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Analysis Of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

677 Words3 Pages

In the journal “On Not Reading between the Lines: Models of Reading in the Yellow Wallpaper”, Jeannette King and Pam Morris state that Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, can be classified as both feminist literature and gothic literature because it is equally a story of haunting and repression. King and Morris state that “The Yellow Wallpaper” involves elements of traditional gothic writing. This is seen through the story’s exploration of an abnormal psychological state (24). This quality is seen when the narrator explains that she “can see a strange, provoking, figure, that seems to skulk about behind the silly and conspicuous front design. (571)”. The narrator is seeing a person behind the design when there was not actually anything behind the paper. This leads the reader to conclude that she is having a hallucination (24). Her …show more content…

The supernatural element found in the story is the wallpaper that the narrator is fixated on. This is seen when “This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had. (470)” Despite the paper not actually having powers, the narrator perceiving it as being alive adds this element (28). By stating that the wallpaper has the ability to think and know things, it is given a supernatural element. The non-supernatural element that is disturbing is the treatment that the narrator receives from her husband. This is seen when she is writing in her journal and says “there comes John, and I must put this away -- he hates to have me write a word. (469)” Here the narrator’s husband is seen controlling the activities that she can participate in. By him not allowing her to write, a very unpleasant tone is created for the reader. This then proves that non-supernatural elements are also intended to be

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