Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And A Jury Of Her Peers

The fight for equality for minorities dates back to the beginning of mankind. Women, in particular, fight for fairness even in today’s society. This ever-lasting battle can be seen in both “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell. Gilman’s story revolves around a woman who has postpartum depression. Her husband, who is also her physician, uses isolation to try and heal his wife’s “nervous disease.” Glaspell’s story, on the other hand, describes the murder of a man, with his wife being the prime suspect. This story is clearly about a battle of the sexes, where women ultimately win. Although these stories have many differences, both authors examine deep themes by using various literary

elements. Using irony and symbolism, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” explore the themes of isolation and female oppression.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an intricate story that uses the conflict between an “imaginative wife” and her “rational doctor” of a husband to convey underlying motifs (Shumaker n.pag.). The story is told from the narrator’s journal that she keeps hidden from her husband. It is clear throughout the story that the narrator suffers from some sort of mental illness. Her husband/physician, John, uses unethical remedies to try to cure the narrator’s disease. Isolation and complete bed rest are John’s idea of treatment for his wife’s postpartum depression. The narrator uses her journal as an escape from her husband’s “help” and doesn’t expect anyone to view it. “John is a physician, and perhaps-(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind--) perhaps that is a reason I do not get well faster” (Gilman n. pag.). This quote also validates that the narrator has suspicions about her husband’s remedies. In addition, John fails to recognize his wife’s point of view. Every time the narrator tries to voice her opinion, she is shut down by her husband. Gilman’s use of irony aids greatly in the development of characters and plot throughout the story. Multiple times during the work, the narrator mentions John laughing at her when she mentions the wallpaper. He thinks his wife is going crazy, and to an extent, he’s right. But, a healthy relationship doesn’t involve one person laughing at another in time of sickness. Gilman also utilizes dramatic irony in “The Yellow Wallpaper” when the narrator thinks the room that she is isolated in is a child’s playroom. From the various surroundings, however, the reader can infer that the room once held an insane person. The narrator’s “cell’ is described in the following manner: “[The] floor is scratched and gouged and splintered, the plaster itself is dug out here and there, and this great heavy bed which is all we found in the room, looks as if it had been through wars” (Gilman n. pag.). Gilman’s usage of conflict, in addition to irony, is critical to understanding the various themes throughout the short story.
Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” is also a complex work that uses irony and conflict between men and women to aid in plot development.

The story takes place in a rural Midwestern town in United States in the 1800’s, the idea of relationships being prevalent throughout the story. There are three main couples that around which the story revolves: County Sheriff Henry Peters and Mrs. Peters, local farmer Lewis Hale and Martha Hale, and another farmer Mr. Wright and Minnie Wright. Mr. Hale is making potato deliveries one day, and he decides to stop by the Wright’s house to use the telephone. Mrs. Wright greets Mr. Hale, and throughout conversation, John asks if he can see John. Mrs. Wright says no, “Cause he’s dead” in the room above (Glaspell n. pag.). Her statement launches an investigation about Mr. Wright’s cause of death. Glaspell, like Gilman, uses irony throughout this story to develop the plot and the main characters. For example, Mr. Peters and Mr. Hale think that they will ascertain the cause of death while their wives will talk about “trifles” in the kitchen. “‘Oh, well’,” [says] Mrs. Hale's husband, with good-natured superiority, “‘women are used to worrying over trifles’” (Glaspell n. pag.). Looking around the house, Mr. Peter’s mentions “‘Nothing here but kitchen things,” he [says], with a little laugh for the insignificance of kitchen things” (Glaspell n. pag.). In the end, however, it is the women, not the men, who solve the case because they

