Mental Liberation
Meghan Daley
In
short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, “The Birthmark” by
Nathaniel Hawthorne, and poem, “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” by William
Wordsworth, narrators demonstrate how society acts as a burden and represses
freedom of thought in one’s mind. The ancient art of Zen meditation also
stresses openness to thoughts and practices freeing the mind. In “The Yellow
Wallpaper” the narrator suffers from anxiety and depression, diagnosed by her
husband who attempts to cure her “illness” by restricting her freedom of
thinking. In “The Birthmark” a mark on Georgiana’s face makes her stand out in
society and be whoever she wants to be; however her husband attempts to remove
this imperfection, ultimately leading to her death. In “I Wandered Lonely As A
Cloud” the speaker glorifies solitude, and the capability to think freely. These
three texts and Zen meditation all illuminate how society acts to repress
thoughts, and exemplifies how liberating it is to have free thoughts.
In
“The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator is greatly oppressed by her husband. She is
told she has severe anxiety and depression, and the only way to get better is
to do nothing, and thinking will worsen her condition. The narrator yearns for
a free mind, she feels restricted by her husband and society around her. The
narrator states, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement
and change, would do me good…I did write for a while in spite of them…” (Gilman
388). Being a female, those around her did not take her ideas seriously, and
she was expected to repress any forward thoughts she had. The only time she
could free her mind was in her writing, which she was forced to do in secrecy.
Keeping everything to herself in her mind began to drive her mad. The only time
she was liberated was when she was able to express herself, even if it was just
to a journal in solidarity. Through her short story, Gilman reveals societies
detrimental effects one experiences when their mind is constrained and shows
how powerful freedom of thought and expression is.
Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s, “The Birthmark” portrays a similar message to society; that being
different from the rest of society is not always a bad thing. Aylmer, a main
character, is taken back by the birthmark his gorgeous wife, Georgiana, has on
her face, even though others compliment her on the unique mark. He is unable to
look past this imperfection and gasps whenever he sees it. Although Georgiana
used to take pride in her birthmark and have her own thoughts about her
appearance, she becomes indoctrinated by Aylmer’s thoughts and is ashamed of
it. At one point in the story she is no longer able to think for herself and
says, “ ‘Pray do not look at it again. I never can forget that convulsive
shudder’…to release her mind from the burden of actual things…” (Hawthorne
471). Her mind is constantly going back to her husband’s reaction of her mark,
and she is unable to be confident and think what she wants. Her husband now
dictates her thoughts and actions. The mark showed her uniqueness and ability
to think freely and have an open mind, which she was proud of. After the
surgery, this was taken from her with the removal of her mark, and is symbolic
of her conforming to society and giving up her freedom, leading to her death.
The
poem, “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud” exemplifies how liberating it is to have
freedom of thought and expression, and not be detained by society around you. Throughout
the poem, the speaker does not come into contact with anyone in his society,
only nature. He compares himself to a cloud floating by, and marvels at the
beauty nature possesses. He states, “In vacant or in pensive mood, / They flash
upon that inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude / And then my heart with
pleasure fills” (Wordsworth 20-23). He is saying when he is bored, he thinks
back to the memories of the daffodils, and his heart warms with pleasure. Being
a free spirit and mind, his thoughts are not restricted by the society around
him, and he is at peace because of that. This poem can serve as a foil to the
two short stories, which show how mentally destructive society can be on the
mind, and the poem which proves when one is not in contact with society they
are able to think freely, without critical minds around them.
When
one hears of Zen meditation they think it will be laying in a room for an hour
and a half without a care in the world; but in reality it is all about freeing
your mind, which is a lot harder than it may sound. The whole purpose is to not
think about anything in your life or society, and focus on breathing; counting
slowly to ten, over, and over again, forgetting about your daily worries. This
is extremely challenging to fully free your mind. Living in the twenty-first
century we are always connected to our friends and thinking about our next task
of the day, we never take time and live in the present. During Zen meditation one
is encouraged to do this, and forgetting about all the worries, allows one to
have a free spirit. It is very liberating when achieved, but an extremely
difficult task to accomplish. Connecting deeply with oneself and not focusing
on societal pressures around you, allows your mind to be free, like the speaker
in the poem, and what the characters in the short stories strive for.
Not
all in society are able to free their mind and be fully liberated; it is
something many take for granted. Whether you mentally try and do this, through
Zen meditation, or find mental freedom and are able to express thoughts when in
the presence of nature, it is inspiring when you do, which was the case in
Wordsworth’s poem. However, in many cases society puts pressures on individuals
and restricts their ability to think for themselves. In Hawthorne’s short story,
Georgiana was submissive to her husband when she gave up her birthmark, she
gave up her free mind and thoughts. Similarly, in Gilman’s story, the main
character is repressed by her husband who has unjustly diagnosed her with
depression and forces her to stop thinking, and writing. Unable to express
herself, she goes crazy, demonstrating the need for free thought. The universal
message these texts, and Zen meditation share, is the detrimental mental effects
on societal repression, and glorification of free thought.
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