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The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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“The Yellow Wallpaper”
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was one of the most prominent feminists of her century. She brilliantly created a haunting and gothic allegory in her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” It was difficult for women to express themselves in a male dominant society, and they would often try to seek greater fulfillment. Gilman takes her audience through her unnamed character’s journey of emotional deterioration, and her quest for control over her own life. The author’s allegory for the suffrage of women as a whole is perceived through her female protagonist with marital submission, oppression, and the evils of the resting-cure all inspired by her own personal experience.
It is difficult to completely understand the story without immensely examining the author’s background. Gilman suffered with depression shortly after giving birth to a baby girl. Gilman met with Dr. Weir Mitchell, a nervous disease specialist, who suggested his original treatment called the “rest-cure”, under which the patient was restricted from writing, reading, or talking to others besides the authority over her (USA Today Magazine, 4-5). Gilman’s anguish through constraints greatly influenced her story as her main character was writing without permission. “Gilman reminds the reader frequently that her narrator is a habitual writer for whom "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a kind of diary, an accurate record of her turbulent inward journey. Drawing on Gilman 's experience of post-partum depression

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