Essay on Condemnation of a Patriarchal Society in Yellow Wallpaper

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," a nervous wife, an overprotective husband, and a large, dank room covered in musty wallpaper all play important parts in driving the wife insane. The husband's smothering attention, combined with the isolated environment, incites the nervous nature of the wife, causing her to plunge into insanity to the point she sees herself in the wallpaper. The author's masterful use of not only the setting (of both time and place), but also of first person point of view, allows the reader to participate in the woman's growing insanity.

John’s views as a doctor forbid any type of activity, because he feels it will only worsen her fragile condition. She says, “So I take phosphates or phosphites- whichever it is- and tonics, and air and exercise, and journeys, and am absolutely for bidden to ‘work’ until I am well again” (Gilman 221). But the narrator believes she would feel better if she could write because she does not believe it to be “work”. “Personally I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (Gilman 221). The narrator believes that writing would help her get better more than the rest cure. John addresses his wife as “‘little girl,’ and chooses the nursery rather than one of the adult bedrooms for his wife” (Griffin 11). The narrator has absolute no control over her own care, “she disagrees with her husband’s orders forbidding her to work, yet her opinion goes unrecognized.” (Griffin 11). He treats her like a weak, fragile child, which for the most part is what women were described as in that time period.

The narrator is diagnosed with a “nervous disorder” and is ordered by her physician, who also happens to be her husband, to abstain from most activity and all intellectual work. The same treatment Gilman was forced to take part in. The narrator is deprived of any stimulus or outlet for thought or action, and she begins to obsess over the yellow wallpaper. Her discovery of the women trapped in the pattern in the wallpaper symbolizes the pattern of behaviors and practices that trap the female sex. For Gilman, the conventional nineteenth-century middle-class marriage, with its rigid distinction between the “domestic” functions of the female and the “active” work of the male, ensured that women remained second-class citizens.

During that time, it was considered improper for a woman to express her feelings like anger or dislike. She says, "I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes" (pg278), and the narrator blamed it on her mental condition rather than saying that she was actually tired of her husband's way of treating her illness. She felt secluded, useless and trapped. Yet, she still had to follow and accept that kind of social rule. Women were expected to be good in doing the house chores and taking care children. In the story, the narrator mentions about John's sister who was a perfect housekeeper and hoped for no better profession. There is also Mary who was so good with the Baby. The author was actually trying to send images to the readers that it was expected attitudes in her society and was part of their culture which women were forced to follow.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” suggests that the woman behind the wallpaper parallels the narrator’s struggle

Shumaker, Conrad. “"too Terribly Good to Be Printed": Charlotte Gilman's "the Yellow Wallpaper"”. American Literature 57.4 (1985): 588–599. Web. This article is about the feminism in the twentieth century, dominant tradition, and the narrator’s vivid imagination. This article explains the woman’s role instead of the tale of horror or the madness of mental breakdown and the complex work of art as well as an effective indictment of the twentieth century view. This article describes the room to be confine violent mental cases almost like being in a cage. This article discusses Gilman’s deception of the narrator’s decline into madness which it captures the symptoms of a mental breakdown. I can use this article because it is accurate and creditable for my research paper.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman used her story, The Yellow Wallpaper, in order to demonstrate to readers of the 19th Century that the issues women possess are valid and deserve to be recognized as more than just simple hysteria. Charlotte also brought to light the severeness of mental illness and how it can develop quickly when emotions are neglected.

The initial description of this woman is of her “stooping down and creeping about.” The woman in the wallpaper is a direct reflection of the narrator’s confidence and feelings of inferiority, and the change they undergo. Initially, the woman in the wall symbolizes the narrator’s fear of presenting herself and her opinions, and being her husband’s equal.

The Yellow Wallpaper is a story, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Although the work is short, it is one of the most interesting works in existence. Gilman uses literary techniques very well. The symbolism of The Yellow Wall-Paper, can be seen and employed after some thought and make sense immediately. The views and ideals of society are often found in literary works. Whether the author is trying to show the ills of society of merely telling a story, culture is woven onto the words.

When Jane describes the wallpaper, she is first repulsed by its color and the mere sight of it. Later, she describes that the sunlight reveals a “pointless pattern”

The narrator feels trapped in the wallpaper and sees herself desperately trying to pry herself from the bars that are holding her in. Symbolically, the bars are the confinements of her marriage. Her husband, John, has full control over every aspect of her life, including her hobbies and self expression. As her doctor, he can control her treatment and continue to hold her in solitude. She even allows him to pick what room they stay in.

The emotions inside of her need to get out and her so called psychologist is forcing her to keep them in. The men in this time did not understand why a woman would ever want to do anything but stay in the home and the fact that she didn’t meant she was going or already insane. They forced her into domesticity until it eventually drove her mad. She begins to obsess over the wallpaper and the woman trapped inside. While no one is watching, for fear of getting into trouble for her foolish actions, she peels the wallpaper slowly to help the woman escape. She acts so normal when the husband is around just like a puppet. Pretending to be the prefect housewife and mother he has expected her to be all along. The wallpaper design is a metaphor for the men in society keeping women in their accepted role in life in the nineteenth century. Gilman especially wanted out of this role and wanted to show the way for the rest of women who were stranded in these roles, like she was.

She describes it looking as if it has a “broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down” (Gilman 649). This signifies the narrator becoming consumed by the pattern in the wallpaper. Later, the author shows how her obsession intensifies by describing a “yellow” smell coming from the wallpaper. This smell didn’t seem to bother the narrator much at the start, but after she becomes preoccupied with the paper, her mind is lost to everything else and she begins to take notice of every intricate detail. It’s as if the wallpaper now has the ability to follow her anywhere within the house through its smell, much like society’s expectations constantly haunting her. By using vivid detail to place the reader in the narrator’s mind, Gilman effectively communicates society’s effect on mentally ill women, giving the reader a better understanding of what it must have been like to live in Jane’s shoes.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's story is told from the perspective of a woman who has been isolated for medical reasons. The nameless female is the story's main character, but she is not the only narrator within the story. A vital part of the story's narrative is told by one of lifeless objects around her: the yellow wallpaper.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a detailed account of the author’s battle with depression and mental illness. Gilman’s state of mental illness and delusion is portrayed in this narrative essay. Through her account of this debilitating illness, the reader is able to relate her behavior and thoughts to that of an insane patient in an asylum. She exhibits the same type of thought processes and behaviors that are characteristic of this kind of person. In addition, she is constantly treated by those surrounding her as if she were actually in some form of mental hospital.