Repression, Suppression, and Emotional Abuse
repression
rəˈpreSH(ə)n/ noun noun: repression; plural noun: repressions
suppression səˈpreSHən/ noun noun: suppression
Psychological abuse (also referred to as psychological violence, emotional abuse, or mental abuse) is a form of abuse, characterized by a person subjecting, or exposing, another person to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder A face to the woman |
Think of an iceberg, only a small percentage of the ice is actually visible above the water, the rest is hidden below the waves. Or a tree, growing towards the sky, with miles of roots spreading below the earth. Not only are these beautiful products of nature, they are symbols of repression and suppression. When a person is unable to express their emotions, they become bottled up, spreading out below the surface. In these instances, the emotions are usually released with catastrophic effects.
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The Yellow Wallpaper, a fictional short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, explores the risks of forcing inaction and isolation onto a mentally ill person. She tells the story of a woman who’s oppressive husband has taken away almost all activity from her life, in an effort to cure an unexplained “nervous depression”(Gilman 1). From the very beginning there is a very clear, unhealthy, power dynamic between husband and wife. He has suppressed any choice the woman could have in her life. She cannot pick the house they vacation in, the room she sleeps in, the activities she does, or the people she sees throughout the entire story. Her life, and the world she sees has been shoved into a box that can be easily manipulated by her husband.In Charlotte's biography, it is noted that a similar, personal, situation may have been the inspiration for this story. As she too, "experienced a severe depression and underwent a series of unusual treatments for it".
"He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him" |
Tis' but a flesh wound The way the woman’s husband deals with her mental disorder is essentially the same thing as putting a band-aid on a bullet wound, or trying to fix a crumbling wall with tape. He sweeps her mental illness under a rug and forgets about it, but more frightening-- tries to convince her to forget about it. Her only outlet is her writing--that she is forced to do in secret-- in which she notes on numerous occasions, "if I were only well enough to write a little it would relive the press of ideas and rest me" (Gilman 3). She expresses how much she would like to do her favorite activities, but her emotions are constantly repressed by her husband. Which brings us to a fact:
Suppression is conscious, repression is subconscious. Suppression usually comes from an outside source, or is put into place consciously. The husband is forcing her to hold in her emotions by suppressing her into a box, with no outlet. Her mind learned to repress her emotions in order to keep her husband happy. |
Flood Gates, Dam Breaks, WallpaperLike an iceberg or a tree, her apparent mental disorder and emotions are being suppressed-- bottled up. When she finally does let her emotions out, they are let out in an erratic, borderline psychotic, manor. Her obsession with the yellow wallpaper. What started out as just something to look at to pass the time, "--and follow that pattern about by the hour. It is as good as gymnastics I assure you"(Gilman 4). Turns into all out obsession, "There are always new shoots on the fungus, and new shades of yellow all over it.I cannot keep count of them, though I have tried conscientiously"(Gilman 7) This appears to be the development, or surfacing, of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In this article, a full list of what categorizes OCD is as follows,
** Consume excessive amounts of time (approximately an hour or more). ** Cause significant distress and anguish. ** Interfere with daily functioning at home, school, or work; or interfere with social activities/ family life/relationships. More specifically, from the article we can gather that she may have a Rumination OCD. This is a train of prolonged thinking about a question or theme that is undirected and unproductive. Unlike obsessional thoughts, ruminations are not objectionable and are indulged rather than resisted. As she continues to become more and more obsessed with the wallpaper she begins to see things in it, "The front pattern does move-- and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it!"(Gilman 7). This leads her begin ripping the wall paper off the wall, believing the women are coming out of the wallpaper, and creeping around during the daytime. Her disorder has become so severe, she can only focus on the single task of ripping the wallpaper. Something she now believes she came out of, something she is trying to escape from. "I've got out at last," said I, "in spite of you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" (Gilman 9) |
"I wonder if they all came out of that wall-paper as I did? " |