The Yellow Wallpaper By 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.

The surroundings which one is placed in can drastically contribute to their mental state. Deterioration and a lack of stimulation will be reciprocated within the mind of the inhabitant. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, depicts a young, unnamed woman who is suffering with post-partum depression. In this time period, the treatment of mental illness typically did more harm than good as electroshock therapy, and the rest cure were the classic treatments of choice. Similarly, William Faulkner, the author of “A Rose for Emily”, written in 1930, gives the reader an inside look upon an elderly woman experiencing mental distress. Although there are major signs of an issue being present within Miss Emily’s old, southern house, the town chooses to ignore and cover them up as to not disrupt the elderly woman who buys poisons without a reason and sleeps next to the dead corpse of her lover. Theme and setting play two very distinct and important roles within each of these stories allowing the reader to have a more complete understanding of the message the author is trying to convey.

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 the 1950’s, women weren’t respected for doing anything besides being an outstanding wife and mother. Women and men weren’t on the same level when it came to rights in the eyes of the law. Also during this time, mental illnesses were not accurately researched, and since doctors weren’t fully aware of all the information about mental illnesses, patients did not always get the best treatment and were treated as freaks. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, both of these elements are present. Gilman did a wonderful job portraying how women are not taken seriously and how lightly mental illnesses are taken. Gilman had, too, had firsthand experience with the physician in the story. Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's believes that there really was no difference in means of way of thinking between men or women is strongly. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story about a woman who has a mental illness but cannot heal due to her husband 's lack of belief. The story appears to happen during a time period where women were mistreated. Women were treated as second rate people in community during this time period. Charlotte Perkins Gilman shows the thought process of the community during the time period in which “The Yellow Wallpaper” is written. Using knowledge on equal rights between women and men, one can carefully study “The Yellow Wallpaper” by

“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.

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

do and maintain which is why they are so quick to frown upon women when they do not succeed these goals. Through this reading, you will begin to understand the suffering that women had gone through in order to break free of their cages. Two English literature stories that prove this are “The Yellow Wallpaper” which was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which gives the point of view of a man through a woman, and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, told from the point of view a man. In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” the reader is able to see how women are treated in this time period when something occurs to be wrong with them. While in the story, “A Rose for Emily”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, protagonist of the “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the author of the short story herself, details her experiences while locked away on bed rest by order of her doctor husband. Through these experiences, Gilman displays the struggles women face while seeking independence. While this short story has many psychological aspects, it also displays several feminist perspectives that speak for the female gender throughout the late 1800’s, as well as difficulties with a society ran by primarily males. This idea is evident through Gilman’s husband, John, the writings of Jane, the unnamed narrator, and the environment Gilman herself was placed within. Through these components, isolation of women and the power given off by the male gender is reflected.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's career as a leading feminists and social activist translated into her writing as did her personal life. Gilman 's treatment for her severe depression and feelings of confinement in her marriage were paralleled by the narrator in her shorty story, "The Yellow Wallpaper".

Charlotte Perkins Gilman short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written in the early nineteenth century, which was during a time of great change. During this time “domestic Ideology” was placed American women as spiritual and moral leaders of their home. Basically society prescribed a women’s role in life but, Gilman disagreed this totally. Gilman shows us this in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” She creates a fictional story based upon her own experiences. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, depicted a depressed woman who slowly descends into madness in her room, while her well-meaning husband is often away due to his work at the hospital. Gilman successfully illustrates how society suppresses women and how dangerous it can be to a women’s mental health.

In today’s society, women have the ability to conveniently visit a clinic of any capacity and receive medication and treatment for virtually any ailment. In fact, something as small as a simple cough or a runny nose is enough to put someone in the hospital. Imagine if it wasn’t that easy. Imagine doctors brushing the symptoms off as if they were nothing. Imagine suffering from severe postpartum depression that is bordering on psychosis, and all the doctor prescribes is rest and complete seclusion from the outside world. For Charlotte Perkins Gilman and other women in the late nineteenth century, this nightmare was a reality. But through this struggle, Gilman wrote her most well-known literary piece on feminism: “The Yellow Wallpaper”. This autobiographical fiction short story was written to bring to light the foul treatment of women and is still highly debated today among feminists. A concentration on the history of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, key feminist interpretations of the short story, and the author’s reflection of the piece and how it relates to women’s discourse, will reveal that Gilman’s literary work still holds a very active role in modern day feminism.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” depicts a young woman suffering from depression after the birth of her child. This woman is sheltered away by her husband to a mansion in the country, where she persists to retreat into her mind from lack of other stimuli. Through the narrator’s drastic plunge to insanity, Gilman accurately depicts the limited roles available to women of the nineteenth century and the domineering and oppressing actions men took toward them.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a semi- autobiography by author Charlotte Perkins Gilman who wrote it after going through a severe postpartum depression. Gilman became involved in feminist activities and her writing made her a major figure in the women 's movement. Books such as “Women and Economics,” written in 1898, are proof of her importance as a feminist. Here she states that women who learn to be economically independent can then create equality between men and women. She wrote other books such as “His Religion And Hers” which is about a religion freed from the dictates of oppressive patriarchal instincts. She also wrote “The Man-Made World” which is a feminist classic that reflects on female independence and how women should fully use their abilities for the benefit of society and for their own satisfaction. Gilman devoted a lifetime to thinking and writing and how to make better people and how to make a better world. Through her work, she aimed at the transformation of society through fictions or essays that were based on realities of everyday experience in which she made suggestions for changed behaviors at all levels of society.

The story “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1891. Gilman chose the first person narrator who slowly slides to insanity as a way to protest the men’s and medical harassment against women at the time. Women’s depression considered as hysteria and popular treatment for it was a “rest cure”. Gilman was also under this treatment, when she fell into depression after giving birth to her child. This treatment drove her almost to insanity, but she found a way out of this situation, she divorced her husband, stopped “rest cure” treatment and wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She was raising her voice to describe all problematic conditions of women who were struggling with depression. Narrator point of view plays a significant role in the story because it reveals suppression against women in the men-dominated society that can lead to a tragedy and fall of society as whole.

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