Her mind becomes an abyss of nothingness as she emulates the object she once loathed. Charlotte Perkins’ the yellow wallpaper encounters numerous levels to which it can be read. The most simple being a woman slowly being driven mas. Also showing the social structure of a family and how the male is the dominant being and what he says is expected to be obeyed. The yellow wallpaper can also be read through the eyes of phycology and the making of a mental patient, how a woman locked up and restricted from using her mind is slowly suffocated by her madness.
As an example two influential short stories will be discussed in depth in order to shed light into the lives of the two authors and their stories. The short stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) and Angela Carter (1940–1992) both sideway the same idea; the confinement of women in particular roles and positions in both personal and professional lives, posed on them by patriarchal figures. Toril Moi quotes in her examination of feministic criticism, Sexual/Textual Politics (2002), Elaine Showalter’s idea that “women writers should not be studied as a distinct group on the assumption that they write alike, or even display stylistic resemblances distinctively feminine” (Moi, 2002: 49), which comes across when reading the two stories which are stylistically already very different. It might be so that a feminist reader of both times (there’s some 80 years difference between the two stories) did not only want to see her own experiences mirrored in fiction, but strived to identify with strong, impressive female characters (Moi, 2002: 46), and looked for role-models that would instil positive sense of feminine identity by portraying women as self-actualising strong identities who were not dependent on men (Moi, 2002, 46). The two stories bring out two female characters, very different by position and character; the other a new mother, scared and confused of her own role, and the other a young newly-wed girl, still a child, being fouled by a much older man, mainly as a mark of his authority over women in general.
Arushi Ghai Ms. Meehan ENG 3U0-D October 22, 2012 Exploring Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper Influenced by women’s lives in the 1800’s A short story author of the eighteenth century, Charlotte Perkins Gilman is famous for her tough life and her personal stories such as The Yellow Wallpaper. A short story that includes gothic element, with a story of a women who has a nervous disorder and is controlled by her husband and is not allowed to do what she loves which is write. Gilman certainly proved herself as an creative writer, with the capability to create the life of a girl with issues and is depressed and unhappy. However with a closer read of the text, it becomes apparent that many of the themes and issues raised
The Feeling Perspective: A Look At Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” In the “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman writes the tale of a woman that is secluded and without activity. Moreover, that because of these things she goes mad. Gilman uses this story to show that seclusion and inactivity are harmful to a person’s mental health and that being social is one of the things that keep people sane. She uses a first-person perspective making it seem as if the woman is writing the story. In writing the story this way she can delve into the characters mindset.
With an unequal marriage and a woman which let her self-expression ruin her, was the short story "The Yellowwallpaper," a great story to talk about the theme of gender. The theme of gender also has to do with how far the story dates back which is in the 1800's, this focusing on how much pain this woman is in with no place to run. Gilman narrates the story to let the reader have a better look at what this woman is feeling and how she reacts to her surroundings. She actually turns to her husband whom which is a doctor and her companion and he dismisses the notion of her mental illness. He sort of traps her in a controlled space by taking her to a secluded house with no human contact besides her sister, Jennie, and himself who both look at her illness in the same way.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, The Yellow Wallpaper, is a story that tells the unspoken truths of women in a time when such things as depression and mental illness were not to be spoken of. This story depicts how women with depression and mental illness were hidden from public view just as unwed mothers and people with disabilities were. Gilman uses the story to show how men viewed and responded to the emotional and mental health of women and how not listening to one’s own voice can be life threatening. The main focus of Charlotte Gilman’s story is how the emotional and mental health of women can be overlooked, ignored and the dangers that such behaviors cause. In 1899, women were looked at as delicate beings that only needed rest to cure what ailments afflicted them.
In the story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins, the main character portrays a “true woman” who submissive, loyal, and faithful. She would be considered part of the cult of true womanhood. Though did all these things for her husband, John, he treated her as if she did not have any say or opinion at all, not even on her own health. John was certainly convinced that she was sick and had a nervous condition. It can be inferred that John made her obtain this nervous condition because being part of the cult of true womanhood could take a strain on one.
Monica Norris LIT2020 Jacob Kelly Coincidence or Comparison? ! Seeing and obsessing over the idea that there is a woman trapped behind ugly wallpaper is not a habit that many people would consider “normal.” Perhaps there is more behind the short story The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman .While it may seem that narrator is just a fictional, and mentally ill character, many details included in the story can be connected to the authors experiences in her real life such as the narrators mental illness, the treatments she received, and her relationships. The connection between Gilman and her character can also perhaps assist to explain why she lends herself to a feminist style of writing. !
The Yellow Wallpaper When a person thinks about wallpaper, they may think of a pretty decorate item, with pretty designs. In the case of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, her viewpoint is the complete opposite. The Yellow Wallpaper is about a woman who suffers from a nervous depression. Her husband, who is a doctor, decides to move the family to a summer rental vacation home as a rest cure for her. During her time at this home, she has a psychological breakdown, which is shown through an imaginative conversation with the wallpaper.
Alternatively john responds by telling her it "was a draught, and shut the window" (Gilman 34). Perhaps this carelessness for women contributed to the mistreatment of the female illness by just giving them drugs to cope with sickness. The narrator continuously reminds us of the social expectations of themale in relation to females. The narrator uses phrases like "one expects that" and "John says..." to reinforce male's normal actions and treatment aimed at the female population. In the face of a stiff husband and the sticky wallpaper, the narrator progresses and moves forward through the diversity.