essay on the yellow wallpaper feminist

Feminist Perspective on “The Yellow Wallpaper” Essay

Introduction, feminist critique of the yellow wallpaper, works cited.

The short play, The Yellow Wallpaper , by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is based on the lives of a chauvinistic husband and a sick wife. The over-dominating nature of the husband called John makes the environment unbearable for the mentally ill wife Jane. The wife is involuntarily imprisoned by the chauvinistic nature of her husband who would not listen to any of her suggestions. Moreover, John is quick at relating any of her ‘weak ‘ideas to mental illness. This paper presents a critique of the play The Yellow Wallpaper from a feminist perspective by applying symbolism to understand the 1800s society.

Detained in a mental prison as a result of the machination of her husband, the main protagonist Jane is deeply embodied in an unending struggle that women seeking freedom in their thoughts and actions face. The short play The Yellow Wallpaper is written figuratively to connote the gender struggle between men and women, especially in the institution of marriage. Although an open interpretation would denote a psychological thriller, it is apparent that the play was mainly a commentary on the unfortunate conditions of the women population in the 1800s. Especially, it captures the views of the author of how the then patriarchal society was hurting female freedom. For instance, the character of Jane’s chauvinist husband connotes an over-controlling person who cares very little about the thoughts of his wife. He proceeds to confine Jane in an oppressive environment against her will and would not listen to any of her suggestions (Schroder 39). In the conversations, John’s decision is final and cannot be debated by Jane. Although the wife has attempted on several occasions to confront John to change his stand, the conversations often end with the husband reaffirming an antagonist stand (Schroder 41). From a feminist perspective, John’s dominance in the conversations and decision-making on behalf of Jane is representational of female imprisonment and control by men against their will.

From the interaction between John and Jane, the husband is a typical illustration of a spouse who has mastered the art of absolute control. Specifically, he treats Jane as an inferior partner. The wife says that “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in a marriage” (Gilman 1). In the view of the husband, Jane is a partner with weird, laughable, and inconsistent ideas which should not be taken seriously. Moreover, the mockery directed at the sick wife conforms to the expectations of the patriarchal society. However, the dominance is challenged when Jane decided to take command of her thoughts. As a result, the authoritative male figure was trimmed down and he became ‘as weak as a woman’. Jane confesses, “Now why should that man have fainted” (Gilman 17). When John saw the transformation of his wife to an independent thinker, he passes out. He could not believe that a woman could challenge his decision. In this scene, Jane reversed the traditional expectations characterized by male control of the thoughts of women (Golden 23). The shock and eventual fainting of John are triggered by the desire to overexert control over his wife. The husband is determined to conform to the expectations of patriarchal society through exerting dominance in his household.

The ideas and thoughts of Jane are representative of the feminist perspective. For instance, she desires to freely express her thoughts against the barriers imposed by society. Jane is defiant and confesses that “I did write for a while in spite of them” (Gilman 1). As a woman, Jane is depressed until she regains the ability to express her feelings in the hidden journal she is writing. Although she can continue scripting in hiding, Jane is depressed by the need to conceal her activities away from the chauvinistic husband. Specifically, Jane is struggling to remain in the full care of her husband. For instance, she says “he takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful to value it more” (Gilman 2). Though the actions of the husband to pay the bills are good, Jane’s resentment is figurative of the resulting feeling of uselessness and imprisonment of the female gender (Tischleder 13). Just like other women, Jane feels the negative pressure imposed on her by society to worship the husband as a primary provider.

The entire plot of the play is exposed in a room that reminisces insanity and scorn from the perspective of a feminist. The empty and dull room is accentuated through the surrounding of Jane in thoughts and actions. For instance, her description of the room is emblematic of a prison-like environment where Jane’s requests cannot be heeded. When she requests the husband to consider repainting the walls, Jane gets a negative response from John. The husband says “that after the wall-paper was changed, it would be the heavy bedstead, and then the barred windows, and then that gate at the head of the stairs, and so on” (Gilman 3).

The unwillingness to change Jane’s environment is figurative of the desire of John to continue imprisoning her from free expression. Moreover, the description of the wallpaper is also symbolic of a psychological prison. Jane confesses that “at night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars” (Gilman 10). Across the play, Jane’s thoughts are concentrated on the wallpaper, and only gets relief when she removes it from the wall. Jane is captivated by the wallpaper to a point that she is unable to ignore the strange pattern on it. She later connected to the perceived image of a trapped woman in the background of the wallpaper (Goodman 18). Jane only gets relief after she gets rid of the paper. From a feminist perspective, the actions of Jane aimed at regaining control over thoughts and actions are representational female emancipation from the yoke of male dominance.

The Yellow Wallpaper story portrays a patriarchal society where men control the actions and thoughts of their wives. In this relationship, women are expected to take orders from men whose decisions are final. The author has expressed underlying feminist perspectives to illustrate the mental and physical hardships encountered by women during the 1800 era. These perspectives are hidden in the dominating actions of John, hidden thoughts of his wife Jane, and the room where the plot is played. However, Jane is determined to escape this prison by directing her thoughts in a hidden journal. Gilman has reflected on the psychological and physical imprisonment of the women through the symbolic use of the wallpaper, poorly painted room, and mental illness.

Gilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper . Virago, 1981.

Golden, Catherine, editor. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper: A Sourcebook and Critical Edition . Routledge, 2013.

Goodman, Lizbeth. Literature and Gender . Routledge, 2013.

