A full copy of my Exploratory Essay

Kennedy Jacquet 

Professor Robert Balun and Sonja Killebrew 

FIQWS 10108 

October 27, 2021 

The Various Forms of Abuse Present Towards Women Through Literature  

The three texts I have chosen to explore for this essay are ‘Sweat’ by Zora Neale Hurston, ‘Girl’ by Jamaica Kincaid, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Through the discussion of these texts, I will provide information and examples as to how each of these three texts exhibits various forms of abuse present towards women in real life. 

 In ‘Sweat’, Delia Jones, wife of her husband Sykes, is a hard-working washwoman that primarily prides herself in what she does as well as providing for herself and her husband. Throughout the story we begin to be introduced to Sykes constant behaviors of domestic violence, primarily focusing on him knowingly bringing a rattlesnake into the house despite Delia’s extreme fears. One day after returning home, Sykes gets bitten by the very rattlesnake he brought into their home and instead of being helped by Delia which he hoped, she watches him crawl out of the house knowing it’s too late for him. ‘Girl’ by Jamaica Kincaid is a piece compromised of one sentence a mother speaks to her daughter. In this single sentence we find advice the mother attempts to impart upon her daughter while simultaneously scolding her with information she believes is essential information a young woman like her should know. In ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman a woman suffering from post- partum depression writes a series of diary entries during her recovery. Forced to spend the majority of her days in a room with a yellow wallpaper, we are able to see her slow spiral into insanity. After imagining someone trapped in the wallpaper for weeks, she rips it open to discover she herself is the one perceives to be trapped in the wallpaper. 

In each story we are able to see varying examples of the abuse and judgements women are forced to experience from others surrounding them in different time periods and varying backgrounds. For example, In sweat we find Sykes physically invalidating Delia’s hard work by stomping on her clothes and committing acts of domestic abuse. The author specifically exhibits this when she writes, “He stepped roughly upon the whitest pile of things kicking them helter- skelter as he crossed the room. His wife gave a little scream of dismay, and quickly gathered them together again. ‘Sykes you quit grindin’ dirt into these clothes. How can Ah git through by Sat’day if Ah don’t start on Sunday?’ ‘Ah don’t keer if you never git through. Anyhow, Ah done promised Gawd and a couple of other men, Ah ain’t gointer have it in mah house. Don’t gimme no lip neither, else Ah’ll throw ‘em out and put mah fist up side yo’ head to boot’ (Hurston 1023).” We can also find the common theme being expressed in ‘Girl’ when Kincaid writes, “always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone else’s stomach turn; on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming; don’t sing benna in Sunday school; you mustn’t speak to wharf-rat boys, not even to give directions; don’t eat fruits on the street- flies will follow you (Kincaid 320).” In this excerpt we are able to see the scrutiny at which women are placed under over actions which seem insignificant to the daughter and to readers. In the Yellow Wallpaper, we are able to see the invalidity a woman suffering from post-partum depression faces from her husband and physician when Kincaid writes, “You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do (Gilman 648)?” I’ve found the most interesting aspect of each of the texts and their similar themes are the perspectives each of the stories are presented from. In ‘Sweat’ we find the author writing of the invalidity and judgement a black, married woman experiences. In ‘Girl’ see the perspective of scrutiny and judgement a young girl is placed under by her mother, and in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ we see the invalidity and judgment a woman suffering of post-partum depression experiences. 

Although the differing perspectives of each woman’s experiences with invalidity and judgment from those surrounding them play significant roles in the common theme they share, these very perspectives are what make each text distinct. The varying differences in perspectives of abuse each woman experiences emphasizes the themes they all share in different ways. For example, in ‘Sweat’ we are able to see the domestic abuse and judgement a woman of color is placed under by her abusive husband. The difference in perspectives of abuse women experience can also be seen in ‘Girl’ when a young woman experiences verbal abuse from her mother in the form of “advice”. In ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ we also see emotional abuse and invalidation of a woman experiencing post-partum depression. The text I found that resonated the shared theme between all three pieces the most was ‘Girl’ by Jamaica Kincaid. I believe this piece mastered exhibiting the abuse and judgment women of such young ages, past time periods and even present time periods are placed under. When Kincaid writes, “This is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming (Kincaid 320),” readers are able to clearly analyze the signs of abuse the young woman in the story is experiencing and possibly connect the issues the young woman and other women share. By looking at these texts side by side, readers are able to see differing forms of abuse and judgement women experience and are surrounded by through varying situations.  Although these fictional pieces do not portray factual events surrounding abuse women experience, they significantly capture events that everyday women have had to possibly experience throughout their everyday lives.  

In this essay I’ve covered topics pertaining to differing aspects of abuse women experience by providing various forms of literature as examples. In ‘Sweat’ we find Hurston writing about the domestic abuse a woman experience from her husband, and in ‘Girl’ by Kincaid we see verbal abuse enacted upon a young woman by her own mother. In ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, Gilman also showcases the abuse women can experience by writing about emotional abuse a woman experiences from her husband while suffering from post-partum depression. These themes each come together to exhibit the forms of abuse women of varying backgrounds experienced in their day to day lives.