The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis Essay

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, serves as one of the earliest forms of a feminist publication by a female author. The morbid and somewhat twisted story of a woman suffering from postpartum depression in the 1890’s exemplifies a descrete societal critique of the stereotypical female role and culturally accepted domestic sphere, which can be identified after close and careful analysis of Gilman’s work. Although she provided explanation and extension after the story’s publication regarding how her piece came about, Gilman’s feminist opinions are aparent in her writing without further discussion of her personal identification with the protagonist. The textual structure of the piece, lack of specific detail, and symbolism

Typically, the protagonist is simply referred to by readers as “The mad woman in the atic”. Although seemingly microscopic, this small characteristic of the text speaks volumes regarding the story’s cultural theme and satire. The woman’s husband is identified by name numerous times throughout the piece, 44 times to be exact. Gilman included male character’s through several phrases, including “Dear John!” and “I wish John would take me away from here!”, yet failed to mention the mad woman’s name on a single occasion (C797). This factor emphasizes the stereotypical missconsception of the domestic sphere that men or more imortant and relevant to the productivity of society than women. The messages relayed in the phrases are also ones of praise and dependence towards John. For instance, the character wishes John would take her from the house, never exclaming that she wishes she would run away secretly or remove herself from the situation, portraying the sense that women were incapable of taking any action for themselves and required a man to produce change or