Schroder, Marie. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s the Yellow Wall-Paper from a Feminist Perspective. A Woman’s Place in a Patriarchal World . GRIN Publishing, 2016.

Tischleder, Babette. The Literary Life of Things: Case Studies in American Fiction . Campus Vergal, 2014.

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“The Yellow Wallpaper” and Women’s Pain

Charlotte Gilman wrote her famous short story in response to her own experience having her pain belittled and misunderstood by a male physician.

The woman is ill, but nobody believes her. She sits in a room with yellow wallpaper, unable to convince the men around her that her suffering is real. “You see he does not believe I am sick!” she writes of her doctor husband.

That cry, uttered by the unnamed protagonist of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” could just as well be that of Abby Norman, author of Ask Me About My Uterus , or Porochista Khakpour, author of Sick . Both memoirs, published this year, focus on women whose physical symptoms are downplayed and disbelieved. And both carry uncomfortable echoes of Gilman’s creepy story.

The tale, which follows its protagonist’s slow descent into madness as she gradually discerns a woman trapped inside the yellow wallpaper of her sickroom, has long been heralded as a feminist masterpiece, a cry against the silencing patriarchy. But literary scholar Jane F. Thrailkill warns against looking too hard for those meanings in the text . Instead, she focuses on Gilman’s own insistence that medical gender distinctions hurt female patients.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” comes from Gilman’s own struggle with a “nervous disorder,” a depression for which she was treated by a physician named S. Weir Mitchell. It was a new diagnosis at the time, and when physicians treated women with complaints for which they could find no obvious source, they turned to new diagnostic techniques and treatments.

Mitchell was entirely interested in the body, not what women had to say about their own symptoms. His signature “rest cure” relied on severe restriction of the body. Patients were kept completely isolated, fed rich, creamy foods and forbidden to do any kind of activity, from reading a book to going on a walk. “Complete submission to the authority of the physician” and enforced rest were seen as part of the cure.

But Mitchell was no women’s specialist. In fact, writes Thrailkill, he honed his medical skills during the Civil War, treating soldiers who became “hysterical” or developed symptoms like phantom limbs after amputations, surgeries, and traumatic battles. As a result, Gilman was treated with what Thrailkill calls “a model of disease articulated through experience with male bodies.” Mitchell likened the strain of the nineteenth-century home to that of war and his female patients to vampires who sucked the life out of everyone around them.

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Gilman bucked hard against her treatment and Mitchell’s misogynistic reign. Nonetheless, notes Thrailkill, she shared some of his views. Like Mitchell, Gilman believed that psychological conditions were physical ones. But she used that belief to push for equality both in medical treatment and in life. Women’s brains are no different than men’s, she argued, and women should be able to sidestep a stifling home life in favor of a professional career.

Today, it’s more common for women to document their pain through memoir as opposed to fiction. Books like Sick and Ask Me About My Uterus  insist on gender parity in medicine, while also situating women’s pain within a patriarchy that stifles and silences. Thrailkill encourages readers to try reading “ The Yellow Wallpaper” literally. Gilman, she writes, wanted the story to shock readers—specifically, her own doctor—into changing their treatment of women.

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Feminism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman

How does this story reflect the challenges put forward by the first wave of feminists.

The first wave of feminism refers to the women’s movement against the societal expectations on the role of women in the middle-class and upper-class women in the 18 th century to the 20 th century. It was against the domestic role that was expected of the women. They were not to venture towards professional fields. It was a movement against the male dominated society. The challenges faced by the feminists were the men or husbands in the society. The second challenge was the societal expectations. In the Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator is expected to be the perfect wife by the husband and not get involved in a writing career.

Gilman seems to critique the role and place of women in western cultures at the turn of the century (1900). How does she seem to view the role of women of this period?

The women in the nineteenth century were expected to be wives and mothers. That was their role. In the society, the men were involved in the public sphere, as leaders, businessmen and in the entertainment industry. The women at this time who ventured into the public domain were looked down on. They were even considered as prostitutes. Gilman saw the women at this time as trapped in cages by the societal norms and the men.

However, the women would after a while struggle and come out of these man-made cages. John in the novel represents the males in the society. While the narrator of the story represents the women in the society. When the narrator tells her husband that she wants to write, her husband forbids her from writing. He expects her to perform her wifely duties and not venture into the public domain. She is forced to write secretly in her journal. The writer herself had a passion for writing. She left her first husband and moved to California where she started writing.

Who is the woman behind the yellow-wallpaper trying to get out? Why does she creep around at night? there is also mention of creeping at the end of the story. what does the creeping seem to signify?

The woman behind the yellow wallpaper presents the narrator and all the women in the society trapped by the societal expectations. The woman’s creeping presents the uprising of the women’s feminist movement. Feminism fights for women to have the same opportunities as the men in the every role in the society be it in the professional or political environment. It goes against the societal and patriarchal power structure in the society. Where there is a deficiency in the societal treatment of the women verses the men, the feminists point it out.

The way John treated his wife was considered normal in the 19 th century. However as we read the story in the 20 th century, John’s treatment is repressive and controlling. John believes he is helping his wife however what he is doing is destroying her. With no outlet for her imaginative and creative self, she is driven to madness. She starts imagining things and women in the house creeping all over. The feminists saw the danger of the repression of the women and spoke out for the women’s rights.

