The Yellow Wallpaper And Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, is a great example of early works pertaining to feminism and the disease of insanity. Charlotte Gilman’s own struggles as a woman, mother, and wife shine through in this short story capturing the haunting realism of a mental breakdown.The main character, much like Gilman herself, slips into bouts of depression after the birth of her child and is prescribed a ‘rest cure’ to relieve the young woman of her suffering. Any use of the mind or source of stimulus is strictly prohibited, including the narrator’s favorite hobby of writing. The woman’s husband, a physician, installs into his wife that the rest treatment is correct and will only due harm if not followed through. This type of treatment ultimately drives the woman insane, causing her to envision a woman crawling behind the yellow wallpaper of her room. Powerlessness and repression the main character is subject to creates an even more poignant message through the narrator’s mental breakdown. The ever present theme of subordination of women in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is advanced throughout the story by the literary devices of symbolism, imagery, and allegory.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, the setting is very symbolic when analyzing the different the meanings of this book. The main character in the story is sick with nervous depression. In the story, John, her husband, and also a physician, takes his wife to a house in the middle of the summer and confines her to one room in hopes of perfect rest for her. As the story progresses, it is made clear that confinement, sanity, insanity, and freedom are all tied together and used to make the setting of the story symbolic.

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” she discusses some of the issues found in 19th century society such as women’s oppression and the treatment of mental illness. Many authors throughout history have written stories that mimic their own lives and we see this in the story. We see Gilman in the story portrayed as Jane, a mentally unstable housewife who cannot escape her husband’s oppression or her own mind. Gilman reveals a life of depression and women’s oppression through her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860, in the city of Hartford, CT. She would later move to California. She would end her own life in 1935, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought for women’s rights and was an advocate of socialism. She wrote novels, poetry and short stories. She was a woman who was educated; her writing reflected her knowledge, relating to her strong thoughts on woman’s rights and independence and how women of Victorian times suffered from this lack of rights. In her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman conveys her views on feminism and how women are treated through characters who represent this treatment. The characters she uses help the reader really get drawn into her story;

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s brilliant work, The Yellow Wallpaper, readers explore the consequences of the ignorance of mental health, as well Gilman’s underlying message of the restriction of women, in nineteenth century America. The author of this story doesn’t want readers to focus on the progression of the woman when realizing her real situation, but in my opinion, how Gilman comments with this piece of fiction to the real oppression of women, and lack of weight Medicine held on the patient 's opinions in Charlotte’s society.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is about a woman driven insane by postpartum depression and a dangerous treatment. Nevertheless, when you study the protagonist, it shows that the story is more about finding the protagonist’s identity. The protagonist’s proposes of an imaginary woman, which at first, is just her shadow against the bars of the wallpaper. The pattern shows her identity, expressing the conflict that she experiences and eventually leads her to a complete breakdown of what is her identity and that of the imaginary shadow.

Postpartum depression is a common illness that is recognized more now days than it was in the past. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper with intentions of exposing the reality of postpartum depression. Being a feminist during her time she relayed the message through her writing. This type of illness was overlooked and not considered serious back then. The Yellow Wallpaper sums up the emotional struggle caused while suffering through this illness. The female character in the story shows signs and symptoms of postpartum depression such as: hallucinations, confused emotions, and poor physical well-being.

treats her like a child and just like a child she is kept in this

Charlotte Perkins Gilman published “The Yellow Wallpaper” in 1892. This semi-autobiography short story depicts some personal experiences in the author’s life. The narrator has limited freedom. Her husband, John, overlooks her daily activities but from her physician’s standpoint. He views her more as a patient and does not show any comfort.

In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author shares a story about a woman who suffers from what seems to be a nervous depression. My response to what I believe the author is conveying to the audience is that women who feel oppressed can lead them to feel as if they are trapped and not have a voice. My reason for choosing this central idea is because in the beginning the woman feels trapped and, inferior to her husband. Since John does not grant her much freedom, he signifies a guard to his wife because he is very protective over her. The woman expresses he “hardly lets me stir without special direction” (Perkins Gilman 793).

Only a writer knows the value of each word. They place every word so specifically that the reader can tap the exact emotions of the narrator. For instance, in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman attempts to draw the reader into the narrator’s innermost emotions. The story revolves around a woman’s path to recovery after a nervous depression. She has been advised to take complete rest with nothing to stimulate her brain (which is also known as the “rest cure”).

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.

The role of women in society has been controversial for centuries if they should just stay at home, pursue a job, or have a greater purpose in society, but why not let women take the decision on what they want to do? In the 20th century during the World Wars, the relevance of women in society became more apparent and as a result suffrage movements and other gender equality movements took place. A famous advocate for women's right was Margaret Fuller who a wrote a book called Women in the Nineteenth Century is quoted as "What woman needs is not as a woman to act or rule, but as a nature to grow, as an intellect to discern, as a soul to live freely, and unimpeded to unfold such powers as were given her when we left our common home." which stresses the importance of letting women do what they want and not be chained from the equal opportunities given to everyone by God.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a gothic fiction short story that includes feminist perspectives. According to one scholar, the story “is used to remind contemporary readers of the enduring import of the feminist struggle against patriarchal domination” (Haney-Peritz 114). The unnamed narrator is stuck in “a colonial mansion” that she describes as “a haunted house” (Gilman 468). The setting is a big house with only her and her husband, John, living in it. She is stuck in the big mansion because John, who is also her physician, says she has a “temporary nervous depression- a slight hysterical tendency” (Gilman 468). As part of her treatment she is told to rest until she feels better. John and her brother says she is “absolutely

with a rest cure. The doctor in the story is much like the doctor that