Preview

Oppression In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1519 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oppression In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper
At first glance, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper may seem to be a fairly simplistic text, which outlines a woman’s struggles with postpartum depression; however, with greater investigation, it can be determined that a deeper meaning is present. The Yellow Wall-Paper, with further analysis, can be interpreted as having a meaningful message, as the oppression of women is profiled. This message is gradually exposed along with the development of the characters, namely the narrator and her husband John, throughout the text. As the narrator experiences visions of women trapped in her walls, is forced to conform to specific gender roles, and is unable to express or communicate her own feelings, the impact which oppression has on the individual, as well as the idea of patriarchal society, is demonstrated. John, the narrator’s husband, follows the typical role of a male doctor in the Victorian era, as he is the head of the …show more content…
His education is what supplies his power, as his opinions and ideas are held with high regard. He believes that he is nursing her back to health, but his condescending attitude and controlling nature have a huge negative impact on the narrator’s mental state. It is with this power that John controls the life of his wife. As described in a critical review by Nicole Smith, “The Yellow Wallpaper: Gilman’s Techniques for Portraying Oppression of Women”, “Although she peppers her complaints about feeling trapped and unhappy with admissions that it all might be because of her nervous condition (as opposed to a
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gilman And Hurston: A Comparative Analysis
    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gilman And Hurston: A Comparative Analysis

    In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Gilman portrays the ill effects of marital gender roles through the characterization of the narrator and her husband, John. The narrator suffers from mental illness and is trying to recuperate with the guidance of her physician husband. John’s roles as her husband and her physician create an unbalanced distribution of power in their relationship, allowing him to assert a tremendous amount of dominance over her as two strong authority figures. This is apparent when the narrator complains about…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Use Of Force, Hills Like White Elephants, And The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Use Of Force, Hills Like White Elephants, And The Yellow Wallpaper

    Throughout the short stories, many gender issues are heavily active in the text. They all seem to share the same characteristics in each plot of the stories “The Use of Force”, “Hills like White Elephants”, and “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Each story outlines the male character as the “dominant leader” overpowering over a woman. In our society, the male is seen as the protector over his family and life. He is responsible for taking care of things and fighting which might include becoming a dominant character.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Obsession Of Women In The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Obsession Of Women In The Yellow Wallpaper

    For centuries women in life and literature have been portrayed as being submissive to men. Women have been oppressed by society as well as the men in their lives. The story "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman depicts a woman suffering from mental illness which is associated with the repression present in the patriarchal society. The woman's obsession with the yellow paper becomes a reflection of her desire to break free from the male dominant society.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Women and 19-Century Domesticity in "The Yellow Wallpaper"
    • 1964 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Women and 19-Century Domesticity in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

    “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story about a new mother attempting to overcome her diagnosis of depression by being cooped up in a room without normal human interaction as prescribed by a top-rated male psychologist. The gender role expected of the nineteeth century woman was not ideal to the main character. The story goes on to critique the treatment plan set forth by her husband and psychologist. This in turn critiques the entire belief system in the nineteeth century that women should not be working outside the home. Gilman reveals in “Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’?” that the story parallels one of her own, with exaggeration (Gilman “Why I Wrote” 804). Through research and an analytical reading, I will demonstrate how Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” contradicts the gender roles that were placed on American women in the nineteenth century.…

    • 1964 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Conflicts of the Narrator- the Yellow Wallpaper
    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Conflicts of the Narrator- the Yellow Wallpaper

    In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator must deal with several different conflicts. She is diagnosed with “temporary nervous depression and a slight hysterical tendency” (Gilman 221). Most of her conflicts, such as, differentiating from creativity and reality, her sense of entrapment by her husband, and not fitting in with the stereotypical role of women in her time, are centered around her mental illness and she has to deal with them.…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Women In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Women In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

    Gilman tries to emphasize this dilemma through three major characters of the story. She uses John to tackle the role of the symbol of all men, giving him an overriding attitude towards women. Next, she uses Jennie to displace the image that represents all females in Gilman 's time to dissimilate how men and women are completely different. And finally, Gilman uses the narrator as a third-partied character to solve the social dilemma that distinguishes the aspects of men and women through the yellow wallpaper. Given that the presence of the wallpaper, it drives the narrator insane because her function in society is immensely limited to her overall feelings to express herself. In the end the narrator frees herself and by that statement Gilman is intending that all women free themselves from their own "wallpaper". Not just for their recovery, but to stabilize the existence of females from the nineteenth century into the twentieth…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Yellow Wallpaper: The Women's Rights Movement?
    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper: The Women's Rights Movement?

    Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” was written at a very controversial time period: the women’s rights movement. While this book serves as a predominant feminist text, it clearly outlines the voices of changing ideals. As written by literary analyst Jurgen Wolter in ““The Yellow Wallpaper” The Ambivalence of Changing Discourses,” the text has been “approached from various other perspectives, ranging from biographical, deconstructive, reader's response, genre studies.” In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” there are three main points of discussion: gender roles of society at the time, symbolism of the wallpaper, and the results of the changing values. All of these factors contribute to the actions of the character and the changes that she experiences.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story that can be reviewed in a feminist lens. The Yellow Wallpaper paints a picture of a woman’s place in 1911, and how she was treated with her Postpartum Depression. She was locked in a room by her husband John which leads her to insanity because she never got the treatment she needed. The theme of feminism is very clear through John the protagonist’s husband, the thoughts of Jane and the environment in which the woman is forcefully placed. Combined, all these describe the imprisonment of woman and the power in which men had over them.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “the Yellow Wallpaper”: the Use of Symbolism to Express the Psychological, Sexual, and Creative Oppression Experienced by Women in the Twentieth Century
    • 3464 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “the Yellow Wallpaper”: the Use of Symbolism to Express the Psychological, Sexual, and Creative Oppression Experienced by Women in the Twentieth Century