The yellow wallpaper represents the male authority in the society. Due to his repressive nature, the woman in the society is struggling to come out. The wallpaper is used symbolically. First of all its stench fills the house showing the injustice against the women that exists at that time. The yellow paper stains the woman’s clothes and other things in the house. This symbolizes the way the discrimination against women is continued in every generation through the passing of the society’s expectations from the father to the son.

The ending is ambiguous. It is difficult to say whether the heroine is empowered at the end, or if she’s just plain nuts. What do you think happened in the end? Who holds the final power in the final situation, the husband or the wife?

The narrator goes mad at the end of the story. This means at the end if male domination is left to continue in the society, they will be terrible repercussions. The women will indeed become depressed due to repressed talents and gifts. The narrator sees women being choked. This shows the women’s careers and goals being crushed by the society. The woman creeping symbolizes a woman who cannot yet be an individual.

She operated behind the women. However it is the first step in gaining victory over the societal expectations. When the main character tears the yellow paper, it shows the woman realizes the importance of her freedom. When the story started, the yellow wallpaper was something she was interested in. After a while she senses the danger of the paper. At the end she tears the paper and creeps above her husband signifying the triumph of the woman over the male authority. However, even though she tears the paper, some remains on the wall. It shows that the feminist movement has begun however there is still a lot to be done to ensure equality in social and economic sectors in the society.

The solution in ending the discrimination against the women lies in the woman. She has to stop conforming to the societal expectations and break free. She has to take bold steps and break free. The woman describes the house as an old house, having a gothic appearance. This symbolizes that the people should leave the out-dated practices and treatment of women.

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Analysis of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by C. Perkins Gilman

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Like Kate Chopin's " The Story of an Hour ," Charlotte Perkins Gilman's " The Yellow Wallpaper " is a mainstay of feminist literary study. First published in 1892, the story takes the form of secret journal entries written by a woman who is supposed to be recovering from what her husband, a physician, calls a nervous condition.

This haunting psychological horror story chronicles the narrator's descent into madness, or perhaps into the paranormal, or perhaps—depending on your interpretation—into freedom. The result is a story as chilling as anything by Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King .

Recovery Through Infantilization

The protagonist's husband, John, does not take her illness seriously. Nor does he take her seriously. He prescribes, among other things, a "rest cure," in which she is confined to their summer home, mostly to her bedroom.

The woman is discouraged from doing anything intellectual, even though she believes some "excitement and change" would do her good. She is allowed very little company—certainly not from the "stimulating" people she most wishes to see. Even her writing must happen in secret.

In short, John treats her like a child. He calls her diminutive names like "blessed little goose" and "little girl." He makes all decisions for her and isolates her from the things she cares about.

Even her bedroom is not the one she wanted; instead, it's a room that appears to have once been a nursery, emphasizing her return to infancy. Its "windows are barred for little children," showing again that she is being treated as a child—as well as a prisoner.

John's actions are couched in concern for the woman, a position that she initially seems to believe herself. "He is very careful and loving," she writes in her journal, "and hardly lets me stir without special direction." Her words also sound as if she is merely parroting what she's been told, though phrases like "hardly lets me stir" seem to harbor a veiled complaint.

Fact Versus Fancy

John dismisses anything that hints of emotion or irrationality—what he calls "fancy." For instance, when the narrator says that the wallpaper in her bedroom disturbs her, he informs her that she is letting the wallpaper "get the better of her" and refuses to remove it.

John doesn't simply dismiss things he finds fanciful though; he also uses the charge of "fancy" to dismiss anything he doesn't like. In other words, if he doesn't want to accept something, he simply declares that it is irrational.

When the narrator tries to have a "reasonable talk" with him about her situation, she is so distraught that she is reduced to tears. Instead of interpreting her tears as evidence of her suffering, he takes them as evidence that she is irrational and can't be trusted to make decisions for herself.

As part of his infantilization of her, he speaks to her as if she is a whimsical child, imagining her own illness. "Bless her little heart!" he says. "She shall be as sick as she pleases!" He does not want to acknowledge that her problems are real, so he silences her.

The only way the narrator could appear rational to John would be to become satisfied with her situation, which means there is no way for her to express concerns or ask for changes.

In her journal, the narrator writes:

"John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him."

John can't imagine anything outside his own judgment. So when he determines that the narrator's life is satisfactory, he imagines that the fault lies with her perception. It never occurs to him that her situation might really need improvement.

The Wallpaper

The nursery walls are covered in putrid yellow wallpaper with a confused, eerie pattern. The narrator is horrified by it.

She studies the incomprehensible pattern in the wallpaper, determined to make sense of it. But rather than making sense of it, she begins to identify a second pattern—that of a woman creeping furtively behind the first pattern, which acts as a prison for her.

The first pattern of the wallpaper can be seen as the societal expectations that hold women, like the narrator, captive. Her recovery will be measured by how cheerfully she resumes her domestic duties as wife and mother, and her desire to do anything else—like write—is something that would interfere with that recovery.

Though the narrator studies and studies the pattern in the wallpaper, it never makes any sense to her. Similarly, no matter how hard she tries to recover, the terms of her recovery—embracing her domestic role—never make sense to her, either.

The creeping woman can represent both victimization by the societal norms and resistance to them.

This creeping woman also gives a clue about why the first pattern is so troubling and ugly. It seems to be peppered with distorted heads with bulging eyes—the heads of other creeping women who were strangled by the pattern when they tried to escape it. That is, women who couldn't survive when they tried to resist cultural norms. Gilman writes that "nobody could climb through that pattern—it strangles so."

