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The protagonist of Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is the visual representation of all the things women have to endure for their freedom of thought. The protagonist is locked away in, what seems to be a psychological prison of her husband’s design. It is clear that the story is from a feminist view. This feminist approach is made clear by: the characterization of John, the writing and thoughts of the protagonist, and the environment that they are place in. If combined, these elements describe the psychological imprisonment of women, and the power that was held by men. John is a classic example of a dominating husband. John is the type of spouse who holds complete control over his wife. He treats her as a lesser being, here: “John laughs at …show more content…
“Her environment is practically like a prison” (Ahmad 1). As the protagonist begs for her husband to change the yellow wallpaper John refuses, stating “That after the wallpaper was changed next it would be the heavy bedstead, and barred windows” (958). Though the protagonist feels blocked by the gates and bars, John refuses to change them for her, he wants to keep her “imprisoned.” It is perhaps the clearest use of setting to add on to the feminist prospective. “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, lamplight, candlelight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars!” (965). The yellow wallpaper is not physically restraining her like the bars and gates are. The wallpaper represents a psychological imprisonment. All of her views are directed completely to the wallpaper. She is fascinated by it, and is incapable to pull her mental presence from the strange patterns. This all links to the image of the woman that is trapped behind the wallpaper, the protagonist’s mind is not freed until the closing of the story, when she removes the majority of the wallpaper and refuses to allow them to put her
“The Yellow Wallpaper” was a groundbreaking piece for its time. It not only expressed feministic views through the defiance of a male but also discussed mental illness and the inefficacy of medical treatment at the time. This fictional piece questioned and challenged the submissive role forced upon women of the 19th century and disclosed some of the mental struggles one might go through during this time of questing. Gilman shows however that even in the most horrific struggle to overcome male dominance, it is possible. She herself escapes which again shows a feminist empowerment to end the
In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the author utilizes setting and imagery to recommend that detaining persecution causes a kind of depression (in ladies) that can prompt a lethal type of madness. Gilman utilizes setting to propose that detaining mistreatment causes a kind of forlornness that can prompt madness. By utilizing setting, Gilman demonstrates how the banished windows increase the young woman's detaining abuse, the segregated summer home speaks to the forlornness the young woman feels, and her fantasies of the backdrop design show her move to madness. Backdrop imagery is utilized all throughout the story, the example speaking to the choking idea of the detaining abuse, the blurring yellow shading demonstrating the blurring without end of the young lady, and the floating scent speaking to the fatal madness to which she capitulates.
The windows are barred, symbolizing the restrictive nature of the narrator’s mental condition. She is imprisoned within her mind. Her room was once a nursery, symbolizing that she is helpless and dependent on her husband’s care, similar to how a parent is reliant on the care of it’s parents, “… for the windows are barred for little children,” (Gilman 2). The narrator is not only trapped by her own mind and mental condition, but her husband’s wishes and expectations as well. The most significant symbol within the story is the yellow wallpaper. Initially, the narrator only views the wallpaper as something unpleasant, but over time she becomes fascinated with it’s formless pattern and tries to figure out how it’s organized. She discovers a sub-pattern within in it in which she distinguishes as a barred change with the heads of women that have attempted to escape the wallpaper like the woman she has been “seeing” moving within the wallpaper, “And 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” (Gilman 8). The yellow wallpaper is symbolic of a women’s place in society within the nineteenth century. It was not commonplace, or deemed acceptable, for women to be financially independent and/or engage in intellectual activity. The wallpaper is symbolic of those economic, intellectual, and social restrictions women were held to, as well as the domestic lives they were expected to lead. The narrator is so restricted by these social norms that her proper name is never given within the story, her only identity is “John’s wife”. At the climax of the story, the narrator identifies completely with the woman in the wallpaper and believes that by tearing the wallpaper, both she and the woman would be freed of their domestic prisons, “…there are so many of those
As the narrator’s mental state changes so does the way she perceives things around the house. The most prominent example of this is the imagery of the wallpaper and the way the narrator’s opinion on the wallpaper slowly changes throughout the story; this directly reflects what is happening within the narrator’s mind. At the beginning of the story the narrator describes the wallpaper as “Repellent...revolting... a smoldering unclean yellow” (Gilman 377). As the story continues the narrator starts to become obsessed with the wallpaper and her opinion of it has completely changed than that of hers from the beginning. Symbolism plays a big part in “The Yellow Wallpaper” too. This short story has a multitude of symbols hidden in it but there are specific ones that stand out the most. The recurrence of the wallpaper definitely makes it a symbol. An interesting interpretation is that the wallpaper represents women, in the sense that the 18th century woman was considered almost decorative and that is exactly what the purpose of wallpaper is. Another prominent symbol that runs parallel with the wallpaper, are the women the narrator would see in the wallpaper. The women appear trapped behind bars in the paper and one could argue that the women the narrator sees represents all women of her time, continuously trapped in their gender
Gilman has stated in multiple papers that the main reason for her writing “The Yellow Wallpaper” was to shed light on her awful experience with this ‘rest cure’. However, she also managed to inject her own feminist agenda into the piece. Charlotte Perkins Gilman chose to include certain subtle, but alarming details regarding the narrator’s life as a representation of how women were treated at the time. She wants us to understand why the narrator ends up being driven to madness, or in her case, freedom. There are untold layers to this truly simple, short story just like there were many layers to Gilman
The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses aspects of the feminist theory to develop the plot as well as create an image of the time. The narrator lives in a patriarchal society where a man’s opinions are rarely, if ever questioned. Throughout the course of the story, the opinions of the narrator, a female, are not valued; men plan out every aspect of her life. The narrator is also treated as weaker than her male counterparts and is referred to using pet names, particularly those given to children. Finally, due to the previously mentioned components of her life, the narrator is confined to the attic of the mansion and it is likely that it is this confinement that drove her to insanity. The Yellow Wallpaper opposes feminist ideologies through the poor regard of the narrator, while using these same ideologies to further develop the plot.
