Analysis Of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

Locked away in a mental prison of her own head, the main character of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is the expression of the struggles women faced in seeking freedom from themselves. Some people may think of this story as a psychological spine-chiller of sorts, however it is clear from the standpoint of a feminist that this is a reflection on the state of women in the late 1800s, and perhaps even of the author’s own struggles with a society run by males. This theme is made clear through the characterization of John (the protagonist’s husband), the thoughts and writing of Jane, and the environment in which she is placed. Combined, these elements describe the imprisonment of women, and the control held over them

He treats her as an inferior, as seen here: “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (1). John sees his wife’s ideas and thoughts as laughable, never taking them seriously until it is too late to save her from madness. It is also clear from this statement that John laughs at his wife because it is what is expected by society. Later, when Jane takes control of her own thoughts, his role as a strong, protective husband and leader is reversed, and he becomes much like a woman himself: “Now why should that man have fainted?” (17). Having seen his wife in a state of delirium (symbolically, breaking the hold he has over her), he faints, much like the stereotypical shocked woman. In accepting her delirium, Jane has reversed the traditional roles of husband and wife; John’s shock at this reversal further shows his need to control his wife, lest he be seen as a “woman” by

Her environment is almost prison-like; when Jane wishes for the walls to be repapered, her husband refuses, stating “that after the wall-paper was changed it would be the heavy bedstead, and then the barred windows, and then that gate at the head of the stairs, and so on” (3). Though Jane may feel repressed by these bars and gates, her husband refuses to change her environment; he wishes to keep her imprisoned. But perhaps the most obvious use of setting to emphasize feminist views comes in the wallpaper itself: “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars!” (10). The paper itself, though not physically restraining her like the gates and bars, represents a psychological prison. All of her thoughts are devoted entirely to the paper; she is captivated by it, unable to pull her mind from the strange allure of its pattern. This all connects to the image of the woman trapped behind the paper; the protagonist’s mind is not freed until the end of the story, when she has removed most of the