It rarely occurs in long, full-volume books but rather in short few-page stories – instead of reading about characters and their experiences, I only notice an author behind the words. I can clearly see how he or she nurtures a certain idea or discussion topic, then transfers it on a literary personage and creates a matching setting to emphasize the main point with the right amount of conflict. But it just does not work! And Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a perfect example of how writer’s attempt to ignore her reader’s power of thoughtfulness completely fails.
The story begins with the nameless female narrator describing her current mental problems and her doctor husband’s decision to treat her with a “rest cure” – now she moves to another room and does not leave it, having nothing to do but to write this diary. Her sentences are overflowed with “but’s” and multiple references to the patriarchal system of that day’s society. From the very first page the author throws in “wrong” marriage associations (“John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (Gilman 589)), focuses on the heroine’s helplessness (“You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do?” (Gilman 589)), suspects some great male conspiracy (“My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing” (Gilman 589)) and defines “wrong” female interests (“So I will let it alone and talk about the house” (Gilman 589)). Those are not even little hints, but huge light-bulb signs attacking the reader!
Unfortunately, such passion will not be rewarded, at least with me, as the story itself does not imply Gilman’s own conclusions. For example, the narrator’s husband John is supposed to look like a...
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...otice his habits before?”, I kept asking while reading the first pages. If we go back in the past and see the whole story considering the social norms of the 19th century, when Gilman lived, then the heroine is not one to blame and can be forgiven for as she could not have any choice, but her husband’s behavior is totally normal and appropriate too, as that is how genders were supposed to act at those times. Gilman is trying to persuade us, that her main character is an innocent victim of evil patriarchal forces, but in fact is acting like a naïve little girl wanting to get both delicious cake and fit body. And like in the real world, nothing came of this idea in “The Yellow Wallpeper” either.
Works Cited
“The Yellow Wallpaper.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 277-293. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.
Gilman herself suffered from post-partum hysteria and was treated by a famous doctor of the era, one who prescribed his famous "rest cure", the same cure the female narrator cannot tolerate and defies in The Yellow Wallpaper. In this story the narrator remains nameless and there is good reason for it. She feels as if she has no identity or control over obtaining fulfillment and unity and satisfaction in life. Her husband is a doctor who also prescribes complete rest for her and is opposed to her doing the one thing that seems to give her a unique voice, writing. Thus, the narrator defies her...
" Fiction 100: An Anthology of Short Stories. 4th ed. of the book. ed.
Gilman, Charlotte. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar Roberts and Robert Zweig. New York: Longman, 2011. 419-428.Print.
The most prominent example of this is the imagery of the wallpaper and the way the narrator’s opinion on the wallpaper slowly changes throughout the story; this directly reflects what is happening within the narrator’s mind. At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the wallpaper as “Repellent.revolting. a smoldering unclean yellow” (Gilman 377). As the story continues, the narrator starts to become obsessed with the wallpaper and her opinion of it has completely changed from the beginning. Symbolism plays a big part in “The Yellow Wallpaper” too.
The theme of inferiority reoccurs throughout Gilman’s work. Throughout the story it seems as though men have the upper hand and the power in the relationship of husband and wife. The narrator’s husband, being a physician, prescribes medications to cure her hysteria. Even though she does not agree with his methods she goes along with them. An example would be when the narrator states, “Personally, I disagree with their ideas...But what is one to do?” (Gilman 625). This conformity to her husband’s wil...
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading And Writing. 7th ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. 2004. 590-600.
Scharnhorst, Gary. "Gilman." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. 209-210.
The ideas expressed by Gilman are femininity, socialization, individuality and freedom in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Gilman uses these ideas to help readers understand what women lost during the 1900’s. She also let her readers understand how her character Jane escaped the wrath of her husband. She uses her own mind over the matter. She expresses these ideas in the form of the character Jane. Gilman uses an assortment of ways to convey how women and men of the 1900’s have rules pertaining to their marriages. Women are the homemakers while the husbands are the breadwinners. Men treated women as objects, as a result not giving them their own sound mind.
Gilman creates a horrific tone that helps explore the idea of freedom and confinement within a certain place. The story is created to follow the situation of the narrator and how slowly she begins to deteriorate psychologically due to the wallpaper. The narrator is never assigned a name, therefore it can be assumed that the story is suppose to serve as a voice for the women who have been in a similar situation and have lost their freedom and say on their own lives. However, the narrator appears to come from a wealthy family with privilege so there cannot be this idea that all women who have been through this form of depression and inequalities have experienced it in the same form. Through the use of imagery, the reader was able to understand and clearly visualize the situation in which the narrator is in and see how she has begun to slowly deteriorate, even though she is finally freed in the end of the story, or at least that is what is assumed. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is indeed a very profound image of what it was like to be a female during the 19th century while emphasizing the themes of freedom and confinement. Even though it illustrates the impact that confinement can have on a person, it restricts the situation to fit only women who had similar social backgrounds as the narrator, which is
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman presents the behavior of society of the time. The protagonist is suppressed by her husband, John, and her brother, though they both mean well. The way she is treated by her husband and her brother is not outwardly “mean” because they never deal with her in anger, but the way that they suppress her by not letting her express her feelings or do what she wants, is still abuse. Even though, the way that they are treating her is wrong, it does not seem wrong because they both act gentle and kind towards her and make her think that they really do care about her. Throughout the story, the protagonist states her intentions to herself, but then does not act upon them because of her husband. This is further shown when she speaks of her husband and her brother, who "is also of higher standing," (Gilman 317) showing the high ranking of men in society. They keep her from doing the things she wants because they believe it is best for her to rest. She disagrees. "Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good" (Gilman 317). On p...
The Yellow Wallpaper, Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is comprised as an assortment of journal entries written in first person, by a woman who has been confined to a room by her physician husband who he believes suffers a temporary nervous depression, when she is actually suffering from postpartum depression. He prescribes her a “rest cure”. The woman remains anonymous throughout the story. She becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper that surrounds her in the room, and engages in some outrageous imaginations towards the wallpaper. Gilman’s story depicts women’s struggle of independence and individuality at the rise of feminism, as well as a reflection of her own life and experiences.
Throughout the story, the reader is called to trust the narrator although it is clear she is going crazy, for she is the only telling the story. Gilman is able to develop the theme through this character’s point of view by showing that the narrator has no choice in the world in which she lives-- she must obey the men in her life above all else. If Gilman chose any other perspective, the story would not have been able to portray the woman’s oppression as well, because the reader would not have been able to see into her mind as it slipped away well into insanity.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. "The Yellow Wallpaper." Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 2011. Print.
Societal control of the accepted terms by which a woman can operate and live in lends itself to the ultimate subjugation of women, especially in regards to her self-expression and dissent. Gilman does an extraordinary job of effectively communicating and transforming this apparent truth into an eerie tale of one woman’s gradual spiral towards the depths of madness. This descent, however, is marked with the undertones of opportunity. On one hand, the narrator has lost all hope. On the other, she has found freedom in losing all hope. This subversion of the patriarchal paradigm is tactfully juxtaposed against a backdrop of the trappings of insanity.
The Yellow Wallpaper is not just a short story. It was written from Gilman’s perspective with the purpose of telling people that being confined will only make a person more insane. But there’s got to be someone to blame, right? Well, seeing as Gilman was a feminist, it is only logical to blame the person that put her in the sanitarium, right? There’s a deeper meaning to The Yellow Wallpaper and she used symbolism, setting, and character to help the reader better understand this short piece.