Becoming a Creeping Woman

Eventually, the narrator becomes a creeping woman herself. The first indication is when she says, rather startlingly, "I always lock the door when I creep by daylight." Later, the narrator and the creeping woman work together to pull off the wallpaper.

The narrator also writes, "[T]here are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast," implying that the narrator is only one of many.

That her shoulder "just fits" into the groove on the wall is sometimes interpreted to mean that she has been the one ripping the paper and creeping around the room all along. But it could also be interpreted as an assertion that her situation is no different from that of many other women. In this interpretation, "The Yellow Wallpaper" becomes not just a story about one woman's madness, but a maddening system.

At one point, the narrator observes the creeping women from her window and asks, "I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?"

Her coming out of the wallpaper—her freedom—coincides with a descent into mad behavior: ripping off the paper, locking herself in her room, even biting the immovable bed. That is, her freedom comes when she finally reveals her beliefs and behavior to those around her and stops hiding.

The final scene—in which John faints and the narrator continues to creep around the room, stepping over him every time—is disturbing but also triumphant. Now John is the one who is weak and sickly, and the narrator is the one who finally gets to determine the rules of her own existence. She is finally convinced that he only "pretended to be loving and kind." After being consistently infantilized by his comments, she turns the tables on him by addressing him condescendingly, if only in her mind, as "young man."

John refused to remove the wallpaper, and in the end, the narrator used it as her escape. 

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General Education

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" tells the story of a young woman’s gradual descent into psychosis. " The Yellow Wallpaper" is often cited as an early feminist work that predates a woman’s right to vote in the United States. The author was involved in first-wave feminism, and her other works questioned the origins of the subjugation of women, particularly in marriage. "

The Yellow Wallpaper" is a widely read work that asks difficult questions about the role of women, particularly regarding their mental health and right to autonomy and self-identity. We’ll go over The Yellow Wallpaper summary, themes and symbols, The Yellow Wallpaper analysis, and some important information about the author.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" Summary

"The Yellow Wallpaper" details the deterioration of a woman's mental health while she is on a "rest cure" on a rented summer country estate with her family. Her obsession with the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom marks her descent into psychosis from her depression throughout the story.

The narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" begins the story by discussing her move to a beautiful estate for the summer. Her husband, John, is also her doctor , and the move is meant in part to help the narrator overcome her “illness,” which she explains as nervous depression, or nervousness, following the birth of their baby. John’s sister, Jennie, also lives with them and works as their housekeeper.

Though her husband believes she will get better with rest and by not worrying about anything, the narrator has an active imagination and likes to write . He discourages her wonder about the house, and dismisses her interests. She mentions her baby more than once, though there is a nurse that cares for the baby, and the narrator herself is too nervous to provide care.

The narrator and her husband move into a large room that has ugly, yellow wallpaper that the narrator criticizes. She asks her husband if they can change rooms and move downstairs, and he rejects her. The more she stays in the room, the more the narrator’s fascination with the hideous wallpaper grows.

After hosting family for July 4th, the narrator expresses feeling even worse and more exhausted. She struggles to do daily activities, and her mental state is deteriorating. John encourages her to rest more, and the narrator hides her writing from him because he disapproves.

In the time between July 4th and their departure, the narrator is seemingly driven insane by the yellow wallpaper ; she sleeps all day and stays up all night to stare at it, believing that it comes alive, and the patterns change and move. Then, she begins to believe that there is a woman in the wallpaper who alters the patterns and is watching her.

A few weeks before their departure, John stays overnight in town and the narrator wants to sleep in the room by herself so she can stare at the wallpaper uninterrupted. She locks out Jennie and believes that she can see the woman in the wallpaper . John returns and frantically tries to be let in, and the narrator refuses; John is able to enter the room and finds the narrator crawling on the floor. She claims that the woman in the wallpaper has finally exited, and John faints, much to her surprise.

Background on "The Yellow Wallpaper"

The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was a lecturer for social reform, and her beliefs and philosophy play an important part in the creation of "The Yellow Wallpaper," as well as the themes and symbolism in the story. "The Yellow Wallpaper" also influenced later feminist writers.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, known as Charlotte Perkins Stetsman while she was married to her first husband, was born in Hartford, CT in 1860. Young Charlotte was observed as being bright, but her mother wasn’t interested in her education, and Charlotte spent lots of time in the library.

Charlotte married Charles Stetsman in 1884, and her daughter was born in 1885. She suffered from serious postpartum depression after giving birth to their daughter, Katharine. Her battle with postpartum depression and the doctors she dealt with during her illness inspired her to write "The Yellow Wallpaper."

The couple separated in 1888, the year that Perkins Gilman wrote her first book, Art Gems for the Home and Fireside. She later wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" in 1890, while she was in a relationship with Adeline Knapp, and living apart from her legal husband. "The Yellow Wallpaper" was published in 1892, and in 1893 she published a book of satirical poetry , In This Our World, which gained her fame.

Eventually, Perkins Gilman got officially divorced from Stetsman, and ended her relationship with Knapp. She married her cousin, Houghton Gilman, and claimed to be satisfied in the marriage .

Perkins Gilman made a living as a lecturer on women’s issues, labor issues, and social reform . She toured Europe and the U.S. as a lecturer, and founded her own magazine, The Forerunner.

