Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator, Jane, has postpartum depression. In order to cure this depression, John, Jane’s husband and a doctor, administer the rest treatment on her. Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” through her personal experience. Along with writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” she wrote an explanation for why she wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
Finding Freedom Through Insanity: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Yellow Wallpaper The early nineteenth-century marked a time for women known as Imperial Motherhood; an era that glorified the reproductive roles of women and scaled a woman’s worth based on her ability and willingness to form unbreakable maternal bonds with her children. Relinquishing herself when she married, a woman of this era was expected to sacrifice her wants, needs, and desires not only to fulfill her obligations to her husband, but to provide selfless and attentive care for her children. Emotional reactions were highly discouraged and outbursts of anger or discontent were viewed as signs of weakness and hysteria (Theroit). During the mid-late-nineteenth century, women began to view marriage and motherhood as more of an
Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin are two of the many famous short story writers. Charlotte Perkins is the author of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, which was written in 1899. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story about a woman inclination into madness for postpartum depression while being treated by her husband, John while living in their summer mansion. The woman is locked into a nursery by her husband, which is covered in yellow wallpaper. “So we took the nursery at the top of the house.”
In stories, there are many intricate details hidden beneath the pattern of the storyline. Many things represent another, it’s part of a bigger picture. Things, such as the setting or significant items, are a vessel that authors use to add to their story. This symbolization helps show the author’s hidden message. Charlotte Stetson uses symbols and images of the setting, the woman in the wallpaper, and ripping off the wallpaper to display her thoughts and opinions in how certain people were treated back in the late 1800’s.
A World of External Silence with an Audible Mind As someone who personally struggled with mental illness, author Shannon L. Alder quotes, “Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in.” People may recall when they have been rejected by close acquaintances, but the true, shocking memories are those of rejection from friends and family. These issues strike the most in people because they try to live a fulfilling life to please friends and family, while inside, they are the ones suffering. A society that is split between equality and destruction leads to a deranged world in themselves.
Gender stereotypes have been around for centuries, dating as far back as the ancient Greeks. It was once believed that men’s lives were made up of many stages, known as the “ages of man”. These stages began with the physical and emotional maturity processes and ended with the man’s involvement in work and public affairs. However, the stages of a woman’s life were not mentioned at all. A woman was thought to be a daughter, wife or mother; either married or to be married.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" tells the tale of a nameless, sick woman who was confined to a colonial mansion's old nursery to recuperate from, as the Doctors at the end of the 19th century named it, "a slight hysterical tendency" (Teichler 1984: 61, Geilman 1997: 1-15.). As the title says, the yellow wallpaper covering the walls in this room is a vital part of the story, and as Beth Brunk-Chavez suggests in her article on Studies in Pop Culture, even if these walls "do not actually "talk", at least [they can] come alive to reveal something once hidden or papered over" (Brunk-Chavez 2003: 71, Lupton 2006: 403). This "living" wallpaper is a vital part of the main character's narration, illustrates the progress
Charlotte is a feminist, she believes in equality between men and women. Her writing reflects all of her beliefs on this topic. When she writes “The Yellow Wallpaper” it is similar to an experience in her life. This story is about a woman who is going through postpartum depression and is locked in a room till she gets over this sickness. Her brother and husband don’t want her doing anything until she is better.
How she describes her surroundings and her interactions with her family evolves as her condition worsens. By the end, the reader can truly see just how far gone the narrator has gone. The narrator’s fixation on the yellow wallpaper had gone from a slight obsession to full mental breakdown. As it is with most good stories, the presence of strong symbolism and detailed settings is a very important aspect of the story that helps to draw the reader into the story.
In the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, it shows a story about a woman struggling with depression and suffering. This story helps show readers what silencing women can do to them. Her brother and husband, both are physicians and believe they know what's best for her, which is isolating her and convincing her she is not sick. She is convinced by them even though she does not agree with what they are saying. She tries to reach out to her husband, but convinces her that she needs to rest.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story told through diary entries of a woman who suffers from postpartum depression. The narrator, whose name is never mentioned, becomes obsessed with the ugly yellow wallpaper in the summer home her husband rented for them. While at the home the Narrator studies the wallpaper and starts to believe there is a woman in the wallpaper. Her obsession with the wallpaper slowly makes her mental state deteriorate. Throughout The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses many literary devices such as symbolism, personification and imagery to help convey her message and get it across to the reader.
In the short story, “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, the story begins with the narrator starting her journal by describing the beautiful estate her husband took them to for their vacation. She describes it in romantic terms, calling it an aristocratic estate or even a haunted house. She even wonders how they were able to afford it and why the house had been empty for so long. As days go by she starts to feel that there is something strange about the situation and starts to discuss her illness, which she has called “nervous depression.” She contrasts her husband’s practical, rationalistic way of thinking with her own imaginative and sensitive ways.
Her hallucinations, in addition to her feelings of paranoia and anxiety, combine in a concerning and eerie setting of psychological
This leads me to believe that the narrator felt trapped in her own body and her own identity even. This is because her being a woman does not give her the freedom to seek help elsewhere. Especially because John is a physician lets him take control of her not only in their relationship but as a patient. Due to the fact, John does not believe she is truly sick and only has a nervous condition her credibility is almost non-existent if she were to try to explain herself to anyone because John has already discredited her as a husband, doctor, and
To be trapped in one's own mind may be the worst prison imaginable. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator of the story is constantly at battle with many different forces, such as John, her husband, the yellow wallpaper that covers the walls of her room, and ultimately herself. Throughout the story the narrator further detaches herself from her life and becomes fixated on the yellow wallpaper that surrounds her in her temporary home, slowly driving her mad. The narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a major and dynamic character as she is the main character of the story, and throughout the story her personality and ways of thinking change drastically.
