Between the lines : the secret sufferers an Illustration of women and mental Illness and the relationship between literature, society and psychology in the late Victorian texts "Jane Eyre", "The yellow wallpaper" and "The turn of the screw"

Abstract

This dissertation aims to clarify the relationship between society and literary texts in relation to psychology in the nineteenth century. Awareness of mental illness has been growing in society since the Victorian era. Literary texts sometimes seem to reflect views on psychology held at the time both by experts in the field and by the general public and this essay will discuss how literature, science and society influence each other. This investigation will be conducted by analysing how mental illness is portrayed in The Yellow Wallpaper (1892) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Charlotte Brontë’s "Jane Eyre" (1847) and "The Turn of the Screw" (1898) by Henry James. The main tool of analysis will be psychoanalytical theory. This study also seeks to determine whether "The Yellow Wallpaper" had any influence on society and on the field of psychology. This will be achieved by examining one literary text previous to and one following the publication of "The Yellow Wallpaper" to discover whether any significant change had occurred in perceptions and treatment towards the mentally ill. In the first chapter "Jane Eyre" will be analysed to see whether Charlotte Brontë accurately portrayed the mentally ill in her depiction of characters and whether these descriptions reflected the views of the time. In the second chapter an in-depth psychological analysis will be given to the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and its influence on the science of psychology will be discussed. In the final chapter Henry James’ "The Turn of the Screw" will be examined psychoanalytically and the question of whether society’s and science’s views and treatment of the mentally ill had changed will be discussed. The issue of whether "The Yellow Wallpaper" had an effect on the field of psychology and on public perceptions will also be addressed. Lastly, a conclusion will be reached as to whether literature has the power to change and reconstruct damaging myths within our society.