Publication

"The Yellow Wallpaper" was first published in January 1892 in New England Magazine.

During Perkins Gilman's lifetime, the role of women in American society was heavily restricted both socially and legally. At the time of its publication, women were still twenty-six years away from gaining the right to vote .

This viewpoint on women as childish and weak meant that they were discouraged from having any control over their lives. Women were encouraged or forced to defer to their husband’s opinions in all aspects of life , including financially, socially, and medically. Writing itself was revolutionary, since it would create a sense of identity, and was thought to be too much for the naturally fragile women.

Women's health was a particularly misunderstood area of medicine, as women were viewed as nervous, hysterical beings, and were discouraged from doing anything to further “upset” them. The prevailing wisdom of the day was that rest would cure hysteria, when in reality the constant boredom and lack of purpose likely worsened depression .

Perkins Gilman used her own experience in her first marriage and postpartum depression as inspiration for The Yellow Wallpaper, and illustrates how a woman’s lack of autonomy is detrimental to her mental health.

Upon its publication, Perkins Gilman sent a copy of "The Yellow Wallpaper" to the doctor who prescribed her the rest cure for her postpartum depression.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" Characters

Though there are only a few characters in the story, they each have an important role. While the story is about the narrator’s mental deterioration, the relationships in her life are essential for understanding why and how she got to this point.

The Narrator

The narrator of the story is a young, upper-middle-class woman. She is imaginative and a natural writer, though she is discouraged from exploring this part of herself. She is a new mother and is thought to have “hysterical tendencies” or suffer from nervousness. Her name may be Jane but it is unclear.

John is the narrator’s husband and her physician. He restricts her activity as a part of her treatment. John is extremely practical, and belittles the narrator's imagination and feelings . He seems to care about her well-being, but believes he knows what is best for her and doesn't allow her input.

Jennie is John’s sister, who works as a housekeeper for the couple. Jennie seems concerned for the narrator, as indicated by her offer to sleep in the yellow wallpapered room with her. Jennie seems content with her domestic role .

Main Themes of "The Yellow Wallpaper"

From what we know about the author of this story and from interpreting the text, there are a few themes that are clear from a "Yellow Wallpaper" analysis. "The Yellow Wallpaper" was a serious piece of literature that addressed themes pertinent to women.

Women's Role in Marriage

Women were expected to be subordinate to their husbands and completely obedient, as well as take on strictly domestic roles inside the home . Upper middle class women, like the narrator, may go for long periods of time without even leaving the home. The story reveals that this arrangement had the effect of committing women to a state of naïveté, dependence, and ignorance.

John assumes he has the right to determine what’s best for his wife, and this authority is never questioned. He belittles her concerns, both concrete and the ones that arise as a result of her depression , and is said so brush her off and “laugh at her” when she speaks through, “this is to be expected in marriage” He doesn’t take her concerns seriously, and makes all the decisions about both of their lives.

As such, she has no say in anything in her life, including her own health, and finds herself unable to even protest.

Perkins Gilman, like many others, clearly disagreed with this state of things, and aimed to show the detrimental effects that came to women as a result of their lack of autonomy.

Identity and Self-Expression

Throughout the story, the narrator is discouraged from doing the things she wants to do and the things that come naturally to her, like writing. On more than one occasion, she hurries to put her journal away because John is approaching .

She also forces herself to act as though she’s happy and satisfied, to give the illusion that she is recovering, which is worse. She wants to be a good wife, according to the way the role is laid out for her, but struggles to conform especially with so little to actually do.

The narrator is forced into silence and submission through the rest cure, and desperately needs an intellectual and emotional outlet . However, she is not granted one and it is clear that this arrangement takes a toll.

The Rest Cure

The rest cure was commonly prescribed during this period of history for women who were “nervous.” Perkins Gilman has strong opinions about the merits of the rest cure , having been prescribed it herself. John’s insistence on the narrator getting “air” constantly, and his insistence that she do nothing that requires mental or physical stimulation is clearly detrimental.

The narrator is also discouraged from doing activities, whether they are domestic- like cleaning or caring for her baby- in addition to things like reading, writing, and exploring the grounds of the house. She is stifled and confined both physically and mentally, which only adds to her condition .

Perkins Gilman damns the rest cure in this story, by showing the detrimental effects on women, and posing that women need mental and physical stimulation to be healthy, and need to be free to make their own decisions over health and their lives.

The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis: Symbols and Symbolism

Symbols are a way for the author to give the story meaning, and provide clues as to the themes and characters. There are two major symbols in "The Yellow Wallpaper."

The Yellow Wallpaper

This is of course the most important symbol in the story. The narrator is immediately fascinated and disgusted by the yellow wallpaper, and her understanding and interpretation fluctuates and intensifies throughout the story.

The narrator, because she doesn’t have anything else to think about or other mental stimulation, turns to the yellow wallpaper as something to analyze and interpret. The pattern eventually comes into focus as bars, and then she sees a woman inside the pattern . This represents feeling trapped.

At the end of the story, the narrator believes that the woman has come out of the wallpaper. This indicates that the narrator has finally merged fully into her psychosis , and become one with the house and domesticated discontent.

Though Jennie doesn’t have a major role in the story, she does present a foil to the narrator. Jennie is John’s sister and their housekeeper, and she is content, or so the narrator believes, to live a domestic life. Though she does often express her appreciation for Jennie’s presence in her home, she is clearly made to feel guilty by Jennie’s ability to run the household unencumbered .