Charlotte’s P. Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” narrates the repressive nature of the 19th century towards the female figure, and how this ignorant and superior attitude towards women led a young wife and mother to a mental breakdown. Her suppressed mind starting seeking relief by finding a meaning to the yellow wallpaper that surrounded her, reflecting in it the restrictions of her marriage and society.
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage that is not only accepted, but rather expected at this time period.... ... middle of paper ...
Men typically control the actions of women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses detailed descriptions to describe the room the narrator is confined in by saying “I lie here on this great immovable bed--it is nailed down, I believe--and follow that pattern about by the hour” (Gilman 796). This is an example of her confinement both physically and symbolically. The narrator feels physically confined in the house which leads to her feelings of isolation. The nursery is set up in a way that makes her feel more isolated from the real world “for the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls” (Gilman 793). The narrator slowly slips into insanity. With the confinement of her surroundings, the woman is gradually subjected to male oppression which is symbolic of the norm during the time period. By confining his wife to the nursery, John allows his dominance over his wife to prevail. The narrator then becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper as she feels out of control. She visualizes the pattern in the yellow wallpaper resembling a woman that is trapped just as the narrator feels trapped by the people in her life that are trying to control her. As Author Beverly A. Hume states in Managing Madness in Gilman 's 'The Yellow Wall-Paper, ' “Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's narrator evokes sympathy--not
This was one of the worst things John could have done for his wife. Locking a person alone in a room and having them nothing to do can make you go insane. John even kept his wife from seeing her baby because he claimed that she can’t take care of her child. The psychological affects this could have on a person varies and depends, but chances are it won’t be good. The narrator would also often write in her journal behind John’s back because John was very controlling and if he had found out he would stop it. John suggested that writing isn’t good for his wife and should only just sleep and get rest. This was basically prison for the narrator she had to obey John’s controlling rules because she didn’t want to upset her
...chniques that Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses in "The Yellow Wallpaper" to suggest that a type of loneliness (in women) caused by imprisoning oppression can lead to the deadliest form of insanity. By using setting, Gilman shows how the barred windows intensifies the young woman's imprisoning oppression, the isolated summer home represents the loneliness the young woman feels, and her hallucinations of the wallpaper pattern indicates her transition to insanity. Wallpaper symbolism is used throughout the story the pattern representing the strangling nature of the imprisoning oppression, the fading yellow color showing the fading away of the young woman, and the hovering smell representing the deadly insanity to which she succumbs. Like the darkness that quickly consumes, the imprisoning loneliness of oppression swallows its victim down into the abyss of insanity.
Gilman creates a horrific tone that helps explore the idea of freedom and confinement within a certain place. The story is created to follow the situation of the narrator and how slowly she begins to deteriorate psychologically due to the wallpaper. The narrator is never assigned a name, therefore it can be assumed that the story is suppose to serve as a voice for the women who have been in a similar situation and have lost their freedom and say on their own lives. However, the narrator appears to come from a wealthy family with privilege so there cannot be this idea that all women who have been through this form of depression and inequalities have experienced it in the same form. Through the use of imagery, the reader was able to understand and clearly visualize the situation in which the narrator is in and see how she has begun to slowly deteriorate, even though she is finally freed in the end of the story, or at least that is what is assumed. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is indeed a very profound image of what it was like to be a female during the 19th century while emphasizing the themes of freedom and confinement. Even though it illustrates the impact that confinement can have on a person, it restricts the situation to fit only women who had similar social backgrounds as the narrator, which is
The Yellow Wallpaper, Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is comprised as an assortment of journal entries written in first person, by a woman who has been confined to a room by her physician husband who he believes suffers a temporary nervous depression, when she is actually suffering from postpartum depression. He prescribes her a “rest cure”. The woman remains anonymous throughout the story. She becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper that surrounds her in the room, and engages in some outrageous imaginations towards the wallpaper. Gilman’s story depicts women’s struggle of independence and individuality at the rise of feminism, as well as a reflection of her own life and experiences.
In Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the author takes the reader through the terrors of a woman’s psychosis. The story convey to understatements pertaining to feminism and individuality that at the time was only idealized. Gillman illustrates her chronological descent into insanity. The narrators husband John, who is also her physician diagnosed her with “nervous depression” and therefore ordered her to isolate until she recuperates. She is not only deprived of outside contact but also of her passion to write, since it could deteriorate her condition. The central conflict of the story is person versus society; the healthy part of her, in touch with herself clashing with her internalized thoughts of her society’s expectations. In a feminist point of view the central idea pertains to the social confinement that woman undergo due to their society.
Advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men, Charlotte Perkins Gilman speaks to the “female condition” in her 1892 short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by writing about the life of a woman and what caused her to lose her sanity. The narrator goes crazy due partially to her prescribed role as a woman in 1892 being severely limited. One example is her being forbidden by her husband to “work” which includes working and writing. This restricts her from begin able to express how she truly feels. While she is forbidden to work her husband on the other hand is still able to do his job as a physician. This makes the narrator inferior to her husband and males in general. The narrator is unable to be who she wants, do what she wants, and say what she wants without her husband’s permission. This causes the narrator to feel trapped and have no way out, except through the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom.