uto·pia
noun \yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ə\
: an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect
: a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions
dys·to·pia
Noun \(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ə\
: an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly
: an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives
“All about up here were the lovely small things I needed; and not only
these, but the lovely big things that make one feel so strong and able
to do beautiful work.” “The Cottagette,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is definitely a utopian story. The narrator, Malda, describes her new home as a “fairy land of sun and shadow.” At first she is very content with her living conditions but soon her utopia starts to disintegrate when she tries to impress a man that has caught her attention. She begins taking her friend’s advice to pursue this man by cooking for him which takes up most of her time. Although she is good at it, she has no interest in it. In the end of the story, Ford encourages her to give up her cooking and to instead continue embroidering which makes her very happy. He asks her to marry him and I assume this was the final touch she needed for her new home.
“The Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is my favorite reading so far. The narrator is a distressed woman who is obviously unsatisfied with her surroundings and her domestic life. Her husband is not very supportive of her and tries to convince her otherwise every time she voices an opinion of her own about matters pertaining to their new home or anything that has to do with her inner feelings . In order to escape her reality she buries herself in her secret diary in which she writes about her fixation with the yellow wallpaper in the home which she describes as “menacing.” “There are things in that paper which nobody knows but me, or ever will. Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day.It is always the same shape, only very numerous. And it is like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern. I don’t like it a bit. I wonder—I begin to think—I wish John would take me away from here!” I believe she sees herself in the wallpaper and so she is basically figuring herself out through it. As the story goes on she seems more and more miserable with her life and soon drives herself into insanity with the help of her oblivious husband. In the end of the story, she tries to set the trapped woman in the wallpaper free by biting and scratching it off and her husband finds her in this state and I believe by then it is far too late for her. This story is definitely dystopian because the main character is completely dehumanized by the end.