Irony in The Yellow Wallpaper

"The Yellow Wallpaper" makes good use of dramatic and situational irony. Dramatic literary device in which the reader knows or understands things that the characters do not. Situational irony is when the character’s actions are meant to do one thing, but actually do another. Here are a few examples.

For example, when the narrator first enters the room with the yellow wallpaper, she believes it to be a nursery . However, the reader can clearly see that the room could have just as easily been used to contain a mentally unstable person.

The best example of situational irony is the way that John continues to prescribe the rest-cure, which worsens the narrator's state significantly. He encourages her to lie down after meals and sleep more, which causes her to be awake and alert at night, when she has time to sit and evaluate the wallpaper.

The Yellow Wallpaper Summary

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is one of the defining works of feminist literature. Writing about a woman’s health, mental or physical, was considered a radical act at the time that Perkins Gilman wrote this short story. Writing at all about the lives of women was considered at best, frivolous, and at worst dangerous. When you take a look at The Yellow Wallpaper analysis, the story is an important look into the role of women in marriage and society, and it will likely be a mainstay in the feminist literary canon.

What's Next?

Looking for more expert guides on literary classics? Read our guides on The Cask of Amontillado and The Great Gatsby .

Need important and interesting quotes? Check out these 18 To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes and 9 Great Mark Twain Quotes .

For help analyzing literature and writing essays , read our expert guide on imagery , literary elements , and writing an argumentative essay .

Carrie holds a Bachelors in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, and is currently pursuing an MFA. She worked in book publishing for several years, and believes that books can open up new worlds. She loves reading, the outdoors, and learning about new things.

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Escaping Unjust Gender Stereotypes in “The Yellow Wallpaper”

By chicks47

Charlotte Perkins Gilman once stated, “In a sick society, women who have difficulty fitting in are not ill, but demonstrating a healthy and positive response.” “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a revolutionary story for feminists in the 1900s working to exterminate negative gender stereotypes. In that time period, women were given little to no rights and expected to submissively fill the domestic roles of the household. Throughout the entire story, the oppressive gender roles are shown as the woman is controlled by the male authority figures of her husband and brother who hold high positions in society as physicians. Her husband, John, is extremely controlling and determines what she can do in her free time, where she can sleep, and who she can see with little regard to her opinion. This story gave a new perspective to women, demonstrating the ability of women to form their own identities and break away from suffocating restrictions. Overall, Gilman utilizes the comparison of light versus dark, uncomplicated syntax, and suffocating symbolism to demonstrate the entrapment felt by women in that era. This was done in order to enact change for future differences in society’s standards and to educate the readers on the unjust conditions faced by women.

First, the comparison of light versus dark acts as a recurrent theme throughout the story. As the woman lives in the house she becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom. Following this, she begins to notice how the pattern of the wallpaper changes with different lightings and sees a woman in the wallpaper. When describing the difference in the wallpaper she states, “Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard” (para. 189). The difference in the movement of the women in the wallpaper in the light versus the dark depicts the need for women to hide in the light then becoming bolder in the dark. This is shown to be true in the late 1800s for women as they were not permitted to speak out against men or go against the social order of male dominance. This led to women working in secret and meeting at night to enact change. Also, as the wife starts to notice the increased activity of the woman in the wallpaper at night, it acts as a major turning point in the story as it solidifies her obsession with the wallpaper. She then ends up spending hours at a time staring and memorizing the wallpaper while looking for patterns.

Second, the simple syntax and diction hold an impactful role to the story as they solidify the lack of education held by women of that era. This is shown through the lack of complexity in the woman’s adjectives. She utilizes words such as, “great,” “bright,” and “shady.” Comparatively, Jon elicits more elaborate descriptions with words such as, “dangerous” and fascinating.” This demonstrates the priority held for men to be educated over women as it was seen as unnecessary for women to have an education. Additionally, when describing events in her journal, she uses very basic jargon and simple actions with little detail. For example, she states, “she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard” (para. 190). Furthermore, the uncomplicated diction fuels the childlike comparisons often given to the wife by her husband, John. For example, many degrading pet names are given to the wife such as, “little girl” and “blessed little goose” (para. 131, para. 56). Overall, the lack of complexity makes the reader question the reliability of the journal entries and cements women’s role in society as they were not offered opportunities to educate themselves.

Finally, the entire story is illustrated by the suffocating symbolism of the woman behind the yellow wallpaper. She is trying to escape which represents women trying to be free of oppressive gender standards created by society that men control women. Throughout the story the woman is shown to creep and crawl around, looking for a way to get out of the wallpaper. However, she is constantly obstructed by the top pattern of the wallpaper. For instance, at one point the narrator notes that “She is all the time trying to climb through. But nobody could climb through that pattern- it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads. They get through, and then the pattern strangles them off and turns them upside-down and makes their eyes white!” (paras. 191-192). This demonstrates the immobilizing effect that trying to escape has on women. If any woman tries to free themselves of men’s control they would lose everything, their family, reputation, and respect. Ergo, as women try to liberate themselves from restrictive gender roles that limit the abilities and identities of women, they are persecuted by masculine authority. The end of the story acts as an immense revelation made by the woman as she rips off all of the wallpaper. This symbolizes her going against what her husband wants and rejecting gender norms in order to be able to form her own personality and pursue her own desires.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” was able to initiate immense change for women of the twentieth century as they broke away from the patriarchal expectations. The story instigated the idea of women being able to express their individuality after escaping their forced, domestic lifestyles. Women of that era were expected to submissively obey their husbands while running the household. The contrast of light and dark throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” demonstrated the need for women to hide their true selves in the light from society’s judgment, limiting the personal growth of women. However, in the darkness, women were able to express themselves and work to break free from the dominating, masculine imprisonment. Additionally, the plain syntax illustrated the role of women in society as they were not offered education and expected to solely take care of their families. Finally, the smothering symbolism of the wallpaper highlights the entrapment felt by women as they are controlled by men and society’s standards. Then by tearing off the wallpaper, the woman asserts her freedom to express herself as an individual, instead of continuing to act as her husband’s property. “The Yellow Wallpaper” remains extremely relevant today as women continue to work to gain equal rights as men. The constant struggle for equality of women in the workforce and for equal opportunities is still heavily prevalent today. The story progressively promotes women to fight against gender oppression and find fulfillment in their unique identities.