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” in the late 1800’s while being treating by the very trusted Weir Mitchell. During this time women were commonly admitted into the care of doctors by their husbands without their given consent. At this time there was very little research concerning Post- Partum Depression. According to the A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia, Post-Partum is moderate to extreme depression women may experience after giving birth. The symptoms include fearfulness, restlessness, and anxiety- all of which are displayed by Jane in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Gilman was advised by Dr. Mitchell to stop writing and rest, only partaking in “household” activities. She was not to visit with friends or go outside much. Contesting to these rules, Gilman ended treatment with Mitchell and wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” with the hopes of shedding much needed light on the ineffectiveness of his strategies. The mental condition of many women often worsened due the general population’s lack of consideration involving a woman’s outspoken opinion involving the betterment of her own health. Carol Kessler writes in “Consider Her Ways: The Cultural Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Pragmatopian Stories, 1908-1913,” “The utopian fiction of Charlotte Perkins Gilman takes on as its "cultural work" the demonstration that women are not confined to one traditional mode of being--wife/motherhood--but can fill as varied social roles as can male counterparts” (126). Kessler is stating Gilman’s writing is not only a statement against the mental health practices concerning women, but also includes other issues that were dominated by a patriarchal society. Denise D. Knight suggests in her essay “I Am Getting Angry Enough to do…

    • 3464 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Theme Of Oppression In The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 103 Words
    • 1 Page

    Theme Of Oppression In The Yellow Wallpaper

    In "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman exemplifies the problems of women in the 19th century and made people aware of the struggle which was oppression. Oppression was a big obstacle for women because they had been controlled and used by their husbands and basically had no life for themselves which was very concerning. The author made oppression a big theme all throughout the story and made it one of the main focuses which added to the story to make it more meaningful. The different symbols in this story reveal the narrator's toxic environment by her husband and her desire to…

    • 103 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    Deborah Whiteman Ms. Sophrin Modern Literature 23 September 2014 (Title) In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's, The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman presents to the audience an inmate who is insane and crazy. Also Gilman focuses her writing on the topic of a male-dominated society. The women during the late 1800’s did not have the same rights as men.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Feminism In Charlotte Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Feminism In Charlotte Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

    The Charlotte Gilman’s short story book, “the Yellow Wallpaper,” is published 1892, is the diary of the protagonist, Jane. Her husband locks her in the yellow wallpaper room, which she does not like. By she is locked in the room, her madness is developing, even she creates the women, and Jane thinks that women is the great women, but could not unfold her power because of blockaded in wallpaper. So Jane rips the wallpaper to escape it. In this book, it contains many sources of the Gilman’s feminism. Gilman, who is the American feminist author, puts her mind and ideas into her books by the symbol. In her book, “the Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman uses the feminism by symbolizing the protagonist, Jane, and the environment, especially the yellow wallpaper.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Yellow Wallpaper: Male Oppression of Women in Society
    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper: Male Oppression of Women in Society

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's The Yellow Wallpaper is a commentary on themale oppression of women in a patriarchal society. However, the story itselfpresents an interesting look at one woman 's struggle to deal with both physicaland mental confinement. This theme is particularly thought-provoking when readin today 's context where individual freedom is one of our most cherished rights.This analysis will focus on two primary issues: 1) the many vivid images Gilmanuses to illustrate the physical and symbolic confinement the narrator enduresduring her illness; and 2) the overall effect of, and her reaction to, thisconfinement.…

    • 1245 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is The Role Of Feminism In The Yellow Wallpaper
    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What Is The Role Of Feminism In The Yellow Wallpaper

    Women have been a silent part for the majority of human history, playing on background roles in major events, the credit for their work is given to others, and their thoughts and feelings are not considered to be of importance. This has changed for the better in Western Society with the rise of feminist movements where women studies have become popular in the last few decades. Now at last some light is being shed on women’s active roles. “Feminism is no longer a term that’s used to enable or empower women” by Hillary Clinton. Hillary referrers to Donald Trump who is known for condescending women by criticizing their physical appearance. However, in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perking Gilman, this is not the case. The story details the breakdown of Else who has placed herself in a weak position in in relation to her dominant husband John. Nevertheless, as her husband and as her physician, John makes all of the narrator’s decisions for her, which really aggravates her, since she wants to be an individual. John treated her this way because that’s how men of the time addressed such problems in their wives. When she lost her outer reality, she gained her inner reality, with her inner reality she figured out the pattern behind the wallpaper.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Yellow Wallpaper: a Self-Destructive and Self-Expressive Point of View.
    • 2634 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper: a Self-Destructive and Self-Expressive Point of View.

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman expresses how she feels about women’s oppression in a short story that she indited in the ninetieth century entitled: The Yellow Wallpaper. In the text, the narrator isolates from herself to appreciate her inner self. To succeed in appreciating her inner self, she utilizes a yellow wallpaper with patterns in her room. She tears up the wallpaper and finds herself. The narrator and the protagonist of the story is isolated from society and benefits from her isolation to better understand her inner self. This split makes it arduous to decipher what the protagonist is going through in the text. Her life, her marriage, and even objects in her house are all associated with oppression. This type of demeanor involves virtually no exertion of her own free will. Rather, she is expected to passively accept the fact that her own conceptions are mere fancy, and only the opinions of the men in her life can be trusted. She is expected to take their own uninformed opinions on her mental state over her own. While "Wallpaper" presents a powerful argument in favor of the feminist movement, the true issue behind the conflict is even more fundamental: the resiliency of human will in the face of social negation.…

    • 2634 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics