The idea of silence and dominance is prominent in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. The Yellow Wallpaper focuses on a woman’s inability to express herself against her husband’s wishes. Contrary to Gilman’s book, Hills Like White Elephants expresses a woman’s dominance over her significant other and a struggle to overcome the desire to stop all conversation. In everyday life, examples of this are clearly visible. When a celebrity acts against the standards set by society, it is most common to cover up the mistake or disguise it for something else. In the aspect of Lindsay Lohan this is true, but an interesting personality such as Charlie Sheen proves otherwise. These short stories and the lives of celebrities provide excellent insight telling why “Silence means Consent.”
The female character in Hills Like White Elephants holds the very important position throughout the progression of the story. This dominance is effective in creating a distance between the couple. Multiple times, the irritated girl asks for the conversation to stop or even refuses to reply to the impatient boy. At line 45, Jig appears unfocused or unconcerned with the repeated assurance being expressed to her. In doing so, her role fulfills the act of creating a silence while also acting as the one being silenced. Holding this position shows a dominance of conversation or lack there of. The feeble attempts of the boy cause the girl to push away more each time. As the antagonist, the stubborn male forces the girl to agree with his plans, possibly leading to an unfortunate end. Silence, in common use today, tells that a person agrees to what is being asked or told. By pushing the female to become non-responsive she becomes an object of the man and submits to his authority.
The Yellow Wallpaper expresses an immediate concern to gender expectations, but it also points out the importance of silencing ideas. The concept behind the woman’s imprisonment is to remove the urge to express the creativity she wishes to display. She must be wary of when another person is going to be nearby, especially John for which she writes, “There comes John, and I must put this away, -- he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman, Line 39). While her husband takes on the dominant role of expression, the suppressed ideas are forced away causing pain and sorrow. Unfortunately, much of the silence created is vehemently forced. “... for he sat up straight and looked at me with such a stern, reproachful look that I could not say another word.” (Gilman, Line 141) In obeying and keeping the silence, the demands of the husband are met despite her inner desire to rebel. In society today, the standards still hold true and those who hold the most power determine what comes to fruition.
In both of these stories, one character holds the point of dominance while the other is being reigned over. Times of discussion are only filled with quarreling. Often times, as it so happens in these stories, the consent is never fulfilled internally. Both of the roles being governed find ways to trick the overpowering authority. When a person keeps the silence, they are expressing their consent and obedience. Regardless of the time period, a person who remains silent in response allows anyone to create opinions and false facts about the outcome. In recent events, we see two opposite examples of this occurring, Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen. Both of these actors have earned wealth through their fame and careers. They differ in the reactions to the outrage of the public in response to their actions. Both of these instances are comparable to those included in the short stories.
Lindsay Lohan has been in and out of rehab and provides a sharp depiction of harshly trying to keep the silence. Public view of her situation shows contempt for her actions and allow the assumption that she is an awful role-model. Her career now involves fighting for her dignity which she does not explicitly do. The opressor is the public which this actress is unable to overcome. Forced into silencing her opinion has enabled an open interpretation that contains falsehoods and misconceptions which are not easily discernable from the truth. By acting in a non-responsive way, Lindsay Lohan surrenders to the public.
Contrary to the media’s view, Charlie Sheen has become more of a legend to a select group of people. After gaining the spotlight due to his recent convictions, videos and interviews are all over the internet and television. While it is absoutely correct that his pattern of living is unhealthy and immoral, his reaction to the media’s attention is interesting. It seems as though the thinking involved shows displays an uncaring manner, similar to that of the Jig in Hills Like White Elephants. Instead of requiring silence like the female, Sheen voices his dissent for public opinion. He points out as well the stupidity of it as well. The reknowned actor says, “BTW (by the way), two wars are in an endless state of sorrow. Egypt about burned to the ground, and all you people care about is my bulls**t..(It’s) pathetic” (www.sfgate.com). Despite constantly digging a deeper hole for himself, Charlie Sheen uses the publicity to express a valid and important point on our society.
Silence proves to be most important in our society. Whoever calls the silence and forces other to abide by it holds a great wealth of power. When the silence is not met, false information is very clear and harsh truths are shown the light of day. In the examples of these stories and of ones in our lives today, silence is a large part of forcing a person’s consent. If it were not for women speaking out against this silence, opportunities provided currently would not be available in this crisis. We can see by the writing of Ernest Hemingway and Charlotte Perkins Gilman that, both past and present, silence means consent.
The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Booth and Mays. 354-365. Print.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Booth and Mays. 106-109. Print.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=82375. San Francisco Chronicle, 03 Feb 2011. Web. 07 Mar 2011.
