The Sadness of Distance

The Sadness of Distance

The choices of other people are enough to make someone feel alienated. Gabriel García Márquez and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, through their stories, display the dangers of these choices and the way it may affect another person. In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (1968) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Marquez writes about an old man who fell from the sky; he is thought to be angel. However, the angel’s appearance is inconsistent with the average angel, leading the people of the town to exploit the angel for their own personal gains because of the angel’s differences. Marquez attempts to display the judgemental and selfish qualities in humankind. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”(1899) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Gilman writes about a woman who is confined within a room surrounded by a yellow wallpaper due to the demands of her husband, John. This leads to the woman developing strange mental behaviours and she eventually succumbs to psychosis. Slowly, she becomes strangely obsessed with the yellow wallpaper. Gilman displays how a close-minded person will often lead others to feel alienated, especially if their demands are unreasonable. The actions of others are what led to the events in the two stories. Therefore, Marquez and Gilman both bring up the idea in their short stories to show that it is the action of others which causes another person to feel alienated.

In the relation of John and his wife, John seems to be very controlling towards his wife. From the very beginning there are signs of weakness from the woman. John laughs at her uneasiness towards the mansion but she accepts it because “one expects that in marriage” (Gilman 173). John apparently has the power between the two, which means she has no option other than listen to his demands. John felt the need to exercise his position of power by controlling everything: from the medicine she consumes, when she sleeps, where she sleeps, and who is permitted to take care of their child. This...