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“A school for Russia’s young offenders | DW Documentary.” YouTube, uploaded by DW Documentary, 4 Feb. 2019, https://youtu.be/qx46iJsEm70

“A Step Saving Kitchen, 1949.” YouTube, uploaded by US National Archives, 5 May 2014, https://youtu.be/2N9RCQjPqh4

“Chain Break.” YouTube, uploaded by Jeff Hamm, 13 Aug. 2014,   https://youtu.be/PantVXVEVUg

Creative Commons for free and fair reuse

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins.  “The Yellow Wallpaper.”  Sakai, ENGL 105.079.FA20 , posted by Paul Blom, 31 July 2020.  Originally published in The New England Magazine , 1892.

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“How to Daily Journal // tips & tricks to journal everyday & improve your mental health.” YouTube, uploaded by Kaitlyn Films, 15 July 2019, https://youtu.be/VnMlA-schJI

“i was born and raised in prison.” YouTube, uploaded by My Story Animated, 16 Oct. 2019, https://youtu.be/LY13Fld18VA

Mozart, Wolfgang. “6 Hours Mozart for Studying, Concentration, Relaxation.” YouTube , uploaded by HALIDONMUSIC, 10 Jan. 2018, https://youtu.be/jgpJVI3tDbY

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Wallpapered: An Examination of Femininity Christina Fallon

Christina Fallon's recent work explores the history of wallpaper through a feminist perspective. Inspired by Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," Wallpapered: An Examination of Femininity focuses on the art of printmaking as a domestic form of communication. A feminist perspective is applied through themes of sisterhood, motherhood, and societal expectations placed upon women, past and present.

Christina Fallon, 22, is a visual artist who primarily works with printmaking mediums to explore themes of femininity, domestic life, and childhood. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in a northern suburb. Christina is now based in Amherst, MA, where she will be graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in May 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and a self-designed Bachelor’s degree in Arts Marketing. Coming from an Irish Catholic family, Christina attended Catholic school for the majority of her education, which often shapes her work. The women in her life, including mothers, sisters, and childhood friends, are her strongest sources of influence. She has favored silkscreen, intaglio, and photomechanical printmaking processes, often incorporating other mediums such as photography, painting, and charcoal.

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — The Yellow Wallpaper

Essays on The Yellow Wallpaper

If you're looking for a fascinating topic for your next essay, look no further than "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman! 📚 This classic piece of literature offers a treasure trove of themes and insights that will keep your readers hooked. Exploring the eerie, mysterious world of the story, its historical context, and the author's intentions can lead to an exceptional essay that will impress your teachers and peers alike. Let's dive into the madness together! 🌼

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Topics for "The Yellow Wallpaper" 📝

Choosing the perfect topic for your essay is essential to ensure you have an engaging and well-researched piece. Here are some tips to help you pick the right one:

The Yellow Wallpaper Argumentative Essay 🤨

An argumentative essay on "The Yellow Wallpaper" requires you to take a stance on a particular issue within the story. Some great topics include:

• 1. The portrayal of women's mental health in the 19th century
• 2. The role of gender in the story's confinement theme
• 3. Was John, the husband, truly a villain?

The Yellow Wallpaper Cause and Effect Essay 🤯

Exploring cause and effect relationships can be captivating. Consider these topics:

• 1. The consequences of isolation on the protagonist's mental state
• 2. How societal norms led to the narrator's decline
• 3. The impact of the wallpaper on the narrator's descent into madness

The Yellow Wallpaper Opinion Essay 😌

Express your personal opinions and interpretations with these essay topics:

• 1. Your take on the narrator's relationship with the wallpaper
• 2. Analyze the symbolism of the room's colors according to your perspective
• 3. Why the story remains relevant in today's society

The Yellow Wallpaper Informative Essay 🧐

Inform and educate your readers with these informative essay topics:

• 1. The historical context of women's mental health treatment in the 19th century
• 2. The life and influences of Charlotte Perkins Gilman
• 3. Psychological analysis of the protagonist's descent into madness

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Example 📄

The yellow wallpaper thesis statement examples 📜.

