Experiencing and
expressing emotions are integral parts of life. Self-expression is as vital to
living as breathing. Sometimes, however, it is inhibited by our tendency to
remain silent. Resorting to silence chokes our expressive needs. Non-verbalization
and suppression of feelings will result in substantial resentment, with
accompanying behavior that has negative effects on emotional and physical
health. Silence is the greatest deterrent to self-expression. It is so abrasive
and malevolent that it strips our human existence of its whole self. In the short
story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman and the song “Silence
Kills,” silence results in lives being destroyed. In the short story “Interpreter
of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri, the
characters suffer in silence and also express the urge to communicate. All
these works illustrate the theme of silence and the urge for communication.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman,
Jane, the female protagonist suffers an emotional trauma because of her
silence. She stands out from the people of the nineteenth century because of
her distinct feelings of frustration, alienation, and emotional and creative
repression within the social formation. She is forced to remain silent in order
to preserve the facade of a happy marriage and to make it seem as though she is
winning the fight against her depression. From the beginning, the most intolerable
aspect of her treatment is the compulsory silence and idleness of the “resting
cure.” She is forced to become completely passive, forbidden from exercising
her mind in any way. Even though she disagrees the idea of staying dormant, she
does not express it and instead remains silent. She says, “Personally, I
disagree with their ideas. Personally, I believe that congenial work, with
excitement and change would do me good. But what is one to do?” (Gilman 316). The narrator is constantly longing for an
expressive outlet, even going so far as to keep a secret journal where she
says, “I must say what I feel and think in some way–it is such a relief!”
(Gilman 321). Of course, the narrator’s eventual insanity is a product of the repression of her imaginative power,
not the expression of it. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a story about a woman who
is confined and silenced. In the end, she is defeated as she finally gives in
to madness and is found creeping along the floor of the room because of her
silence.
In the “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri, silence and the urge
for communication is poignantly revealed. Mr. Kapasi, a tour guide and the
interpreter at a doctor’s office met the Das family, a second-generation Indian
American family. Soon after the initial conversation, Mr. Kapasi realizes that
the couple lacks communication and is stuck in a loveless marriage, which
reminds him of his own agony. Mr. Kapasi reflects, “The signs he recognized from
his own marriage were there–the bickering, the indifference, and the protracted
silences” (Lahiri 19). Mr. Kapasi’s married life went through a difficult phase
when they lost their child. The void in their marriage was quite immense. He
could sense the same monotony in the Das couple. Mr. Kapasi’s infatuation for
Mrs. Das is one way to break the void in his heart. At one place he dreads
silence, “Ordinarily he sped back to Puri using a short-cut, eager to return
home…and a cup of tea that his wife would serve him in silence. The thought of
that silence, something to which he’d long been resigned, now oppressed him”
(Lahiri 23). Therefore, silence and the need for communication destroyed Mr.
Kapasi’s marriage and left him vulnerable to misinterpret Mr.Das’ intentions.
Mrs. Das is unhappy in her marriage
because she feels that she no longer shares a bond with her husband. She resorts
to silence instead of expressing her emotions. Mrs. Das’ silence after marriage
led to her having an illicit relationship with her husband’s friend. This made
her feel terrible all the time. She feels she has not been able to express her
anxieties to anyone and thinks that Mr. Kapasi as an interpreter can understand
her pain. This can be seen when she says, “I told you because of your talents”
(Lahiri 27). Silence puts her through emotional trauma and mental suffering.
This can be seen when she expresses to Mr. Kapasi, “It means that I’m tired of
feeling so terrible all the time. Eight years, Mr. Kapasi, I’ve been in pain
eight years. I was hoping you could help me feel better, say the right thing.
Suggest some kind of remedy” (Lahiri 27). Hence, the silence and the dearth of
communication in the marital lives of both Mr. Kapasi and Das couple made them
incapable of communicating with their spouses.
Furthermore, Silence’s malevolence
can be found in popular music today. An
example of the theme of silence in the media is Tarsha McMillian Hamilton’s famous
hit single “Silence Kills” released on September 11, 2008. The story behind the inspiration of this
song is a tragic one that is associated to the singer. With new advances in the
treatment of AIDS, people are living longer than ever. However, the virus still
destroys lives – even families. Tarsha Hamilton, wife of singer Anthony
Hamilton, knows this first hand. Three years ago, she lost her 18-year-old
brother to AIDS. Hamilton was only 16 when her father died of AIDS, and the
virus also claimed her mother. “It has totally went through my family of five,”
Hamilton said. For Hamilton, the concert’s title holds special significance.
When her mother told her that her father died of AIDS, she told Hamilton and
her siblings not to tell anyone. Their silence prevented them from seeking the
resources that could’ve helped them deal with virus, Hamilton said. “That’s
what killing us – the silence,” she said. “I chose to speak out about it, it
was killing me on the inside. It was eating me from the inside out, emotionally
(and) mentally.” Hamilton is not silent anymore. She shares her struggle
through music and continues to tell her story via song. She also plans to write
about as a companion to her first album “The McMillan Story.” The short stories
and the song are examples of how silence destroys the soul. Jane, Mrs. Das, Mr.
Kapasi and Hamilton discover one thing in common; silence is the greatest
deterrent to self-expression.
The
short stories the Interpreter of Maladies, and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and the
song “Silence Kills” are examples of how silence can destroy one’s soul and
spirit. The characters in the stories are either guilty of the silence or they
are victims of it. The song is an example of how silencing our emotions can be
destructive. These short stories and song illustrates that breaking the silence
and communicating effectively keeps us emotionally healthy. They also
illustrate that men and women who avoid emotions, especially negative ones, are
more likely to experience high anxiety and depression in their lifetime. In
addition, they demonstrate that silencing intense feelings can carry a heavy
emotional toll and that expressing them in a right is always a better option.
The short stories and the song illustrate the theme of silence and the urge for
communication.
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Norton Introduction
to Literature. Ed. Alison Booth, Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 2006. 315-328. Print.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. “Interpreter of Maladies.” Interpreter of Maladies. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999.
12-29. Print.
“Anthony Hamilton’s Wife
Fighting Aids One Song at a Time.” Joy105.com
Digital Magazine. 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. < http://www.joy105.com/anthony-hamiltons-wife-fighting-aids-one-song-at-a-time/ >
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