Resistance Through Persistence: The Evasion of Psychological Captivity

Physical captivity, commonly maintained through repeated acts of violence, invokes feelings of

helplessness and powerlessness, only worsened by the fear and manipulation intended to hold the

mind and spirit captive. For many, these experiences force captives to endure feelings of

hopelessness and powerlessness that often result in their submission to their physical captivity,

which inherently influences psychological, emotional, cultural, and social captivities. However,

the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Harriet Jacobs, and Octavia Butler show a different

outcome. Their narratives demonstrate that although physical and emotional abuse establish and

frequently sustain the physical captivity of women, the resistance to psychological captivity is

inspired by positive and negative relationships with other women and fortified through acts of

choice and self-expression.

Kim West

American Captivities, ENG 536

Professor Joe Lockard

2 December 2022
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In captivity narratives, enslaved women, or those physically confined, express feelings of

helplessness and powerlessness due to violence, force, and a lack of autonomy. Captives question

their sanity and morality and often see no choice but to submit to their captors. In those moments

of desperation and defeat, we see these women make choices and express themselves to help

them combat the effects of psychological captivity. Often, due to societal and cultural norms and

the fear of violence and retribution, women have little choice in changing their physical

situations and therefore submit to the ideas and demands of the captors. Despite this reality,

many women are often inspired by their positive relationships with other women to make choices

for their safety and those they love. In the narratives, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by

Harriet Jacobs, Kindred by Octavia Butler, and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins

Gilman, the authors use captive and enslaved women to develop the understanding that although

physical captivity influences behaviors and mental health, women can resist psychological

captivity through their relationships, acts of choice, and self-expression.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, her unnamed narrator endures

physical captivity at the hands of her husband and brother. However, she resists mental

compliance by openly criticizing these men and their choices through journaling. In the opening

of the novella, the narrator has been taken to a summer home to complete the rest cure given as

treatment for an unnamed mental illness that the men describe as “slight [hysteria]” (Gilman 3).

Because of the social standing of John and her brother and their privilege as white men, they can

insist on the narrator's treatment that requires her physical confinement and removal from any

mental or social stimulation as the only remedy. When reflecting upon her feelings about her

treatment, she rhetorically asks, “What is one to do?” (Gilman 4). She knows she is limited in

what she can say and do as a woman and as someone suffering from “nervous depression”
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(Gilman 3). As she directly asks the audience what choices are left for her, she understands her

powerlessness in her marriage. While overtly, she adapts and accepts cultural captivity, as she

follows the gender norms in placating her husband, John, and her brother, ultimately, she is

questioning and criticizing their choices because “personally [she] disagree[s] with their ideas”

(Gilman 4). Through this expression, the narrator establishes her distrust of their opinions and

does what she can to resist fully giving in to their demands for physical and cognitive

submission. Although she agrees to the rest cure in terms of bed rest and limiting social

engagements, her ability to recognize the issues and criticize the decisions being made for her

demonstrates her resistance to submit to the psychological captivity demanded by the men in her

life.

Being able to express her thoughts and feelings through journaling is the central act of

resistance committed by the narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper. At first, she does so covertly

because she fears judgment or punishment for going against John’s orders. She admits that

initially, she wrote “in spite of [John and Jennie]” (Gilman 4). However, she is exhausted by

“having to be sly about it” (Gilman 4). Both John and Jennie wish to limit the narrator and what

she can achieve as a woman as they see all educational or intellectual endeavors, such as writing,

as a waste for a woman who should be giving her time to the domestic sphere. The process of

writing does not wear down the narrator. She finds it cathartic and vital to her recovery and

existence. She feels hopeless and weary at the thought of having to conceal the writing or her

true hopes and desires. Despite these feelings of hopelessness, she continues writing even when

she thinks it stifles her recovery. Where she could concede and commit herself to live in the ways

that John wishes - silent and obedient - she strengthens her stance and continues to write, even

when it is daunting. Through this intellectual pursuit and continual self-expression, the narrator
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of The Yellow Wallpaper escapes psychological captivity by actively questioning her

surroundings and experiences through her writing, an act of defiance of social expectations.

