this so are the stories really based off feminism?

“Paul’s Case” is about a very creative, artistic boy who has an epiphany or an awakening at a younger age. He longs to live a life filled with music and money but under the circumstances of his living condition, he is not permitted to do so. So just like Edna and the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, he goes a little bit insane. He first becomes selfish as Edna had by stealing money for himself, and using it to buy himself into the big city and living a glamorous and highly desirable life. Or so he had planned. He ended up realizing that he could not live that life. In the end, he throws himself in front of a train. This sounds a lot like Edna’s fate, who ended up committing suicide by swimming to the middle of the lake and drowning herself.

So what do these three characters have in common? They’re not all women, but they are all artistically inclined. According to dictionary.com, art is defined as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination”. Paul, was interested in the arts.The narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” was a writer. She was told not to write because it was making her ill, and could it be true? It expressed her imagination which could be what lead up to her epiphany that lead to her illness. Edna from “The Awakening” was a painter, and with each painting, she got more mentally unstable.
Mademoiselle Reisz tells Edna that as an artist, she needs strong wings to soar over the "the plain of tradition and prejudice." Could she be referring to more than just the art itself? Mademoiselle Reisz is described by Arobin as crazy. This informs us that she herself had already had to undergo judgements of society through the art of piano and was able to survive its effects. This comment made by Madame Reisz suggests that she knew Edna would not be so lucky for she cared too much what society thought of her to be a true artist and to ignore the expectations society had of her, and to live in her personal reality. Madame Reisz was right. Edna’s wings - and Paul’s on this note - proved not to be strong enough, and society took her down.
Many famous artists prove this thesis. Vincent Van Gogh, for example, cut off his own ear in an act of lunacy. Edgar Allen Poe had Manic-Depressive Bipolar disorder, and also alcoholism - which could be one of his self-medications. Many, many artists of all sorts have suffered from depressive, mood, and bipolar disorders. Between the three stories, and and the artists that suffer these psychological disorders, it is safe to say that if you do not have “strong enough wings” to be an artist, you will not make it through the expectations and critics from society.