The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses her short story “The Yellow Wall-Paper” to show how women undergo oppression by gender roles. Gilman does so by taking the reader through the terrors of one woman’s changes in mental state. The narrator in this story becomes so oppressed by her husband that she actually goes insane. The act of oppression is very obvious within the story “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and shows how it changes one’s life forever.

The "Yellow Wall Paper "by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a chilling study and experiment of mental disorder in nineteenth century. This is a story of a miserable wife, a young woman in anguish, stress surrounding her in the walls of her bedroom and under the control of her husband doctor, who had given her the treatment of isolation and rest. This short story vividly reflects both a woman in torment and oppression as well as a woman struggling for self expression. The setting of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the driving force in the story because it is the main factor that caused the narrator to go insane.

Gilman's use of narrative structure is important in depicting the fragmentation of the woman's mind. Through the course of the story sentences become increasingly choppy and paragraphs decrease in length. This concrete element of fiction illustrates the deterioration of that narrator's psychological well-being and mental surmise to the yellow wallpaper.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” a short story about a mentally ill women,written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman at age 32, in 1892 is a story with a hidden meaning and many truths. Charlotte Perkins Gilman coincidentally also had a mental illness and developed cancer leading her to kill herself in the sixties. The story begins with Jane, the mentally ill woman who feels a bit distressed, and although both of the well respected men in her life are physicians she is put simply on a “rest cure”. This rest cure as well as many symbols such as the Yellow Wallpaper, her journal, and her inevitable breakdown are prime examples of the typical life of a woman in this time period and their suppressed lives that they lived even with something as serious as a

Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's "The Yellow Wallpaper," relays to the reader something more than a simple story of a woman at the mercy of the limited medical knowledge in the late 1800 's. Gilman creates a character that expresses real emotions and a psyche that can be examined in the context of modern understanding. "The Yellow Wallpaper," written in first person and first published in 1892 in the January edition of the New England Magazine, depicts the downward spiral of depression, loss of control and competence, and feelings of worthlessness that lead to greater depression and the possibility of schizophrenia.

In the grips of depression and the restrictions prescribed by her physician husband a woman struggles with maintaining her sanity and purpose. As a new mother and a writer, and she is denied the responsibility and intellectual stimulation of these elements in her life as part of her rest cure. Her world is reduced to prison-like enforcement on her diet, exercise, sleep and intellectual activities until she is "well again". As she gives in to the restrictions and falls deeper into depression, she focuses on the wallpaper and slides towards insanity. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story written from a first-person perspective about a young woman's mental deterioration during the 1800's and

Gilman shows that the narrator is being treated like a child by the way her husband speaks and acts towards her. In the short story, John calls her “a blessed little goose”(3) and “little girl”(8). This shows he is calling her childish names as if she is a child. It can be inferred that John does not value the narrator’s opinion or what she has to say. John, also, says, “I am a doctor, dear, and I know”(8). This is like a father telling his child “I know because I know”. It shows, again, that he does not value her opinion and he thinks he is superior to her. He does not want her questioning his authority. John, also, says, “‘Bless her little heart! She shall be as sick as she pleases!’”(8). The excerpt suggests that John thinks the narrator is faking it, like a

As I started reading this short story, it clearly introduced who the characters are and where it took place. The narrator is a woman; she has no name, remains anonymous throughout the story. She lives with her husband John in a house. This house is isolated from society, since the short story indicates that it is far from village, roads or any means of communication. It also contains locks and gates throughout. The woman is ill and this illness has placed her in a weak position with her husband and everything around her. We know that she likes to write, but her husband doesn’t let her, so she does it in secret. Although this type of writing is mainly to show mild personality disorder in dealing with life,

The queering of gender roles in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman discussed through the destabilization of the gender roles of the 19th century commonly attributed to women and how the narrator threatened those through writing as a profession. The narrator is in direct opposition to the separate sphere mentality which is implemented by her husband and his sister, Jennie. Jennie is the angel of the house and the narrator is shunned to the yellow wallpaper and trapped. Her masculinity disallows her from being a woman and there is no other place for her in the society. Because of the imprisonment meant to ‘cure’ her the narrator escapes these roles through madness.

The narrator of the story is forced into a submissive role because she is confined to her room in the mansion and has all her daily needs supervised by John and their housekeeper. The narrator's mental health is not viewed in a serious manner by John, and the narrator is forced to stay away from all forms of excitement, companionship, and writing. John completely disregards his wife's opinions by not allowing her to do anything that she thinks will do herself good because he believes that he knows better. This could be contributed to the fact that the author lived in a time when women were seen as inferior to

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” both tell us that some women have a lack of independence because of being told what to do, having limitations put on their abilities, and having a family member being an authoritarian figure in their life. Both stories are very similar when discussing the lack of independence that women may have. Women are always being belittled or controlled somewhere.

The word mental illness implies different things to various individuals, yet collectively, our society’s thoughts come down to what can be bluntly put as "shun it". Charlotte Perkins Gilman, however, addresses this perception with a different approach through her short story. It revolves around the narrator, who is diagnosed with temporary nervous depression and is consequently prescribed a treatment that forbids her from doing the one thing she could do all day – write, but instead spend all her time imprisoned in a room with a disturbing wallpaper. Gilman gathered inspiration from a personal encounter with a similar mental illness due to which he was prescribed rest cure, which she found very ineffective (Gilman 669). Similar to some of today’s psychiatric hospitals’ treatment methods, Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” depicts the society’s undeveloped negative approach towards psychological sickness.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story in which the narrator is sequestered to undergo relaxation therapy. This short story, written in 1892, was considered to be controversial for its time and was based on Gilman's own experiences. It is full of symbolism and vivid imagery that highlighted the oppression of women during the 19th century and is considered to be a key feminist text. The narrator’s character draws attention to the reality that many women faced during that time. The narrator’s husband does not believe that she is sick and refuses to validate her feelings and experiences.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” to showcase the sad reality of how women are treated. The reader is introduced to the narrator and her husband John. The narrator battles with depression, but her husband thinks the illness is not serious. While staying at their summer home John picks a room for them both to stay in but the narrator feels uneasy about the room. The narrator is told to stay in the room so she can get rest and get better.

In the story, this treatment is not a rarity. Whenever the narrator attempts to discuss a serious situation, John refers to her as “his blessed little goose” or a “darling” (Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”). To relate this to the theme, these discouraging words must be analyzed and explained. For instance, the word “little” to depict the narrators heart, portrays a picture of small body matching it, like one would see an infant. This leads into his claim that she is “as sick as she pleases” (Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”). Being as sick as one pleases reflects upon the life of a young child. It mirrors the techniques of a child, in how they conjure up illnesses in order to escape unpleasing tasks. This accurately goes along with John’s diagnosis of “temporary nervous depression;” which in that time, was known as the way in which women bypassed sexual requirements and typical household maintenance. (Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”).  Within the unjust treatment and diagnosis, lies the bigger picture as well as the root of the narrator’s eventual insanity.