Counterproductive to her resistance through writing is the narrator’s relationship with her

sister-in-law, Jennie, who uses her ability as a woman to connect with the narrator, only to betray

her in compliance with John’s wishes. From the narrator’s perspective, her relationship with

Jennie deteriorates as Jennie keeps track of the goings on of the narrator and reports them to John

(Gilman 17). Jennie sparks no conversation that does not revolve around treatment or the house.

Even when it comes to the narrator’s writing and thinking, Jennie “thinks the writing made [the

narrator] sick!” (Gilman 8). Because Jennie is the “perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper (8) who

“hopes for no better profession” (Gilman 8), she quickly falls in line with the orders given by

John for the narrator. Jennie cannot imagine a world where women would want more than the

lives they are given through marriage and motherhood. Because of this understanding of the

world, she is willing to help John by removing distractions from the narrator’s duty as a wife.

The narrator’s criticisms of Jennie first make her feel guilty as she is not content with

homemaking or her domestic duties. She begins to consider that John is right about her illness

and that his cure is working. As the narrative progresses and the narrator begins to unravel her

true feelings about her illness and the house, she sees Jennie as an enemy, not to be trusted. As

the narrator works to help the woman she believes to be trapped in the wall, she does all she can

to scare Jennie from looking too closely, fearful that Jennie will betray the woman in the same

way she has betrayed her to John. Jennie’s complacency and willingness to betray other women

is a reminder of what submission and subjugation to the patriarchy require: abandoning the needs

of the self for the needs of a husband and children.

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In addition to Jennie’s complacency as inspiration, the narrator finds comfort and

motivation to pursue liberation for the woman in the wallpaper. Initially, the narrator is unsettled

by the wallpaper (Gilman 11). As her stay continues, she begins to realize that the wallpaper has

trapped a woman, and she makes it her personal duty to free the woman from the paper while

simultaneously seeking her freedom through her journaling and “creep[ing]”(Gilman 17). As

the narrator begins to recover, John believes it is because of his treatment. Playing the role of a

supportive wife again, she enflames his ego and allows him to believe it is due to his choices that

she is healing. All the while, “life has become more exciting” for the narrator “because of the

wallpaper” (Gilman 14-15). While John can gloat about his successes, ultimately, the narrator

finds joy and comfort in bonding with and helping the woman in the wallpaper. At the end of the

novella, the narrator realizes the trapped woman in the fading and haggard wallpaper is herself,

and she breaks free “in spite of [John] and Jane” (Gilman 20). The narrator sees her existence in

her captivity as something that will wear her down to something unrecognizable. As the yellow

wallpaper was likely once vibrant and inviting, welcoming to new visitors, she too would have

been young and open to what the world could offer. However, as time goes by, she is exposed to

the realities of the limits in place for women, specifically designed by men and enforced by

women who believe themselves to be the blueprint for the perfect wife and mother. As she

“pull[s] off most of the paper” (Gilman 20). she reminds John that he “can’t put [her] back”

(Gilman 20). She escapes in defiance of what John does to keep her submissive and does so

because she recognizes that her actions will affect more women than her. Her advocacy and

resistance, resulting from her relationship with the perceived woman behind the wallpaper, help

the narrator refrain from mental subjugation.

