Modernism In The Yellow Wallpaper

573 Words3 Pages

During the period of modernism, unexpected breaks in tradition occurred with viewing the world differently. The authors used literature during the modernism time to show the decay and the growing alienation of individuals. A portrayal of a restricted role in society stands reflected in Charlotte Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The protagonist knows she is limited in her role in society as she agonizes what her husband will think of her actions. By visualizing the woman behind bars she pictures herself self-consciously. To capture the reader’s attention Charlotte Gilman uses a short story demonstration fear and insanity. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Gilman uses imagery to illustrate how a limited role of a female in society can drive her insane. The house portrays the narrator's isolation. The house befalls separated from a society and “quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village” (308). We can interpret that the author describes the houses as the way society works. Women were degraded by men and society during the modernism time period. In the beginning, the earth was once …show more content…

The narrator sees, “The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out” (314). The figure leads to the narrator insanity. As the figure lurks along the walls it cannot leave for it remains trapped. Jane herself stands stuck in her role in society, therefore she relates herself to the figure. In the moonlight, the figure begins to move. She moves for the reason that, “The moon shines in all around just as the sun does. I hate to see it sometimes, it creeps so slowly, and always comes in by one window or another” (314). She stays still in the sunlight, much similar to the narrator. The narrator is restricted to lie in bed all day until nighttime when she secretly roams. The woman stuck in the wallpaper demonstrates how the narrator feels