The Yellow Wallpaper & The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis In both The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, the authors develop detailed yet ambiguous stories riddled with common themes, clever symbols, fitting settings and dramatic conflict, creating classics we can not only glean from, but also enjoy as an entertaining read. When analyzed, the two short stories seem to mirror each other’s purpose through a mutual theme communicated in each story
In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” we are walked through the journal of a women who has been diagnosed, by her husband, with what he believes is merely, “temporary nervous depression” (Gilman 216). Since the protagonist’s husband, John, believes the only way she will get better is through moderate exercise, and lots of rest, they rent a house where she can have tranquility and rest until she is better (Gilman 216). At first glance “The Yellow Wallpaper” seems like a simple story
in Chopin's Story of an Hour and Gilman's Yellow Wallpaper "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman share the same view of the subordinate position of women in the late 1800's. Both stories demonstrate the devastating effects on the mind and body that result from an intelligent person living with and accepting the imposed will of another. This essay will attempt to make their themes apparent by examining a brief summery of their stories and
expectations of womanhood and implicitly rebelling against the phallocentrism of literature in the portrayal of females, Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman utilize symbolism to criticize the injustices of their time. Furthermore, through the analysis of the formalistic scope, Chopin’s narratives “The Story of an Hour” and “The Storm,” along with Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” exemplify the epitome
men.” In other words, feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Discrimination against women has been going on for decades. Donald Hall’s Literary and Cultural Theory explains that the “Key to feminist analysis is recognition of the different degrees of social power…” (199). Meaning that depending on the social power, women can be treated differently. Nevertheless, women in society are like cows; they are branded in a way where they are seen as property
1. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” to evaluate and review the role that women played in the eternal bond of marriage and also to shed light upon the fact that women of that period made none of their own decisions. Something that must be pointed out without foregoing any further analysis is that the name of the narrator is never revealed in full which, one can imagine, is a glimpse into the oppression women faced during this time