The Yellow Wallpaper & Hamlet Essay Example

of the story, she becomes completely schizophrenic. Although the end result is pure insanity, the reader is not fully aware if during the story if she is genuinely mad, or if she simply appears insane because of her bizarre situation. In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet’s madness has been viewed from two different perspectives. One is that he really became insane after seeing his father’s ghost and the second, that he just simulates his madness throughout the plot.

More evidence throughout the play and other Shakespearean plays, point more toward the probability of Hamlet just feigning his madness. An article by Simon Augustine Blackmore states, “This objection [of true insanity] is rather an argument to the contrary; for insane persons are never known to plead insanity in self-exculpation. ” Hamlet pled insane in front of the court in order to seek pardon for his violence against Laertes, and this could prove that he was just pretending madness for self-preservation; as the quote says, a true madman does not admit to his insanity, as Hamlet did.

However, true insanity is clearly demonstrated in both stories as well. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the main character, in the end, is clearly driven insane. An article written by Nash Kevanyu says that the source of the madness, the wallpaper, may have been a representation of the ideal woman’s characteristics. In the beginning of the story, the woman is disturbed by the wallpaper, but as the story progressed, she slowly and disturbingly absorbs the characteristics of the wallpaper onto herself.

This could also be somewhat similar to the situation in Hamlet. Hamlet starts the story with being sane, but

after seeing his father’s ghost, he is portrayed as mad. This may have been a protection mechanism against his step-father, the new king, or may have been a result of true madness. Shakespeare never out rightly states whether Hamlet was faking his madness, or if he was in fact truly mad. Shakespear’s Ophelia is somewhat similar to the main character in The Yellow Wallpaper. They are both most definitely insane.

This insanity appears to have stemmed from a major life event in each of these women’s lives. Ophelia’s father was murdered and then Hamlet rejects her; these events all contribute to her insanity. The woman in The Yellow Wallpaper progresses toward insanity after giving birth and moving into a new house. The way in which her husband treats her could be yet another factor that contributed to her insanity. Both characters are younger females which may be attributed to the common view held of women during the time period when these writings were published.

In some senses, females were still considered “lower” than males and this may be seen in the theme that the males had a part in the progression of the insanity in each female character. Insanity is a theme that is developed in both Hamlet and The Yellow Wallpaper.

The woman in The Yellow Wallpaper becomes more insane as the story advances, Ophelia in Hamlet becomes insane in the middle of the story because of the situations that led up to that point, and Hamlet is uncertain as to whether he was actually insane or simply pretending throughout the play. Although both stories were written during different time periods, they

both have similar and parallel themes which portray characters afflicted with insanity. Although, the occurrence of insanity in each of the stories occurs as the result of different events in the plot, the concept of insanity appears to be the golden thread through both of these stories.