Day 6: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Rennie Sparks, Denise Levertov
Story: Charlotte Perkins Gilman - The Yellow Wallpaper
As a gothic horror tale this is really fun. It reminded me, for some reason, of The Shining mixed with The Cat in the Hat (2003).
As an early feminist work, it was likely important at the time, but like Ibsen's The Doll House, its critique of patriarchal marriage reads today as quite didactic and obvious.
But I thought the portrayal of postnatal depression as misunderstood by men was very interesting. My mum suffered from PND really bad after she had me and my brother, and I wonder how similar my dad was to the fairly well-meaning but clueless husband in the story. I know my paternal grandfather, on the other hand, reacted with patriarchal outrage, accusing my mum of hysteria and manipulation. This was thirty years ago. I wonder how mothers with PND are treated by their families today. Hopefully with something better than being stuck in a bed left to stare at the shadows behind the wallpaper all day.
Essay: Rennie Sparks - Ants
"Down in the tiny world of ants a terrible spiral is sometimes seen — the ant death mill."
A fun essay that looks at the phenomenon of ants following each other in circles until they die of exhaustion, but also likening this to unconscious, automatic human behaviour. It ends with a similar message to Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus: enjoy the circling!
Rennie Sparks is one of my very favourite lyric-writers, perfecting the Southern Gothic story-song in het songs for The Handsome Family. I was lucky to find a signed copy of Wilderness, her book of animal essays in the Guildford Book exchange.
I highly recommend all her essays on animals. I want to reread them again now.
Poem: Denise Levertov - Overland to the Islands
In some ways this dog lives life in an opposite way to the ants.
Love this poem. From reading a few of Levertov's other poems, she really captures the glowing beauty of light and animals so wonderfully.
I really want to read more.