Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And Charlotte Perkins Gilman's National Identity

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National Identity and The Yellow Wallpaper



Gilman is an author whose writing is based on individuals making up America's collective identity. "The Yellow Wallpaper" is from the vantage points of being a woman, at a time when women were not supposed to have individual thoughts and personalities. At this time in history, the social roles of women were very well-defined: mothers and caretakers of the family, prim and proper creatures that were pleasant to look at, seen but not heard, and irrational and emotional. The identity of women were presupposed on them by men. At the time this story was written, social criticisms were on the rise and writers had more of an outlet to express themselves. Women's suffrage provided by many female …show more content…



The main character (a sort of parallel to Gilman herself) experiences post-partem depression, and at this point in time, there was no knowledge of this condition. It was generally thought that the nervous condition suffered by women after birth was caused by a weak moral/mental state. The narrator's husband, John takes her to an old, gothic house, away from all the care and stress of the world. This is supposed to be for her own good. To get some rest and to heal her "weak" mind, she lies in bed, almost locked in her room, left to stare at this ugly, yellow wallpaper. The ugliness of the wallpaper begins to consume her mind as the room turns more into a prison than a place of healing. The main character's though processes become apparent as the story progresses. When she first talks of the pattern, she only describes the pattern and the color briefly: "I never saw a worse paper in my life. One of those sprawling, …show more content…

She cannot be the woman she is because of the standards set by society at the time. Gilman gives the indication that the narrator's identity is purely that of which her husband wants it to be-- her creativity and thought are pushed aside. The narrator, Jane, is not entrusted to do anything or make any decision for herself. Gilman's belief of the importance of being an individual is apparent. The ending of "The Yellow Wallpaper" shows what a lack of individualism can to do the mental state of an otherwise sane person. Jane seemingly goes insane because of the lack of an individual

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