Summary Of ' The Yellow Wallpaper ' By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

There are many factors that can create a theme in a short story. Most of the factors are the elements of fiction, which include plot, setting, characters, symbolism, conflict, and point of view. The two stories that will be compared in this essay are “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Story of the Hour” by Kate Chopin. The elements that especially contribute to creating a theme for these short stories are the characters, point of view, and plot.

The way woman were treated in the late 1800’s is totally different than today. At that time woman and men were not equal to each other. Women were confined to particular roles. The men usually played the dominant role which led women to just listen and follow their spouse. During that time woman were at the bottom of the social class. The regular household consisted of a male who handles all the important decision making things while the women were housewives. In the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman who is a feminist who purposely shows examples of the roles women played in society in the late 1800’s. Gilman wanted to prove a major point that confining women to only womanly roles of the time, will drive woman crazy. The woman in the short story was forced to follow her husband instuctions. She was not able to make her own decisions and this infantilized her which drove her insane.

In the beginning of her loggings, the narrator explains that she disagrees with her husband, brother and doctor’s idea of treatment, and states, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good,” (Gilman). She follows this statement with the question, “But what is one to do?” Clearly influenced by male oppression and ideals of women, the narrator herself believes that she is unable to follow her own wishes to better her health and overall state of mind. Her only rebellion is in the form of her writing---a creative outlet that is unwanted by her husband as it is a mental stimulation and considered work. Though she is in fear of being caught, she still writes. She believes that it would be easier to stop, so that she doesn’t have to be go

be with him, it makes me nervous.” (Gilman pg. 204) She is very articulate and likes to write but due to her controlling husband is not allowed to; so, she keeps it hidden. Maybe, due to the fact what she writes about are her inner thoughts and feelings which reflect on those around her. ” There

Immediately in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” readers are able to tell that the protagonist feels trapped in the room, in which she is being placed. The female narrator also mentions to us that her husband “John is a physician, and perhaps –– (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind –– perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster” (Stetson 1892, 129). That is to say, this statement clearly indicates that science triumphs over the fantasy of religion. Therefore, John intellectually dominates his wife as a result of this view and his gender. Throughout the story, readers are able to observe themes from “The Yellow Wallpaper,” such as powerlessness, patriarchy, and lack of independence. As a result, Gilman 's protagonist does not have a room of her own. Despite, the struggles that the narrator faces in the room, “it makes [her] think of English places that you read about” (Stetson 1892, 130). Basically, the narrator tries to make herself feel comfortable while she is in the room and she is also able to express herself on paper, although her husband, John insists that she should not. According to Gilman’s protagonist, “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” (Stetson 1892, 129). This statement explains that the narrator expresses a need for independence by removing herself from the

Women have been devalued by men for as long as people can remember. In the past, when men were off at war, women had to work jobs and keep business functioning routinely. Filling in the gaps the men left to go off to combat was no trouble for women, but as soon as the men returned, the women had to return to the kitchen. Women are the inferior option, the substitute if the male species were to be wiped out. Women aren’t acknowledged for all they are, nor are they given the same opportunities as men. In the story, “What if Shakespeare had a sister”, Virginia Woolf discusses how incompetently women were regarded in society. Women were dispossessed of all their rights, being nothing more than a housewife, being restricted of their potential. In, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a narrative of a woman being trapped and living in a patriarchal world. In the sonnet “Quincenanera” Judith Ortiz Cofer, discusses a girl growing into a woman who knows she will be treated miserably by society. As portrayed in all these stories, a theme of women being deprived of their rights. Gilman and Cofer both defend Woolf’s assertions about the contradiction of women’s depiction compared to real life because of the expectations of reproductive work, devaluation, repercussions of women being denied of their true freedom, and sexism.

She has been trained to trust in her husband blindly and sees no other way. He calls her “little girl” (352) and “little goose” (349) and states “She will be as sick as she pleases!” (352) whenever she tries to express her issues. Instead of fighting for what she thinks will make her better she accepts it and keeps pushing her feelings aside, while he treats her like a child. We get an instant feel for her problem in the first page when she says, “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that” (pg 346). A woman shouldn’t expect her husband to laugh at her concerns. Even after briefly writing about her condition she remembers her husband telling her the very worst thing she can do is think about it and follows his instructions. This is when she begins to focus on the house instead of her problems and the obsession with the wallpaper starts. She has nothing else to think about alone in the home; they don’t even allow her to write, which she has to do in secret.

