ENGLISH 220 ROBOTIC EROTIC ELECTRIC THE IMAGINATION CHALLENGE

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How is it possible that an American short story writer from the early 20th century, a Mexican painter from the middle of the 20th century, an American photographer from late 20th and a Japanese writer from the early 21st century can be seen to share a similar obsession? And yet that is the case with Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Frida Kahlo, Francesca Woodman, and Haruki Murakami. In my brief study that will unfold before you here, I will take the time to focus on the themes of pain and inequality as I weave a critical tale of Gilman's, Kahlo's, Woodman's and Murakami's kinship. But I will also take time below to point out their contrasts, especially with regard to the way in which they handled their problems.
Gilman suffered from depression in her real life which is reflected in her book ‘’The Yellow Wallpaper.’’ In the story, the narrator is suffering from stressful marriage and she confines herself in a small room for resting purposes (Gilman 29). On the other hand, her husband had all the freedom to leave the house at will and conducts his normal activities. Finally, the woman finds happiness in writing which she does on yellow wallpaper while in her confined environment. The way the husband confined her wife in a lonely environment where she could not engage in normal activities is a sign of hardship and pain. Also, the narrator found herself weeping while breastfeeding which implies that even motherhood did not bring any happiness to her. Further, her baby was cared for by a nursemaid. The acts describe the kind of fear and pain that the woman passed through while married to her husband.
Similalry, Frida Kahlo’s paints are related to the kind of suffering she faced in her life. Kahlo made several sternly disturbing and numerous unsmiling self-portraits that has currently gained cult status ("Frida Kahlo: Portraits of Pain."  N.p). Further, Kahlo made some portraits of women who were thinking of suicide. However, her work does not revolve around the lives of other people but her own personal life including the kind of sufferings she experienced. Kahlo was born with polio, and, further engaged in several accidents at her young ages which deformed her physically. Further, she had marriage problems as her husband frequently cheated on her which left her no alternative but to start using drugs. Unluckily, the drugs resulted into the amputation of her legs, and, finally she decided to commit suicide because of the problems she faced in life.
However, Woodward was a young American photographer who became depressed because her work failed to attract peoples’ attention. She always made nude images of herself and her work revolves around fragmentary and elusive notion. The images she made provoke but she never intended to be provocative in her work. Woodward had tried to send the portfolio of her self-portraits to magazines all over New York but was ignored. Also, she tried to obtain funds from to finance her career from the National Endowment for arts but her request was rejected ("On Being An Angel: Finding Francesca Woodman in the Otherness of Her Self-Portraits."  N.p). Moreover, she was sent to her home town to live with her parents after her first suicide attempt failed, thereby, abandoning her career. The continued feeling of being a failure despite the continuous effort she was making on her career made her more depressed which resulted into her suicide.
The major theme in Haruki Murakami novels is war which he describes is in the DNA of the Japanese people. He saw several wars taking place in his country since his childhood and he hated the spirit. Also, he blames the poor political situation in his country to be major reason why his work did not receive much attention in his homeland. He considers himself a disgrace to the Japanese literature community because he decided to move out of the country because his work was not appreciated by his own people. He incorporates the story in one of his novels ‘’Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.’’ In the novel, he describes the life of a pianist who decided to take his life after being rejected by five of his best friends (Charles 67). The story reveals that Murakami had at one time thought of suicide as the only option after his work failed to be rated among the top literature works in Japan.
However, the theme of inequality is also evident in the history and works of the artists. Gilman’s story was written in the year 1892 before women were given the right to vote and were dominated by men. Jennie is the brother to John who is Gilman’s husband. Also, Jennie is the physician is assigned to treat the narrator about her increasing stress level that deteriorates her life. Contrarily, he supports his brother which leaves the narrator on two on one situation where it now becomes difficult to come out of the problem. The woman develops inferiority complex as a result of being dominated by her husband John and fails to express herself regarding the problems she is facing in her marriage. For instance, the woman disagrees with the two brothers’ idea at the beginning of the story regarding her treatment. She states that ‘’personally, I disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me.’’ However, at the end, the narrator wonderfully exemplifies her oppressed reputation in the society. The facts reveal that males dominate female in the society which is a sign of gender ...