realize the significance of what the men do not. Another example of irony in the story is one of the character’s names. John Wright turns out to be the “wrong” choice for Minnie Foster because he doesn’t “foster” her in any way. Only after understanding Glaspell’s utilization of irony and conflict does the reader notice how complicated this story truly is.
Additionally, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses symbolism to further the themes in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” For example, the room in which the narrator is imprisoned has a very symbolic meaning. Many of the items in the room--”the heavy bedstead,” “the barred windows,” and “[the] gate at the head of the stairs”-- seem odd and out of place and suggest themes of confinement and imprisonment (Gilman n. pag). This feeling of captivity directly reflects the views that women felt during this time period. John, and most men during this time period, followed the mindset that “the woman is legally a child; socially, economically, and philosophically she must be led by an adult” (MacPike, n.pag.). Not only is the room an example of symbolism, but also the wallpaper itself also reflects themes of female oppression. Throughout the story, the narrator claims to see a woman trapped in the wallpaper, musing, “...In the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard. And she is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern--it strangles so…” (Gilman n.pag.). Through inference, the reader can deduce that the woman in the wallpaper represents the narrator and all women of that time. The women feel “trapped” with no way of escaping men’s abuse. Gilman’s masterful use of symbolism and conflict helps to understand deep themes of female oppression and isolation.
Much like Gilman, Susan Glaspell uses symbolism in “A Jury of Her Peers” to delve into themes of women’s oppression. Multiple character’s names have symbolic meaning. For example, the name Peters comes from Latin with the root being Petra, which means rock. This is both symbolic and ironic because Mr. Peters, the sheriff, should be the rock and solve the case, but it is ultimately his wife who helps to unravel the mystery. Another play on words for a character’s name is Mrs. Hale, who never hailed Minnie Wright. Additionally, symbolism can be seen while Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale piece together the story of the murder. The two women travel into the barn to see if there are any other clues about the murder. While there, they see a broken bird cage that once held Mrs. Wright’s canary. While looking for scissors for Minnie Wright, the two women stumble upon a toolbox, which holds Mr.s Wright’s dead bird. “‘Somebody wrung [the bird’s] neck,’ [says] she, in a voice that [is] slow and deep. And then again the eyes of the two women [meet]--this time [clinging] together in a look of dawning comprehension, of growing horror” (Gilman n.pag.). In many ways, the canary symbolizes Mrs. Wright and the oppression her husband put her through during the course of their marriage. Mrs. Wright is “like a bird--real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and -- fluttery” (Bendel-Simso, n.pag.). In the beginning of the relationship, Minnie sings in her church’s choir. She slowly stops singing, until she no longer participates in the choir. Symbolically, Mr. Wright “wrings” his wife’s neck, just like he does to the canary.
The theme of female oppression is evident throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The narrator suffers from postpartum depression, a disease that isn’t widely known or accepted during the time of the story.

The narrator suffers from hallucinations, bizarre behavior, and inability to sleep or eat, all of which are symptoms of postpartum depression. John’s plan to deal with the narrator’s illness consists of complete bed rest and the narrator not seeing her child. He also says that the narrator is not allowed to write in her journal, which she blatantly ignores. “There comes John, and I must put this away, --he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman n.pag.). The narrator uses the journal as an escape from her husband’s abuse. When the narrator suggests changing the wallpaper, her husband calls her his “blessed little goose” and changes the subject (Gilman n.pag.). This, along with John repeatedly calling the narrator little girl, implies that he thinks of the narrator as his child more than his wife. Furthermore, many times throughout the story, the narrator says “personally,” which “suggests that the following idea can be ignored as a mere opinion” (Ford, n.pag.). The room where the narrator stays also represents the theme of female oppression. The narrator thinks that the room she sleeps in is normal, but the reader can infer that the room used to house a mentally insane person. The bed is nailed down, the windows are barred shut, and the wallpaper is chipped. This

shows that John doesn’t trust his wife and thinks that she must be treated as a mentally ill prisoner. At the end of the story, the narrator scrapes off all of the wallpaper, freeing the trapped woman, thus symbolically liberating herself. Upon seeing his wife walking around the room, John faints and the narrator creeps right over him into the hallway. In conclusion, John’s treatment of his wife aids in Glaspell’s overarching theme of female oppression.
Likewise, Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” has an overall theme of female oppression. When they first arrive on the scene, Mr. Hale and Mr. Peters think that they will solve the murder case while their wives talk amongst themselves and gather Minnie Wright’s possessions. When the Mr. Peter’s tells the women to keep an out out for any clues, Mr. Hale goes as far to say “‘But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it’” (Glaspell n.pag.). Mr. Hale doubts that the women are capable of recognizing clues, which shows the blatant disrespect for females during the time of this story. The motive of the murder is another example of female oppression. Mr. Wright isolates and suppresses his wife for many years before she finally snaps on him. In the end, however, the women overcome the oppression that the men instill upon them. A common phrase that the characters use in the story is “knot it.” The men associate this term with another one of the women’s trifles of sewing a quilt. In the women’s minds, this term symbolizes the act of strangling someone to death. They are positive that Minnie did in fact kill her husband, and they understand her motive. The term also indicates that “the women [say] ‘no’ to male authority, [knotting] themselves together and [tying] the men in knots” (Hedges, n.pag.). In conclusion, Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” demonstrates the theme of female maltreatment.
In summary, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” demonstrate irony and symbolism to examine themes of isolation and female expression. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is about a woman who suffers from postpartum depression. Her husband, John, sequesters her from public life, driving her to insanity. Glaspell’s story focuses in on a murder case, in which a suppressed wife is the main suspect. Both of these stories examine profound themes through the use of irony, conflict, and symbolism, and they depict the eternal fight for equality that all women experience.