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Like the unnamed narrator’s relationship with Jennie in The Yellow Wallpaper, in

Kindred, Octavia Butler utilizes Dana’s negative experiences with Margaret Weylin to

demonstrate the effects of cultural captivity, namely insecurity and resentment. Dana has had

many interactions with Margaret Weylin throughout her visits to the plantation, all of which were

reminders of a life that Dana did not want to lead. She is bitter, greedy, discontented, and falsely

pious, likely resulting from her adherence to strict gender and class norms. Although Dana was

unwillingly thrust back in time to help Rufus, making her powerless in this role, Margaret saw

her as a threat. She would go out of her way to inflict punishment, be it physical, like when she

“slapped [her]” (Butler 93), or emotional, like when she threatens to “send [her] to the quarter

like [she] deserves” (Butler 93). Margaret’s feelings of inferiority often felt due to Tom’s

mistreatment and her reputation as “poor, uneducated, [and] nervous” (Butler 94) were further

emphasized through Dana’s intelligence and ability to connect easily with Rufus. Because of her

jealousy and insecurities, she found small ways to inflict reminders of enslavement upon Dana

and took distinct pleasure in making her sleep in the attic, keeping her from Kevin, and

punishing her if she stepped out of line. Despite her attempts to belittle Dana, she never gained

more favor from Rufus or Tom. Her behavior made it clear to Dana that Margaret’s only place in

this system was to abuse her power over Dana and other enslaved people because she ultimately

had little power. Instead of working with Dana to resist the cultural captivities enforced due to

gender, Margaret played a role in hopes of finding belonging in a system that was not designed to

include her. Margaret’s behaviors reinforced the effects of psychological captivity to a

gender-biased system, which influenced Dana’s continued acts of resistance and establishment of

other female relationships as a method of survival.

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Unlike Margaret, Dana’s relationship with Sarah taught her the various ways enslaved

women endured physical captivity while refusing mental submission. At first glance, Sarah

seemed to accept her enslavement, as she appeared to enjoy her duty of running the house and

“her kitchen” (Butler 94) on the plantation. However, despite Sarah’s pleasantries while serving

the Weylins, she can express her disdain toward her “white trash” (94) enslavers to Dana. Sarah

has been a victim of the cruelties of slavery, having had her husband and children sold at the

whim of the Weylins (Butler 76). Since the sale, she chose to maintain her safety for herself and

her remaining daughter, Carrie. A modern perspective colors Dana’s views of Sarah initially, but

her experiences working closely with Sarah show her the grit and intelligence of enslaved

women. She learns how these women withstood the trials of physical captivity through mental

fortitude and acting out parts. Dana enjoys speaking with Sarah and spending time with her and

Carrie, as she “could say what [she] felt around them, and it would not get back to either one of

the Weylins” (Butler 94). Dana quickly learns the power that positive relationships provide the

ability to openly express her genuine feelings and be met with understanding rather than disdain.

Furthermore, Dana understands more about the lives of enslaved women and how they

endured physical captivity while maintaining their dignity and sense of self through the choice to

play a role. Their accounts of enslavement “prepared [her] to survive” (Butler 94). Upon forging

a relationship with Sarah, Sarah explains that engaging in typical standards of domesticity

affords her some comfort and safety through these false relationships. Her experiences

emphasize the significance of Dana maintaining her status as an “[observer] watching a show”

(98). Sarah provides Dana with crucial background information that allows her to “[humor] the

people around [her] by pretending to be like them” (Butler 98). Because of her experiences of

heartache and hardship, Sarah has learned the importance of concealing her feelings and passes
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that important piece of survival advice to Dana, who often cannot control what she shares

verbally. The relationship between these women instructs methods and means to evade

psychological manipulation and subjugation by masking their true intelligence and feelings in

any situation, similar to the acts of resistance committed by Gilman’s unnamed narrator. Through

her enlightening discussions with Sarah, Dana understands the power that comes from

relationships between enslaved Black women that ensured their physical safety and the

significance and cruciality of committing to masking true feelings and intentions for

self-preservation.

Alice’s relationship with Dana is complex in that Dana is complicit in the physical

captivity of Alice. However, she provides Alice with the opportunity to express her true feelings

in safety. In turn, Alice instructs Dana on the realities of choice for women in physical captivity.

