Northanger Abbey and "The Yellow Wallpaper": Gothic narratives of confinement, madness and imagination

Abstract

[eng] Both the narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) and Catherine Moreland, the main character of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (1818), have often been interpreted as mad women by the readership. The two characters present an enormous intellectual curiosity which is not always well regarded by the male figures around them. The fact of being deprived of intellectual activity and being confined within a room will lead both characters to what has been interpreted by the criticism as madness. Furthermore, both Gilman and Austen decided to exceptionally employ elements of the Gothic fiction in their narratives. This essay will discuss to what extent can confined women become mad and to what extent can we define these two characters as madwomen. Also, it will analyze the role of Gothic fiction in these narratives.

[spa] La narradora de "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) de Charlotte Perkins Gilman y Catherine Moreland, la protagonista de Northanger Abbey (1818) de Jane Austen, a menudo han sido interpretadas por el lector como mujeres desequilibradas. Ambos personajes presentan una curiosidad intelectual que no siempre está bien vista por figuras masculinas cercanas a ellas. El hecho de estar privadas de actividad intelectual y de estar encerradas en una habitación llevará a ambos personajes a lo que se ha interpretado como locura. Mi trabajo final de grado consiste en examinar hasta qué punto la reclusión de la mujer puede llevar a esta a la locura y hasta qué punto se puede considerar que estos dos personajes sean desequilibrados. Además, analizaré cuál es el rol del género gótico en estas narrativas.