he protagonist and her husband, and both stories integrate the concept that their oppressive husbands have led them to believe that they are mentally unwell. This distorted belief system implanted in the protagonists of these stories that they are ill or in some other way incapable of functioning appropriately in daily life leads them, initially, to surrender to their husbands control.
In Gaslight, the protagonist Paula speaks of no longer dreaming or experiencing fear since she has been with her husband. He is seen to have saved her, yet what he has really done is robbed her; he has robbed her fears and therefore her opportunity to face them with courage, to grow from them, and to discover freedom and empowerment as a result; he has extinguished her unique dreams and talents, and manipulated them to his benefit.
The narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper experiences this same misfortune; she is hemmed in with rules dictated by her husband, and forbidden to write or pursue creative endeavors through which she finds relief. The Story of An Hour also encompasses these ideas, though it is never directly outlined as it
is in the other works; The Story of An Hour does not concentrate on describing the nature of the relationship between the main character Louise and her husband, but rather implies it and forces the reader to imagine it through the emotional response elicited after she is informed of her husbands death.
When she finally releases the words building within, the resounding “free, free, free” speaks volumes about the oppressive dynamic of the relationship, which had until this point been unclear. In exalted relief she begins to dream of all the possibilities for her future, realizing it is now hers to navigate as it is no longer coursed by the oppressive will of her husband. The aura of oppression surrounding these women is soon to be mutually transformed as liberation takes its place in each of these three works.
In The Story of An Hour with the news of her husband’s transition, Louise feels she is finally released from her bondage, but when she finds her husband has not truly departed she is forced to renounce her freedom, and only through dying is she able to find true liberation. Her original cries of freedom are echoed in Gaslight when Paula finally finds her inner strength and channels her rightful indignation towards her husband in a powerful poetic statement at the end of the film.
Her liberation mirrors that of the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper who found freedom through madness. The old, off-putting, yellow paper with illogic lines twisted in a cage like pattern allegorically represents the prison that her husband has imposed upon her, and which she continues to remain caged within. Soon this wallpaper drives her completely mad; she is plagued by a tormenting obsession with the paper, and while at first she passionately hates it, she begins to accept and appreciate it.
This is symbolic of the inner transformation that takes places within her; finding peace within herself, she will no longer allow herself to be bound by an oppressive husband. Through oppression and madness the narrator finally achieves redemption. The Yellow Wallpaper, The Story of An Hour, and the 1944 Film Gaslight, are three artistic works that present feminist themes; while differing in certain aspects, these works are all connected by the same core ideas of oppression and liberation.
These creative voices act as an inspiring force in those who can see that gender roles are still relevant today, or for anyone who suffers from any oppressive situation in their life. These stories focus heavily on gender limitations while simultaneously transcending the concept of gender by presenting themes that resonate with the whole of the human species, as they ignite hope in the promise of salvation following life’s tribulations.