Alice was born free, and although she had to live her life following racist and restrictive laws,

she still had some agency in her day-to-day life. She is caught when she chooses to run away and

marry Isaac, and Rufus manipulates the system to purchase her. Under the guise of love, Rufus

used his power as a white man to force Alice into physical captivity. Alice initially forgets what

occurred before returning to the Weylin plantation. As Dana spent time with her during the

healing process, she hoped that Alice would remain psychologically captive to ease the burden of

her reality. She did her best to “distract Alice” (Butler 157) because “[her] life would change so

much for the worse when she remembered” (Butler 157) what happened. When realizing her

situation, Alice is inconsolable, “but she didn’t tire, or at least, …didn’t stop” (Butler 159). Dana

spends time listening to Alice, despite the harsh tone and words that Alice uses with her. Her

willingness to allow Alice to grieve and speak her truth helps her evade emotional manipulation

and psychological captivity at the hands of Rufus because she has a space to express herself.
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Dana’s compliance with Rufus and her ancestry leaves her feeling powerless, but she comes to

understand that “it was better, safer, for [Alice] to vent her feelings on me than on anyone else”

(Butler 160). Dana sees Alice’s rebellion against the acceptance of Rufus’s physical force and is

determined to help her maintain her sense of self and dignity, although she previously wished her

to remain ignorant. Even in Alice’s fits of rage, Dana is reminded of the power that comes from

quiet resistance. The capability to resist is strengthened by the support provided through solid

relationships. Butler uses the complexities of the relationship between Dana and Alice to show

that physical captivity influences the emotions and personalities of people as it forces them to

constantly submit or to be in a battle of wills. It becomes clear that resistance to the thinking and

beliefs of captors is an ever-challenging choice.

In Alice’s experiences as an enslaved woman, she abides by Rufus’s commands but never

gives herself to him emotionally. Through this behavior, she shows Dana that although

physically she is limited, emotionally and mentally, she can preserve her dignity by choosing

how she feels about Rufus. Alice’s disdain for her situation was apparent to Dana, but she still

chose to submit to Rufus sexually because she understood the consequences of not doing so.

After her encounters with Rufus, Alice often reveals her true feelings to Dana, an act of

self-expression where she can fully communicate her thoughts about enslavement and captivity.

In these conversations, Dana realizes that Alice does not and will never love Rufus and that the

reality of their relationship comes from an abuse of power on Rufus’s part. Nevertheless, Alice’s

power comes from realizing how she can make her situation work in her favor, which Dana also

exhibits in her relationship with Rufus.

Motherhood gives Alice another reason to continue abiding by the terms of her physical

captivity, as it ensures her safety and the safety of her children. As time progresses, Alice
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continues her sexual relationship with Rufus and gives birth to his children. Although Alice

commits suicide after the lie Rufus tells about selling their children (Butler 248), she does so in a

final act of defiance to Rufus and his desperation to hold her both physically and mentally

captive. While Alice’s suicide is a tragic ending, it was an ending at her hands rather than one

final blow delivered by Rufus. Throughout her relationship with Rufus, Alice does what she can

to maintain her sense of self as she refuses to submit to Rufus emotionally. In life and death,

Alice showed Dana how to resist subjugation and mental obedience by choosing the terms she

was willing to accept. Her actions throughout the novel prove that escaping mental captivity

requires acts of choice that help the captive cope, even if it means the ultimate sacrifices, such as

death.

In her narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs experiences threats

and attempts of psychological oppression at the hands of her master, Dr. Flint. Despite this, in the

end, she resists through her overt refusal of his advances. Although Dr. Flint does not physically

harm Linda, he uses intimidation practices by threatening to kill her (Jacobs 35) and fear to

manipulate Linda into becoming his mistress. At first, Flint offers a home (Jacobs 47) for Linda

to keep at the cost of agreeing to commit herself to him sexually, which he believes is a generous

offer. Linda understands it as an additional layer of captivity and oppression that isolates her

further from her family, corrupts her virtue, and limits her opportunities to marry a man of her

choosing (Jacobs 35). Linda refuses to accept the advances from Flint, who weaponizes and

perverts freedoms not afforded to Linda due to her captivity. Regardless of her understanding

that she will receive punishment in some form, Linda does what she can to maintain her dignity,

which comes in refusing and denying Dr. Flint what he wants: her submission and virtue.

