Literary Criticism In The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper, A Feminist Text According to Charlotte Perkins, the author behind “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the text was written in response to Silas Weir Mitchell’s infamous rest cure. The rest cure was established during the late 1800’s and prospered the most in the United Kingdom, and the United States. This cure was intended to treat neurasthenia, hysteria, and different forms of nervous illnesses, but it was ultimately used as a remedy for anorexia nervosa. Although this treatment was designed for both sexes, it alluded to women more than men. With that being said, if Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell’s rest cure were to be applied and followed today, it would most certainly cause havoc and earn a protest in response. Not only will his profession and sense of authority be questioned, but he’ll also be

Two of the most prominent symbols in the story are the narrator’s desire for writing and the yellow wallpaper. “I did write for a while in spite of them—having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition” (Gilman). Writing is the unnamed character’s weapon; it’s the only thing that makes her feel in control and independent in the prison cell that she’s in. When she writes, she has the ability to freely reflect on her feelings and emotions, easily distributing her every thought. It liberates her as a woman, whereas the wallpaper illustrates the narrator’s life. “I kept still and watched the moonlight on that undulating wallpaper till I felt creepy…the faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out” (Gilman). When she’s locked away in her room, the character analyzes every little detail on the wallpaper, trying to interpret the patterns in it. The details that she sees portray her role as a woman, going against social norms and declaring her independence from society and her husband. She is no longer inferior or