Interpretive Essay on "The Yellow Wallpaper" "The Yellow Wallpaper" tells the story of a woman living in the nineteenth century who suffers from postpartum depression. The true meaning implicit in Charlotte's story goes beyond a simple psychological speculation. The story consists of a series of cleverly constructed short paragraphs, in which the author illustrates, through the unnamed protagonist's experiences, the possible outcome of women's acceptance of men's supposed intellectual superiority. The rigid social norms of the nineteenth century, characterized by oppression and discrimination against women, are supposedly among the causes of the protagonist's depression. However, it is her husband's tyrannical attitude what ultimately …show more content…
The events that marked the last decades of the nineteenth century led to important historical changes that resulted in a wide crisis of masculinity. Economic growth and advances in technology attracted immigrants to America and soon less-skilled workers outnumbered the highly skilled ones. Men's self-making abilities were challenged by two factors: the increased competition, and the growing women's influence in the public arena. In order to fight these pressures and elevate their sense of manhood, the native-born men turned to "social Darwinist arguments that relegated blacks, immigrants and women to rungs of the evolutionary ladder below white Anglo-Saxon men" (qtd. in Furumota). Men's anxieties further increased with the public emergence of homosexuality in society. For the Middle class men, heterosexuality became a symbol of manhood, "and heterosexual men began to define themselves in opposition to anything considered feminine" (qtd. in Furumota). These factors constitute what Kimmel defines as "the central themes of American manhood at the turn of the century that masculinity was increasingly an act, a form of public display; that men felt themselves on display at virtually all times; and that the intensity of the need for such display was increasing" (Furumota). It is within this context that "The Yellow Wallpaper" takes place: a young America in which man takes risks, is confident, shines in sciences and
The yellow wallpaper involves a narrator’s battle with depression. Moving to a colonial mansion for the summer, the narrator experiences the limitations and frustrations a regular woman could go through during the 19th century. In Charlotte Gillman’s story, women are depicted as being under the control of their husbands, giving the husband full of authority on his wife’s life. In The Yellow Wallpaper the wife tells us “so I take phosphates, and air and exercise and I am absolutely
Postpartum depression is a common illness that is recognized more now days than it was in the past. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper with intentions of exposing the reality of postpartum depression. Being a feminist during her time she relayed the message through her writing. This type of illness was overlooked and not considered serious back then. The Yellow Wallpaper sums up the emotional struggle caused while suffering through this illness. The female character in the story shows signs and symptoms of postpartum depression such as: hallucinations, confused emotions, and poor physical well-being.
"The Yellow Wallpaper" is about a creative woman whose talents are suppressed by her dominant husband. His efforts to oppress her in order to keep her within society's norms of what a wife is supposed to act like, only lead to her mental destruction. He is more concerned with societal norms than the mental health of his wife. In trying to become independent and overcome her own suppressed thoughts, and her husbands false diagnosis of her; she loses her sanity. One way the story illustrates his dominance is by the way he, a well-know and
Gender roles seem to be as old as time and have undergone constant, but sometime subtle, revisions throughout generations. Gender roles can be defined as the expectations for the behaviors, duties and attitudes of male and female members of a society, by that society. The story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is a great example of this. There are clear divisions between genders. The story takes place in the late nineteenth century where a rigid distinction between the domestic role of women and the active working role of men exists (“Sparknotes”). The protagonist and female antagonists of the story exemplify the women of their time; trapped in a submissive, controlled, and isolated domestic sphere, where they are treated
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story written by the American feminist and author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The story was first published in January 1892 in the New England Magazine and is credited with being one of the first books to talk about mental health issues within females. In 1887, Gilman after battling with depression for a number of years decided to see Silas Weir Mitchell, a well respected physician at the time. Writing it off as another female feigning illness Mitchell prescribed her with the treatment that was all the rage this century called the “rest cure”. Normally prescribed to women, the “rest cure” put the patient in a sort of solitary confinement; prohibiting any type of unnecessary human contact. Following the doctor’s
To summarize, "The Yellow Wallpaper" presents the reader with an understanding of gender roles that places
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, is a fiction told in first person point of view by Jane. Jane and her physician-husband John rent a colonial mansion for the summer to treat Jane’s “temporary nervous depression.” Jane placed in a room she despised, especially the yellow
“The Yellow Wall Paper” is the story about a journey of a woman who is suffering from a nervous breakdown, descending into madness through her “rest cure” treatment. The woman is not allowed to read, write or to see her newborn baby. Charlotte Perkins Gilman captures the essence of this journey into madness by using the first person narration. The story plot’s is by taking the reader through the horrors of one woman’s neurosis to make strong statements about the oppression faced by women in their marriage roles. The narrator’s mental condition is characterized by her meeting with the wallpaper in her room. In addition to the story’s plot, the use of symbolism and irony throughout her story also show how males dominate during her time.
Masculinity has changed and evolved since the beginning of human creation. Males have had to adhere to the social norms of their time to survive without undue persecution. In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a shift in the way men could attain manhood. It was no longer easy for a man to enter into manhood with straightforward expectations and rituals. The state of manhood became difficult to obtain because of its precarious nature. During the same period, the industrial revolution was in full bloom giving birth to mass information outlets like newspapers, magazines, and advertisement: media. This set a prevailing state where boys and men alike could gain material on how to become or be men
The Yellow Wallpaper is a marvelous fiction piece that does not have a concrete ending, leaving the reader's freedom to create a suitable denouement. The novella begins with a woman who is suffering from postpartum depression. She endures thoughts and experiences that may be out of touch from reality due to her altered brain chemistry. Her husband plays an important role in the novella by conveying oppression through his actions.
The image of the Old West as been depicted by Eastern writers shows a certain demand for male audiences. During the early 20th century, the emergence and necessity of American masculinity was driven in part by the industrialized Eastern frontier. Because of the newly industrialized world, audiences believed that the Western frontier could potentially regain and re-establish a diminishing manhood. This manhood, with respect to Western literature, was a construction of dominant, sexual physique as well as assertive intuition and action. This new establishment—in the form of virility—would be expressed in a more adventurous life with assertive patriotism. The loss of the Western frontier culture was depicted by these Easterner writers as a departure of American exceptionalism. The Eastern front and its modern, industrialized being became too much for the decaying Western world to withstand.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a staple of late nineteenth-century feminism, as well as a psychological horror that views the relationship between husband and wife as domestic and active, which kept women as second class citizens. The patriarchy was adamant about keeping women at childlike states, which would only keep them from further progressing as intelligent people who are capable of facilitating relationships with their artistic careers. Men were capable of keeping their wives downtrodden by denying them the freedom of self-expression, such as John to the narrator Gilman presents throughout her story. The narrator is constantly told not to do anything that would make her illness worse, while simultaneously not being believed to be ill at all by her physician husband, John.
With the change of economy, middle class men needed a new way to identify themselves as manly. Bederman explained that this is where the image of a more muscular bigger man came into play. This image became the staple of what it meant to be manly. It no
Masculine societies, such as the United States, are hence driven by competition, accomplishment and material success – a value system
Violence against women has been a part of the social and cultural account nearly since there has been a society and culture to describe. It is a condition that has received extensive consideration from an assortment of points of view. The author 's primary reason in composing The Yellow Wallpaper is to denounce a particular medicinal treatment as well as the misogynistic standards and resulting sexual legislative issues that make such a treatment conceivable. Common couple violence, which John has done to his wife in a concealed form of bullying, has made the narrator depressed for quite a long time, resulting for her to go frantic. Communication which is occasionally done within the relationship of John and the narrator