Power play in The Bell Jar and "The Yellow Wallpaper" : How power play is manifested towards the protagonists in The Bell Jar and "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Sammanfattning: Abstract This paper will attempt to analyze how similar forms of power play are manifested towards the protagonists in both The Bell Jar and “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The aim of the essay is to investigate how power play affects the protagonists’ relations with their caregivers and how it affects their treatments. Thus, the hypothesis is that it is the power play that prevents the protagonists in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Bell Jar from recovering from their mental illness, which is confirmed by my analysis. Therefore, the concept of power play will be used in the essay as an instrument of analysis. The hypothesis will be discussed from five main points: obstacles to recovery, caregivers’ role in recovery, patients’ response to treatment, the role of power play, and the negative impact which power play has on recovery. Keywords: Power play, mental illness, treatment, recovery, patient-caregiver relationship, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, Reet Sjögren.