Author: Desiree

   In “The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever, middle-class couple Jim and Irene Westcott replace their broken-down radio with an expensive model that, along with playing music, transmits sound from the other apartments in her building. “The Enormous Radio” can be described as gothic due to strange events surrounding the radio which is seemingly a supernatural force. The radio malfunctions can have a legitimate, natural explanation but appear to originate from otherworldly forces – especially since they got it ‘repaired’ multiple times. Irene is transfixed by the radio ability to tune into her neighbors’ lives, comparing her neighbors’ abundantly growing issues to her and Jim’s perfect marriage. However, their marriage is indeed not perfect, the radio resurfacing secrets during an explosive argument in which Jim confronts Irene’s fascination with the neighbors. The radio forced Jim and Irene to face the ugliness of their marriage, they would’ve been better without the radio cause Irene was ignorant to her neighbor’s problems and her own unhappiness in her marriage. 

      Admittedly, “The Enormous Radio” cannot be referred to as gothic from the abstinence of stereotypical gothic elements – most noticeably the lack of a haunted or gloomy appearance. Jim and Irene Westcott is a typical marriage, unable to confront their imperfections they reside in this facade, like the rest of their building. The radio is certainly a faulty appliance, but not supernatural. Instead of emitting normal station frequencies, it picks up the frequencies of other radios nearby. In the era of the story, during the 1940s almost every household owned a radio, the unadvanced technology not immune to issues. Further evidence the radio isn’t supernatural is it’s completely fixed at the end of the story. During the ending argument, Irene repeatedly turns the dial, hoping the radio will emit something comforting, but it only broadcasts the news. Their marital issues aren’t as out of the ordinary as any marriage, especially compared to some of their neighbors. 

Of all the short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman mesmerized me and rapidly became my favorite the further I read. Centered on the narrator, this story illustrates the mental deterioration of a woman bounded to the room by her husband. It’s said the woman suffers from depression and possibly anxiety. Gilman effectively narrated this women’s descent into madness, I myself felt her depravity, her hopelessness as she tries to distract herself with her fixation on the wallpaper. The human mind isn’t wired to be idle. I experience headaches when I spend too long in bed staring at a screen, when I finally get up – the headache disappears. During the peak of quarantine, I forced myself into a daily workout routine. – it kept my mind and body active and overall gave me a sense of purpose. I would wake up and plan my day based on what time I wanted to work out. 

The narrator’s husband disapproves of her journal, her only outlet for creativity and productivity and it makes me wonder. Although medical knowledge was limited in that time period, how could they believe this treatment would lead to the betterment of this women’s mental health? Locking her in a room without anything to do, I feel anyone would become fixated on otherwise obsolete things. And even as her husband took notice of his wife’s unhealthy obsession with the wallpaper, he still kept her in that room, dismissing her thoughts and opinions. John is a negative embodiment of men in that time period, he served more as a prison guard than her husband, exhibiting no empathy nor understanding. The narrator wasn’t as unstable before being locked in that; she could’ve gotten better if only her voice was respected. The yellow wallpapered room serves as her prison both – mentally and physically.