Dysfunctional Relationships in E. M. Forester´s A Room with a View

Paul Newman once said, “People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked” (74). There is no such thing as the perfect relationship, however, being involved in a healthy relationship is essential for a person to feel valued, safe, and happy. Unfortunately, in the situation of Kelly Sundberg’s personal essay “It Will Look Like a Sunset,” and Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of An Hour,” include extreme examples of unhealthy relationships. The essay “It Will Look Like a Sunset,” shares painful experiences of Sundberg’s physical and emotional abusive relationship with her husband Caleb, while “The Story of an Hour,” shares a rare reaction of a married woman, Louise Mallard, who explores her emotions cautiously when hearing about the death of her husband. Each woman faces their own prison created by their husbands. The two marriages represent the figurative meaning of doors being locked in a marriage. Both pieces of literature convey the theme of confinement by using the literary devices of foreshadowing, imagery, and conflict.

When both involved do not effectively communicate with each other, a distant marriage may lead to discontent for all. Sinclair Ross’s short story, “The Painted Door”, deals with the growing dissatisfaction and loneliness of a farmer’s wife, Ann, who feels alone as her husband deals with the harsh conditions of the environment. This story demonstrates how deeply communication can affect a marriage, be it bad or good. One of the most fundamental elements of a healthy relationship is communication. Lack of communication in a relationship can result to severe consequences. Irrespective of the kind of relationship, lack of communication magnifies issues in a relationship undermining the very foundation of the relationship. The success of any relationship relies on one's ability to communicate well. Communication is important in relationships as it allows us to share our interest, concerns, support each other. John is a simple farmer who thinks the only way he can please his wife, is by working all day to earn money for her. However, Ann would prefer he spend more time with her. Their relationship is stressed even further when Ann is left at home alone with nothing to think about but their relationship because John has to go to his father’s house. The terrible snow storm accentuates Ann’s feelings of loneliness and despair. These feelings lead Ann to seek comfort and companionship from Steven, the attractive friend of her husband, John, thus leading to John's suicide.

Moreover, the basis of a relationships lies on the principle that it is a shared give and take between two people. Yet, what happens in a society that has slowly eradicated a person’s ability to question their surroundings and communication has been dumbed down to surface level discussions?

Lucy lectures Eliza on her “coquettish” ways and suggests that she be cautious in her attempt to rebel (7). However, Eliza does not heed Lucy’s advice and continues her quest for her ideal husband.

Relationships, one of the key factors of the advancement of humanity. We all are surrounded by relationships, some may be easier to identify than others. But one relationship which stands out greater than the rest is the one between a married couple. These people are usually from completely different families and unite together to decide to spend the rest of their lives together. But sometimes the relationship does not work out. We can witness this in Sinclair Ross’s short story The Painted Door, in which Ann a farmer’s wife who has cheated on her husband John, which has brought the end of Johns life and ultimately the end of their relationship. It is arguable that the reason behind Ann cheating and bringing the end to their relationship arguably is isolation, neglection and lack of understanding, but what is the root cause of all these problems in their relationship? The answer is simple lack of communication. Thus, it is the lack of communication which has caused isolation, neglection and the lack of understanding of each other in the relationship, resulting in the failure of the relationship.

Violence is the most recurrent gothic convention used in Jane Eyre, which is prominent in Charlotte Brontë's effective development of the novel and the character of Jane Eyre, who, throughout this novel, is searching for a home in which she would have a sense of belonging and love which would ultimately resolve this exact unfulfilled need she had as a child. The neglect she experienced in her childhood is manifested in the way she is treated by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, as in the first page of the novel Jane Eyre admits: ‘Me, she had dispensed from joining the group, saying, 'She regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance’’. This opening shows how there is a clear line of separation drawn between Jane and her relatives due to her complicated family background which consequently results in their reluctance to accept her into their environment. These complications lead to her maltreatment, which also adds on to the violence she experiences acting as a catalyst for the development of the character and her subconscious quest.

In a healthy relationship, both parties should be able to openly confide in one another, and understand that the other’s intentions are to benefit the other and yet respectfully compromise on decisions together. With that said, in Sinclair Ross’s short story entitled The Painted Door, the message of how lack of communication can result in dire circumstances is exquisitely envisioned. Moreover, as the seemingly conventional young rural couple’s story gradually progresses, the implications of Ann, the emotionally suppressed wife of John being left alone during an unbearable blizzard fatally brings to end their partnership. Through symbolism and other literary devices, Ross cleverly constructs the themes of isolation and loyalty in this 1939

Because the story is written in diary format, we feel especially close to this woman. We are in touch with her innermost thoughts. The dominance of her husband, and her reaction to it, is reflected throughout the story. The narrator is continually submissive, bowing to her husband's wishes, even though she is unhappy and depressed. Her husband has adopted the

     We also see a misunderstanding and unbalanced relationship in the story "The Yellow Wallpaper,'; by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In this case, the main characters are husband and wife. The wife has a temporary nervous depression and is repressed by her whole surroundings. First of all the room she has to stay is very confined having bars, and has little funiture and ugly wallpaper. She is left in the room by herself during the day, while her husband is at work. Her husband and her brother are physicians who are highly educated, and whatever they say seem right. The housekeeper also, who is her sister-in-law is a perfect housekeeper which gives comparison with the wife who is

Lucy is clearly the most sexual female of the female characters and this description leads to the reader understanding the inappropriateness of the women being overtly sexual and in some ways them understanding the threats the ‘New Women’ possess. When dying Lucy is described as having a “voluptuous mouth” and her body to be “withering and quivering” once again the ‘New Woman’ is referred to as being very sexual and confident,

Throughout the book, Jane endures both physical and mental abuse from multiple individuals; however, she defies them by fighting back in her own way. The abuse starts at Gateshead when her older cousin, John Reed, verbally and physically assaults Jane. Brontë writes on page 12, “He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in a day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrank when he came near.” Jane consciously chooses to defend herself after John strikes her on page 13 and 14, “I wonder if he read that notion in my face; for, all at once, without speaking, he struck suddenly and strongly. I tottered, and on regaining my equilibrium retired back a step or two from his chair…I don’t very well know what I did with my hands, but he called me…” Jane defies John’s authority as the man of the house by fighting back when he abuses her. By doing this, Jane breaks the typical Victorian gender-based ideal that a woman must obey and be complacent to the directive of any man in a higher position than her (Olga Zeltzer, Historical Analysis: Women as the "the Sex" During the Victorian Era). Jane’s actions,

The book predominantly deals with the issue of sexual autonomy and dives into the consciousness of the characters bringing forth the minutia of the event. Edward, an earnest history student with little experience of women, is sexually motivated and though intelligent has a taste for rash behaviour, while Florence, daughter of an Oxford academic and a successful businessman, is bound by the social code of another era (and having been sexually abused by her father) is terrified of sexual intimacy. The author skilfully develops on the character’s inadequacy when it comes to their sexuality. McEwan presents Florence as the one with puzzling and obscure intentions and reactions. She is quite a bossy lead violinist in a string quartet; which gives the impression of her being someone who would confidently express her interest in sex.

Mrs. Fitzroy views Bridget as “an exceedingly slatternly servant with a dirty, pale face, and untidy dark hair” that “had a way of dragging herself about as if there were no such thing as a time in the world” (Hoult, 185). She regards Bridget as an evildoer, which creates tension between the two. Bridget has the same opinion toward Mrs. Fitzroy. By having constant rigidity and this opinion of someone you see everyday, tension and hostility is bound to break out.

To begin with, Lucy is one of the characters that Stoker uses to show the repressed female sexuality during the Victorian era. At the start of the story, Stoker portrays Lucy as a sweet, innocent, upper-class girl, the representation of how society expected women to behave. Many people fall for Lucy’s charm,

The idea may be related to Freud’s description of societal formations, as man is seen to have unfettered desires, and with him is the dependent woman taking care of their child. However, what is new here is the fact that the emphasis is on the relationship and not on the desires. A psychological approach or study pertaining to man’s behaviour may be employed on this situations but then, the need may deem to be unnecessary for the reason that who is subject of the discussion is not any thing associated with man’s defective organs or parts but the man itself. Thus, personal reflection and cognitive experience are more than enough to express the postulated ideas. In the words of Burke, sentiments is what let us understood the behaviour of those around us. This mutuality in our part enable us to gain access with the manner relationships between individuals transpire. John Donne’s “No Man is an Island,” is a shouting conveyance of the significance of individual relationship. How relationships between individuals tend to be formed on this case determines the strength from which are social connections are being built.