OntheLackofFemaleDiscourseRightinTheYellowWallpaper

【Abstract】Charlotte Perkins Gilman， a notable American writer， established her reputation mostly by her short novel The Yellow Paper which is a typical work of feminism. Female discourse right is one of the aims feminists have been fighting for. The paper argues that the narrator in The Yellow Paper has little right of discourse， and it is patriarchal oppression that deprives most women of discourse power.

【Key Words】Female discourse right； The Yellow Paper； capitalist patriarchy

【作者簡介】項云光（1981-），男，苗族，云南麻栗坡人，講師，碩士，文山學院，研究方向：英美文學、英語教學。

1.Right of discourse

It may be not very difficult to understand the definition of right of discourse. But it will be not very easy to completely master its broad sense. Generally speaking， right of discourse comprises two elements---right and discourse. Right means a moral or legal claim to have or get something or to behave in a particular way； discourse means the use of language in speech and writing in order to produce meaning. Thus it is acceptable to conclude that right of discourse is power of speaking people can use to express their opinions， realize and maintain their own interests.

When it comes to this theory， it will be hard to neglect Michel Foucault， the greatest French philosopher in the 20th century， who profoundly discussed the theory of right. His theory is comprehensive， and the right of discourse is one of his main concern. In the first part of his History of Sexuality， Foucault examines the conventional “repressive hypothesis”： that， at the beginning of the 17th century， a certain frankness was still common in sexual discourse and practice. He intends to “define the region of power-knowledge-pleasure that sustains the discourse on human sexuality”.

2. The Lack of right of discourse in The Yellow Paper

2.1. The lack of right of speaking

According to Foucault， lack of right of discourse means being deprived of freedom to put ones opinions across， or in other words， being restricted to legally and morally speak out or write out ones thoughts. This is of course the result made by some authority. Such lack of discourse right is one of the theme of The Yellow Wallpaper.

The Yellow Wallpaper is about a nameless woman who tries to break confinement from different aspects of life： the house， her husband John and social convention. Her fight against patriarchal oppression is easily seen because her husband and her brother， the representatives of patriarchy， both “physician of high standing”， know nothing of her real problem but “say the same thing” of “temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency”， and her husbands sister Jennie， a “collaborator” of patriarchy， “is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper， and hopes for no better profession”12. But her fight is unvoiced and powerless， which at the end only leads to personal destruction because she doesnt get the power of speaking.

Whats more， her attempt is often oppressed by John. But his oppression is not always direct. His change doesnt mean he is making a retreat but his cunning strategy which he has gradually got in his long dealing with a housewife. He knows that it is very crucial to adopt both tough and soft ways for a woman. This shows the narrators rivals are too powerful to be defeated. Subsequently， it is natural for her to keep silent.

2.2 The lack of right of writing

The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper is not given an equal chance to write and express. As an intellectual， her sense of equality is very strong and she tries to break the unreasonable restrictions on her. And writing is a better way for her to do so. But the more she wants to do so， the more she is restricted. Her husband John is very aware that she will become powerful if she is allowed to write. What he really wants is to make her obey him.

The narrators husband knows quite well her strong resistance. For this， the narrator is complaining that she is treated like a lifeless machine which has no any feeling about how to be handled and where to be placed by human beings. Therefore， like an old machine she at last cant “write” too much. For her， writing is her last attempt to struggle for her right. It is a cry of relief. It is even a cry of despair.

Repressed by her husband， the narrator doesnt give up resistance. Although she cant debate with her husband face to face， she can take chance to write when nobody is about. Writing is a way she uses to resist. Her husband cant completely control it.

3. Capitalist patriarchy—the source of womens lack of discourse right

One of the most interesting and significant aspects in the short story is the appearance of the narrators brother. Without it， her case may be seen as an individual case rather than a universal one. “My brother is also a physician， and also of high standing， and he says the same thing”. Here he is actually an accomplice of her husband. She uses only this sentence to mention him， but it enough reveals that she aims at capitalist patriarchy. Her goal is to expose patriarchal premises and resulting prejudices.

Her husband and her brother are “physicians of high standing”. They are the representatives of patriarchy which holds supremacy over everything. To protect what they have got， males naturally are to take every possible measures. Women， mens former competitors， still remaining potentially dangerous to them， can only be regarded as their beloved partners as long as they are obedient. Obedience means to depend on males， specifically， to depend on males economically.

For women， to be good housewives should be what they expect. And to be a good housewife not only means to deal with the domestic affairs well but also not to defy her husband. In The Yellow Wallpaper， the reason why the narrator is confined to a room is that she has a “hysterical tendency” which is enough to fear her husband. In this sense， she is no better than Bertha Mason， the mad woman in the Attic in Jane Eyre.

As a “patient”， the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper has to accept her “sickness” for both her husband and her brother， “physicians of high standing”， say “the same thing”. If she doesnt cooperate with her “doctor”， it will be thought that her illness may be aggravated or she gives up treatment. So she will accordingly get little sympathy. This is her embarrassing situation. This is also the reason why she is silent.

4. Conclusion

With the advancement of civilization， class struggle is no longer carried on as barbarously as it was before. Ownership of property and means of production is still the ultimate goal. But the competition for right of discourse has become the main forms of struggle because those who have right of discourse actually have power in a civilized society. The lack of female discourse right is one of the main ideas Charlotte Perkins Gilman wants to express in The Yellow Wallpaper.

References：

[1]Charlotte Perkins Gilman.The Yellow Wallpaper and other stories[M].New York： Dover publications，Inc.，1997.

[2]陳開舉.話語權的文化學研究[M].廣州：中山大學出版社，2012，10

[3]黃華.權力，身體與自我—福柯與女性主義文學批評[M].北京：北京大學出版社，2005，6.

[4]董學文.西方文學理論史[M].北京：北京大學出版社，2005，8.