Similar to the relationship between Rufus and Alice, Dr. Flint may hold her physically through
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the institution of slavery. However, he will never be able to force her to hold feelings of affection

toward him. Linda’s strength and fortitude in denying him access to her in this way show her

choice to resist psychological captivity.

In addition to the abuse suffered by Dr. Flint, Linda also endured mental abuse from Mrs.

Flint, who sought to demoralize her and use cruelty to force her into submission. As previously

established, Dr. Flint began speaking “foul whisperings” (Jacobs 27) into Linda’s ear when she

turned fifteen. Almost simultaneously, Mrs. Flint began her pursuit to punish her. Like the

experiences of Dana with Margaret Weylin, Mrs. Flint’s behaviors were “pit[iable]” (Jacobs 26)

because Jacobs recognized her behaviors as desperate attempts at power in a situation where

Mrs. Flint was ultimately powerless. When Linda was set to be established in Dr. Flint’s

daughters’ bedroom, Mrs. Flint caught on to her husband’s intentions. Because she could not

question or criticize Dr. Flint, Mrs. Flint accosts Linda with anger and threats, which Linda

understands comes from “wounded pride” and “[insulted dignity]” (Jacobs 31). Mrs. Flint’s

abuse of Jacobs proves to her that, for women, abiding by expectations of cultural captivity

creates and enforces feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness that are masked by exhibitions

of cruelty and power. These are feelings that Jacobs refuses to endure as she knows they will

withhold her from achieving what she truly wants: liberation.

Linda’s grandmother serves as a role model and guideline for combating the adherence to

gender norms and rules of engagement for the enslaved and psychological captive. Linda’s

grandmother, a “brave old woman” (Jacobs 26), bought her freedom after being taken advantage

of by her previous white owners. After freeing herself and establishing her home, she seeks to

free her children and grandchildren, only to be denied. She continues trying to free her

grandchildren and challenges existing barriers, refusing to accept the laws of the South. Linda,
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who revered her grandmother with a “respect bordering on awe” (Jacobs 27), describes moments

where the matriarch of her family seems to have fallen victim to psychological captivity. She

believes that she should not wish for more than a home to call her own and the ability to act

based on her morality and values. However, Linda sees her Grandmother’s willingness to

continue her pursuit of freeing her family and her choices in redefining the terms of Linda’s

confinement as opportunities to resist both physical and psychological captivity. Her endless love

for Linda is shown through the risks she takes in protecting her, only reinforcing the reality that

women are strengthened and can persist when supported in relationships with women who suffer

similar experiences.

Gilman, Butler, and Jacobs instruct on what is necessary to escape psychological and

cultural captivity: active mental resistance through relationships that support and develop that

mindset and the ability to express feelings and opinions. Captives meet many obstacles,

specifically the violence and force used by white male captors and enslavers, indoctrinated and

psychologically captive women, and the ramifications of the institution of slavery. All three

authors show how our relationships can negatively and positively influence our outlook and

choices as these captives work through their captivity toward the liberation of the mind and body.

Throughout their narratives, each author conveys a woman in physical captivity who, through

her self-expression and support system, can criticize and highlight the cruelties of captivity and

enslavement. The ability to criticize and the very act of writing these narratives demonstrate their

refusal to submit to the standards and expectations of society. Their continued acts of choice

regarding how they will endure captivity demonstrate that physical confinement can influence

mentality but cannot control it.

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Works Cited

Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Beacon Press, 2003.

Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Dover Publications, Inc: 2001.

Perkins Gilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1890. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other

Writings, by Perkins Gilman, New York City, Modern Library, 2021, pp. 3-21.