1. Write a Thesis (MUST have a minimum of 2 reasons):
In “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, Charlotte Perkins Gillman constructs the fictional character, Jane, with an emotional bond to writing and desire to become the perfect mother in order to illustrate the struggles that women encounter while living in the realism time period.
2. Write Topic Sentence #1:
Jane’s unconditional bond to writing demonstrates the hardship and adversity many women had to face in the realism time period by portraying a character that is limited and restricted by a male figure.
3. Embedded Concrete Detail #1 to Support TS#1 (be sure to cite properly):
For example, the narrator loves to write but is “forbidden to “work” until [she is] well again” because according to her physician, Jane is suffering from temporary nervous depression and needs to stop all unnecessary work and isolate herself in order to get better (Perkins 648).
4. Commentary to Support CD#1 for TS#1:
Perkins Gillman’s character was limited by her husband, a male
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figure, from practicing her hobby. Now, while most women may not have been in the same exact position there was a trend of women being restricted from doing what they desire. Embedded Concrete Detail #2 to Support TS#1 (be sure to cite properly): A second example of the narrator being deprived from writing by her husband would be when Jane added, “I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal-having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition” here it is evident that after noticing her imprisonment Jane had to hide her writing in order to pursue it secretly (Perkins 648). 5. Commentary to Support CD#2 for TS#1 6. Concluding Sentence for Body Paragraph #1: Therefore, the fact that Jane was not able to pursue her hobby of writing while sick strengthen the idea that during the realism time period women did not have any control over their lives, because of a male figure shadowing them. 7. Write Topic Sentence #2: TS= Topic (How Created) + Controlling Idea (Why does this prove the topic you're analyzing?) Jane’s second characteristic of becoming the perfect mother and housewife represents a struggle that many women faced in the late 1800’s since the norm of the perfect woman corrupted the minds of many young women in this era. 8. Embedded Concrete Detail #1 to Support TS#2 (be sure to cite properly): For example, in the quote “it is fortunate Mary is so good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous” the reader recognizes that the reason why the narrator is suffering from depression is because of her incompetence to take care of her newborn leading her to a gloomy mood (Perkins 649). 9. Commentary to Support CD#1 for TS#2: Jane’s experience is a drastic example of an after effect caused by the social pressure of becoming perfect maternal figure but nonetheless, it’s still an example.
The narrator of this short story fell into postpartum depression which is normal for women after giving birth but because of the poor treatment that was given to her, it was dragged a longer period of time. In this period of time, her mindset was severely changing to the point of her obsessing over the yellow wallpaper in her room. Her insanity was mostly caused by her already present depression, however, the pressure of not acting like a proper woman of her time was equally as important. In the cases of Jane, she was able to find freedom from this norm by freeing the imaginary woman in the wallpaper. Nonetheless what happened to Jane could have happened to a real woman in the late 1800’s since forcing high expectations such as being the best trophy wife can affect the mind of many young
ladies. 10. Embedded Concrete Detail #2 to Support TS#2 (be sure to cite properly): Furthermore, the narrator added a brief description of Jennie, her sister-law saying, “Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me … she is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession” this would strengthen the belief that women were being affected by the social norm of only becoming a housewife since it is implied that Jennie is a perfect housekeeper and does not dream of becoming anything better than her current occupation (Perkins 650). 11. Commentary to Support CD#2 for TS#2: The social norm of women being perfect housewife has affected Jennie already which is why she is content with her job. Her mindset is already set to only become the one thing a male-run society wants and that is an ideal housekeep that will follow any order given to her. In addition, the short story is set in first person point of view, so the opinion we get of Jennie comes directly from Jane. This means that Jane calling Jennie “perfect” shows her ideal of the perfect woman which again is the typical housewife. At this point the reader can infer that the narrator wishes to act like Jennie, so she can take care of her family properly. Furthermore, Jane comparing to herself to Jennie may have brought more trouble to her nervous depression since by comparing herself to someone could have affected her self-
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman recounts, by means of Jane’s journal, the story of Jane and her husband John, following the birth of their baby. Like Gilman, Jane suffers from post-partum depression, and, her husband, who is a physician, locks her in the nursery on the top floor of their summer home. After the first few weeks of her summer in isolation, Jane hides her journal, which contains her true thoughts, so that John will be unaware of...
Quawas tells how there is a “sharp contrast between male and female nature.” Quawas reveals that Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s true purpose is to fight for women’s rights and equality, instead of being seen as just an object to nurture the children and do the chores at home. Quawas suggests that since Charlotte Perkins Gilman cares so deeply about presenting the deeply hurtful ways women can be treated like because she lived through the era of the women being the stay-at-home-smiling-trophy-wives and got to witness the incline of women’s rights movements and the empowerment of women. Quawas says that “The Yellow Wallpaper is a particularly interesting and rich example of her audacious and defiant writing.” she says this because The Yellow Wallpaper explores the feminine rebellion against the “rest cure”. Though the narrator’s doctor husband believes in the “rest cure”, the narrator steadily makes efforts to express herself in private, such as through her journal entries. Historically the author of the yellow wallpaper went through the oppression of women and the rise of empowerment of women. She got to witness both, which allows for the inference of women empowerment being hidden throughout the yellow
The stories “Shouldn't I Feel Pretty?” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” feature a dynamic protagonist who undergoes a character development which reveals the consequences of oppression caused by societal standards. Gilman crafted the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” with the purpose of exposing the tyrannical role of gender roles to women. In the story, the narrator suffers a slight postpartum depression in the beginning, but her condition gets progressively worse because her husband John believes “that there is nothing the matter with [her] but temporary nervous depression-- a slight hysterical tendency” (331). He concludes that the best treatment for his wife is for her to be “absolutely forbidden to ‘work’ until [she is] well again” (332).
