“In the human colour-specturm, she took the place of the yellow ray” (Caird 105).
In The Yellow Drawing-Room, Mona Caird uses the color yellow to symbolize Vanora’s identity as the “New Woman” or a woman who is “intelligent, educated, emancipated, independent, and self-supporting,” directly opposite of the traditional expectations of the Victorian woman (Diniejko 2). Vanora’s choice of yellow as the paint color for the drawing room is significant for not only her character, but as a theme for the story as a whole, as reflected in the title. The color yellow is loud, bright, and radiant. I typically associate yellow with the sun, happiness, and light, but in this story, the color also transforms into a symbol of rebellion.
When the narrator first sees the drawing room, he describes it as “radiant, bold, unapologetic, unabashed” (Caird 104). These attributes quickly change from describing the room to describing Vanora herself. The narrator is deeply uncomfortable seeing a woman refuse to conform to his ideal of the “indistinguishable” woman. He claims that, “Women ought to take the place of the blue or violet rays” (Caird 105). Vanora is the most complete opposite of this. Her identity fuses with the color yellow. So much so that Caird writes, “…she took the place of the yellow ray,” directly opposing the narrators desires (Caird 105).
Yellow becomes more than a color, it’s a way for Vanora to define her identity as the New Woman and reject anyone trying to dim her light. This includes her own family, specifically her aunt Miss Thorne. But, most importantly, her decision to reject the narrator’s romantic advances, despite her reciprocated feelings for him, further proves this idea of her self-worth. Vanora says, “When you describe your doctrines, I seem to see the doors of a dark prison opening out of the sunshine; and strange to say, I feel no divine unerring instinct prompting me to walk in” (Caird 109). She refuses to let him tie her down or confine her. Instead, she takes control and embraces her sunshine and bold yellow rays. Through Vanora, the color yellow not only symbolizes joy and warmth, but also rebellion and freedom.
Caird, Mona. “The Yellow Drawing-Room.” Dreams, Visions and Realities: An Anthology of Short Stories by Turn-of-the-Century Women Writers, Continuum International Publishing, 2003.
Diniejko, Andrzej. “The New Woman Fiction.” The Victorian Web, 17 Dec. 2011, victorianweb.org/gender/diniejko1.html.