The Theme of Isolation in the Yellow Wallpaper and the Metamorphosis

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Gregor was only appreciated for the money he brought the family and not as a member of the family that they would care for on a deeper level. Kafka expresses on behalf of Gregor, “He felt a great pride that he had been able to provide such a life in a beautiful apartment like this for his parents and his sister”(p. 28). Eventually, the family shunned him because he was of no more use since he cannot work anymore. Also, the family blamed him for their financial downfall (quote). This added to his isolation, which pushed his depression forward. His death was triggered by his family’s hostility and their desire to banish him. Gregor was isolated form his loved ones because of the amount of money he made was linked to how much he was appreciated. The father was extremely annoyed by Gregor’s situation because Gregor was not able to work and provide for them anymore. Franz states, “The father relentlessly pressed forward pushing out sibilants, like a wild man” (p.24). His father pushed him with a stick and threw apples at him in order to express that. At first, the sister was more accepting of Gregor, but when she realized how much of a burden he is on the family, she also wanted him gone. Therefore his isolation is what pushed him to morph, and his further isolation pushed him to die.

Both stories were written in the Stream of consciousness method, which was made popular by the modernists. The authors used this method to demonstrate how isolated the protagonists are. The narrators use stream of consciousness to express everyday mundane life in order to let out their feelings and emotions. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator narrates Gregor’s every day life from what he feels to what he does and what his family is doing. He goes into details about situations that do not add depth to the story. While in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the story is written as a diary of the narrator’s life. She even mentions mundane feelings and observations like “I don’t know why I should write this” (p.651) “There’s sister on the stairs” (p. 650). This allows the narrator to feel like she is communicating with another human although she is almost in complete isolation.

To conclude, by nature, humans cannot deal with being isolated for long periods of time and in these two cases, the narrator and Gregor prove this to be correct. Although these two stories include different characters and some different experiences, they each are negatively impacted by societal isolation. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” her isolation drives her to insanity, while in “The Metamorphosis” the alienation that Gregor feels in his job as described by Karl Marx is what drives him to morph. These two stories emphasize the importance of human connection and how humans are social creatures that need this connection with other people to keep sane.