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, is a first-person narrative written in the style of a journal. It takes place during the nineteenth century and depicts the narrator’s time in a temporary home her husband has taken her to in hopes of providing a place to rest and recover from her “nervous depression”. Throughout the story, the narrator’s “nervous condition” worsens. She begins to obsess over the yellow wallpaper in her room to the point of insanity. She imagines a woman trapped within the patterns of the paper and spends her time watching and trying to free her. Gilman uses various literary elements throughout this piece, such as irony and symbolism, to portray it’s central themes of restrictive social norms
In the 19th century, women were not seen in society as being an equal to men. Men were responsible for providing and taking care of the family while their wives stayed at home not allowed leaving without their husbands. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman writes about a woman named Jane who is trapped by society’s cage and tries to find herself. Throughout the story, the theme of self-discovery is developed through the symbols of the nursery, the journal and the wallpaper.
The situation of this quotation was that the husband, John, of the narrator, who was the physician, did not believe that she was sick, he just described it as depression, a slight hysterical tendency. So he demanded she going to work, but she wanted to work, and getting better from working. Even if the protagonist, Jane, wanted to work, she could not do it because the family had around central by men, which meant she could not violate her husband’s opinion. As she was staying home, the protagonist started writing. According to “The Yellow Wallpaper: Overview,” “But the
In a female oppressive story about a woman driven from postpartum depression to insanity, Charlotte Gilman uses great elements of literature in her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Her use of feminism and realism demonstrates how woman's thoughts and opinions were considered in the early 1900?s.
Advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men, Charlotte Perkins Gilman speaks to the “female condition” in her 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by writing about the life of a woman and what caused her to lose her sanity. The narrator goes crazy due partially to her prescribed role as a woman in 1892 being severely limited. One example is her being forbidden by her husband to “work” which includes working and writing. This restricts her from begin able to express how she truly feels. While she is forbidden to work her husband on the other hand is still able to do his job as a physician. This makes the narrator inferior to her husband and males in general. The narrator is unable to be who she wants, do what she wants, and say what she wants without her husband’s permission. This causes the narrator to feel trapped and have no way out, except through the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s powerful story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, is about a woman who was driven to madness by her depression and controlling husband. The story is told by the wife, in first person, and is based on Gilman’s own life experience. Gilman suffered from post-partum depression after her daughter was born and was prescribed the “resting cure” which is resting and isolation. In the story, the narrator’s husband puts her in isolation because he believes that will cure her of her depression and breakdowns. He won’t let her do anything, so she turns to writing in her secret journal to try and cure her depression. Since she has nothing to do all day, she turns her attention to the yellow wallpaper in the room. She becomes obsessed with it and begins to see a woman trapped inside the pattern. The wallpaper dominates the narrator’s imagination and she becomes possessed and secretive about hiding her obsession with it. The narrator suspects the her husband and sister are aware of her obsession so she starts to destroy the wallpaper and goes into a frenzy trying to free the caged woman in the pattern of the wallpaper. The narrator becomes insane, thinking that she also came out of the wallpaper, and creeps around the room, and when her husband checks on her, he faints because of what she has become, and she continues to creep around the room, stepping over body.
One of the main strategies for the resting cure is having the patient be in almost complete isolation from the rest of normal, functioning society. In the passage, the speaker is not only shut away in an secluded house, but she is also only allowed the company of her husband, John, and her husband’s sister, Jennie. A lot of the time, John “is kept in town very often,” and Jennie “lets [the speaker] alone,” therefore isolating her even further. Because the speaker spends so much time o...
The woman behind this work of literature portrays the role of women in the society during that period of time. "The Yellow Wallpaper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a well written story describing a woman who suffers from insanity and how she struggles to express her own thoughts and feelings. The author uses her own experience to criticize male domination of women during the nineteenth century. Although the story was written fifty years ago, "The Yellow Wallpaper" still brings a clear message how powerless women were during that time.
Ultimately, throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Gilman Perkins uses various symbols to show the oppression of women by men, and the continuing struggle to escape that oppression. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an indication of the mental restrictions that were placed upon women by men during the 1800s. Perkins shows that the possibilities of women are as good as those of man, and that during the 19th century those possibilities were severely restricted. The writer sees other doing acts she could do herself, just as women saw acts of man that they could do with the same level of capability. Entirely, “The Yellow Wallpaper” gave women a view of the oppression on them by mankind and gave them a whole new voice to escape that disaster.
"Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper"—Writing Women." EDSITEment: The Best of the Humanities on the Web. Web. 05 Mar. 2011.
Psychological maltreatment is one of the most important issues for women in every culture, and there is no difference regarding their social class, educational level or income. The majority of wives experience psychological abandonment caused by their spouses and other relatives where mental suffering or even death is a frequent result (Emotional Neglect). The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman is about a young mother who is affected by an illness, supposedly postpartum depression, and whose breakdown results in her awareness and understanding of her own role in marriage and society in general. In the nineteenth century, the typical medical treatment for depression is a complete separation from others, work and any activities, called a “rest cure.” Being restricted in any activity and movement leads to mental collapse.
Many female writers see themselves as advocates for other creative females to help find their voice as a woman. Although this may be true, writer Virginia Woolf made her life mission to help women find their voice as a writer, no gender attached. She believed women had the creativity and power to write, not better than men, but as equals. Yet throughout history, women have been neglected in a sense, and Woolf attempted to find them. In her essay, A Room of One’s Own, she focuses on what is meant by connecting the terms, women and fiction. Woolf divided this thought into three categories: what women are like throughout history, women and the fiction they write, and women and the fiction written about them. When one thinks of women and fiction, what they think of; Woolf tried to answer this question through the discovery of the female within literature in her writing.