Here are five examples of strong thesis statements for your essay:

• 1. "In 'The Yellow Wallpaper,' Charlotte Perkins Gilman portrays the damaging effects of the patriarchy on women's mental health, highlighting the need for autonomy and self-expression."
• 2. "The symbolism of the yellow wallpaper reflects the protagonist's struggle for freedom and individuality in a repressive society."
• 3. "John's well-intentioned but oppressive actions towards his wife ultimately drive her to madness in 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Introduction Examples 🚀

Here are three captivating introduction paragraphs to get your essay off to a strong start:

• 1. "In the eerie world of 'The Yellow Wallpaper,' Charlotte Perkins Gilman delves into the dark corners of a woman's mind trapped by the societal norms of the 19th century."
• 2. "Step into the room with peeling yellow wallpaper and follow the chilling descent into madness as we analyze Charlotte Perkins Gilman's masterpiece."
• 3. "The haunting atmosphere of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' draws readers into a world of confinement, madness, and feminist defiance."

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Conclusion Examples 🌟

Conclude your essay with impact using these examples:

• 1. "In conclusion, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' serves as a powerful critique of a society that stifled women's voices and autonomy, urging us to recognize the importance of mental health and individuality."
• 2. "As the last layer of wallpaper is torn away, we unveil the disturbing truth of societal oppression. 'The Yellow Wallpaper' reminds us that silence can lead to madness, and it is time to break free."
• 3. "In the end, the yellow wallpaper's patterns mirror the complexities of the human mind, offering a chilling reflection of the societal constraints that once confined women. Gilman's work will continue to resonate as a symbol of rebellion and empowerment."

Charlotte Perkins Gilmans "The Yellow Wallpaper"

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Men and Women in The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour

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The Importance of The Point of View in The Yellow Wallpaper

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Literary Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman

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1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Short story; Psychological fiction, Gothic literature

The Woman in the Wallpaper, John, Mary, Narrator, Jennie

Based on the theme of madness and being powerless. According to an article in Forerunner magazine’s publication in 1913, The Yellow Wallpaper has been loosely based on the author's own mental illness that she has been going through because of postpartum depression.

Feminism, madness, loneliness, isolation, mental illness , fear, postpartum depression.

It has been influenced by early feminism and gender relations in late 19th-century America. It also deals with the mental breakdown and the postpartum depression, loneliness, and isolation. The Yellow Wallpaper became a symbol of a mental disease and the covering of female loneliness and lack of help after becoming a mother.

It tells a story about a woman who is obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her room, which is a symbol of falling into psychosis as a result of depression. As the protagonist is placed on a special "cure" at the rented summer estate with her family, she becomes isolated and slowly becomes insane. The Yellow Wallpaper plot shows the structure of domestic life through the lens of madness and the early feminism outlook.

The book has been written by Gilman to persuade her physician that his ways have been wrong. The "Yellow Wallpaper" has been a helping grace for many other women to escape insanity. Some publishers believed that this story was too depressing and rejected to publish it. It is one of the earliest feminism-related stories ever published. Hysteria was among the most frequent diagnoses that was common for women in the 19th century. Gilman has never been paid for her initial publication of the story. Gilman has testified before Congress in favor of woman suffrage at the 1896 Hearing of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

“But I MUST say what I feel and think in some way — it is such a relief! But the effort is getting to be greater than the relief.” “I never saw a worse paper in my life. One of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin.” “You think you have mastered it, but just as you get well underway in following, it turns a back-somersault and there you are. It slaps you in the face, knocks you down, and tramples upon you. It is like a bad dream.” “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” “I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.”

The culmination of this short story is so-called "rest-cure" of the Victorian times that has been meant to cure hysteria, loneliness, sadness, or any nervous condition in women living in those times.

It is an important work of art that brings up the issue of a mental breakdown that has been ignored in the 19th century. It also speaks of gender relations and the postpartum depression treatment where the men do not see any problem and choose to ignore it. As the story with the relative feminism and the use of symbols, it is a poignant story that is both disturbing and sincere to explain that the problem of depression and a mental breakdown does exist. As the essay topic, it is used to explain the gender relations and the domestic life of women.

1. Gilman, C. P. (2011). Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper?. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/why-i-wrote-the-yellow-wallpaper/9F0803493F9D522712BB4B31BA5CCDC2 Advances in psychiatric treatment, 17(4), 265-265. 2. Lanser, S. S. (1989). Feminist criticism," The Yellow Wallpaper," and the politics of color in America. Feminist Studies, 15(3), 415-441. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3177938) 3. Shumaker, C. (1985). Too terribly good to be printed": Charlotte Gilman's" The Yellow Wallpaper. American Literature, 57(4), 588-599. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2926354) 4. Davison, C. M. (2004). Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Women's Studies, 33(1), 47-75. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00497870490267197) 5. Oakley, A. (1997). Beyond the yellow wallpaper. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968808097900835 Reproductive Health Matters, 5(10), 29-39. 6. Hume, B. A. (1991). Gilman's" interminable grotesque": The Narrator of" The Yellow Wallpaper". Studies in Short Fiction, 28(4), 477. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/03ec7eec8bbc6db59ba8fa48aff47def/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1820858) 7. Hume, B. A. (2002). Managing Madness in Gilman's" The Yellow Wall-Paper". Studies in American Fiction, 30(1), 3-20. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/439664/summary) 8. Johnson, G. (1989). Gilman's Gothic Allegory: Rage and Redemption in The Yellow Wallpaper. Studies in Short Fiction, 26(4), 521. (https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/facpubs/1938/) 9. Bak, J. S. (1994). Escaping the jaundiced eye: Foucauldian Panopticism in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's" The Yellow Wallpaper.". Studies in Short Fiction, 31(1), 39-47. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA15356232&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00393789&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E2783693e)

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