Insanity manifests itself within society in two unsettling scenarios: one being when the true darkness lurking in the inner recesses of one’s mind takes control, and the other being when society attempts to oppress certain peculiar individuals by ascribing mental instability upon the public’s perception of them. Throughout Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," it is rather ambiguous to which of these two nightmarish scenarios the narrator is enduring. From the beginning of the story, the narrator contends that a mental affliction is plaguing her, and later cites this as the primary reasoning behind the decision for her and her husband John, a well respected physician, to move into a seemingly calm colonial mansion for the summer. Once inside, she cannot help but feel uneasy; both intrigued and repulsed by the mysterious yellow wallpaper encompassing her new sleeping quarters. As this once harmless curiosity deteriorates into full blown obsession, our protagonist begins to perceive the ominous wallpaper as the cruel prison to a helpless, enigmatic woman, and by the story’s climax, she attempts to liberate the woman by stripping every last sliver of wallpaper from the room. Externally, it would appear that the narrator has devolved into utter madness by the conclusion, but upon closer examination, it is evident that her mind has in fact attained a newfound sense of clarity. All along, it was her husband, John, that had been her true epicenter of

Charlotte Perkins Gilman is known as the first American writer who has feminist approach. Gilman criticises inequality between male and female during her life, hence it is mostly possible to see the traces of feminist approach in her works. She deals with the struggles and obstacles which women face in patriarchal society. Moreover, Gilman argues that marriages cause the subordination of women, because male is active, whereas female plays a domestic role in the marriage. Gilman also argues that the situation should change; therefore women are only able to accomplish full development of their identities. At this point, The Yellow Wallpaper is a crucial example that shows repressed woman’s awakening. It is a story of a woman who

Though it is a controversial topic, gender has always played a tremendous role in society. In her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman explores gender roles, including the role of the main character. During the 1890’s, when the story was set, men oversaw the household, and the women had to take care of the house and children. In addition, women, including the main character, had to listen to their husbands. In the story, the main character is controlled because she is a woman, and this drives her to feeling confined.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, reveals to it’s readers the unethical and at times tortuous treatments for women during the late eighteen to mid nineteen hundreds, specifically the resting cure. Part of Gilman’s great success in portraying the personal feelings and thoughts of the narrator during this treatment can be attributed to her own tragic encounter with the resting cure shortly after her first child’s birth. Throughout Gilman’s life, she became a strong asset to the women’s rights movement, and the destruction of the resting cure by using her writings such as The Yellow Wallpaper to do so. At first glance, Gilman’s story begins in a innocent manner, but slowly escalates as the main character Jane’s

She starts out by using an anecdote about a couple that she met in Virginia. She commented that the husband had done all the talking at the meeting and that usually the women complain that their husband does not really say all that much. He then gestured to his wife and stated that she did all the talking at home. He also stated that if “she didn’t keep the conversation going at home after he got off work that they would just sit in silence for the evening.” (Tannen 50) She writes about this to show us that she is a down to earth person by using the pathos and ethos behind the story to make us trust what she is saying is true and helpful to a relationship. She states that she has done some research of her own to help back her writings up.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the 19th century author recounts a time in her life where depression and isolation where present. This inspired her to write “The Yellow Wallpaper”. In this short story there is symbolism, characterization, gender role, along with overall feminism throughout the story.

“I don 't like to look out of the windows even – there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast. I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?” the woman behind the pattern was an image of herself. She has been the one “stooping and creeping.” The Yellow Wallpaper was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In the story, three characters are introduced, Jane (the narrator), John, and Jennie. The Yellow Wallpaper is an ironic story that takes us inside the mind and emotions of a woman suffering a slow mental breakdown. The narrator begins to think that another woman is creeping around the room behind the wallpaper, attempting to "break free", so she locks herself in the room and begins to tear down pieces of the wallpaper to rescue this trapped woman. To end the story, John unlocks the door and finds Jane almost possessed by the woman behind the wallpaper. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s feminist background gives a feminist standpoint in The Yellow Wallpaper because the narrator’s husband, John acts superior to the narrator.

Her passion is to write and by doing so we are able to follow her on a