Confinement and freedom: a feminist exploration of identity formation in Jane Eyre, The Yellow Wallpaper and Wide Sargasso Sea

Abstract

This study examines how Jane Eyre, The Yellow Wallpaper and Wide Sargasso Sea highlight the confinement and liberation themes to interpret the creation of feminist identity. It analyses the way in which the female protagonists meet physical, psychological and social constraints and how they fight to gain sovereignty. By focusing on the comparison of their journeys, this paper reveals how each story questions patriarchal systems and argues against traditional gender roles. The study employs and examines the framework of feminist literary studies to determine how women are imprisoned by societal forces, marriage and gender roles. To illustrate, Jane Eyre struggles to achieve her independence beyond her responsibilities as a governess, the narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper is a victim of oppressive medical treatment and a marriage where she encounters her husband’s dominance and in Wide Sargasso Sea, the author reinterprets the narrative of Bertha Mason, demonstrating how colonialism and patriarchy drive her towards downfall. This analysis also examines how the primary female characters rebel by taking a stand for themselves, acting opposite in silence, minor acts of rebellion and their attempts to regain their autonomy. Overall, the paper portrays that these stories not only describe the struggle of women against power, but, in addition, they empower the practice of feminist storytelling.