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Analysis of Characterization in the Yellow Wallpaper

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Analysis of Indirect Characterization in “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Lama Ismail
Haigazian University

Outline:
Introduction:
A. “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written at a time when the traditional power structure of marriage was supported. B. Gilman describes the unequal status of a wife, the narrator, who suffers from nervous depression. C. Brief history of interpretations of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” D. The chosen interpretation rests on how the narrator’s character is analyzed through her hidden thoughts. E. How does the author use indirect characterization to reveal the narrator’s hidden thoughts?

Body:
Part One: A. Gilman uses indirect characterization to reveal the narrator’s private thoughts through the
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The chosen interpretation rests on how the narrator’s character is analyzed through her hidden thoughts and concerns. In the following paragraphs, we’ll look at how the author, Gilman, uses indirect characterization to reveal the narrator’s character through emphasis on the narrator’s thoughts.

Gilman uses indirect characterization in revealing the narrator’s private thoughts and feelings through the narrator’s secret journal. Since the narrator is diagnosed with nervous depression, – “conventional women’s disease of the nineteenth century” – her husband John, who is also her physician, recommends that her treatment be a rest cure, where she is not allowed to do anything active, especially reading and writing (Treichler, 1984, p.61). Treichler writes that during that time, doctors dictated this therapy because it was believed that too much intellectual stimulation would cause women to experience this illness (1984). But, because the narrator insists that the freedom to read and write would improve her condition, she decides to keep a secret journal as an outlet for her thoughts and imagination (Gilman, 1892). First, the writings of her journal show that the narrator is not convinced with her “rest cure” treatment. Her writings depict that her husband, John, continuously belittles her condition and concerns while she knows that her illness is real and more severe than he
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