IDIOSYNCRATIC WAYS
“People go mad in idiosyncratic ways.” These words were written by Prof. Kay Jamison Redfield, Ph. D in her book “An Unquiet Mind”. Human mind is an unsolved mystery and is extremely fragile. During the course of our lives, we all experience major physical or emotional traumas, psychological or social conflicts, and stress. Stability of mental health greatly depends on the ability to manage these problems and, sadly, not everyone is capable of a successful management. Inability to cope with traumas and stressful situations can have unpredictable affects on an individuals’ mental health.
During the eighteenth and the beginning of nineteenth century, women were prone to social injustice and intellectual restrictions. Deprivation of women from their franchise rights, that is the right to vote, is most significant indicator of social injustice that existed between man and woman in that era. The only social role attributed to women was to be a wife and mother. They were not allowed to intellectually enrich themselves by pursuing their education or by working. Male members of families, fathers and husbands, expected women to obey to their commands and act in accordance with their wishes. Women had no rights on the children, property and earnings of the family. An article published in “The Household” in 1884 summarizes the distress of women with these sentences: “A really good housekeeper is almost always unhappy. While she does so much for the comfort of others, she nearly ruins her own health and life...” The daily life of a woman was filled with conflict between her needs, and the expectations of the society and her male relatives resulting in constant tension. Being under constant tension affects the functioning of an individual and can lead to disturbance of mental health. The short stories “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman show us how oppression can reduce the ability to...