Search For Freedom in The Yellow Wallpaper - 913 Words

The â€Å"Yellow Wall-Paper† is a reflection of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s personal situations, regarding the protection of the rights of woman. She provides a critique on traditional feminine roles, and women’s desperation to get out of them. In the short story, the author depicts the idea that women conforming to the norms of society can be driven to destruction. Her criticism of gender conflicts is portrayed through the journal entries of the narrator. In order to illustrate her feminist concerns about gender equality, Gilman employs the characters of John, Jennie, and the narrator. The author makes a statement of her belief of men’s inclination to dominate woman through John’s treatment of his wife. Men who wish to have†¦show more content†¦She is the typical woman desired by men, a woman who is a â€Å"perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper†(634) who â€Å"hopes for no better profession†(634). Jennie is everything that the narrator is not. As time passes at the colonial mansion, she replaces, and diminishes John’s wife â€Å"who now sees to everything†(634). It is apparent that a comment is being made on how yielding Jennie’s character is as opposed to that of the narrator, for she is the one who chooses to stoop down to such humiliation, while the narrator attempts to escape submission to such treatment. The symbolism of namelessness suggesting worthlessness and inferiority is demonstrated by the author in order to reveal a woman’s insignificance in a marriage. The narrator is nameless throughout the story. These weaknesses become real to her when John â€Å"absolutely (forbids her) to work†(631). He merely regards her as a woman whose opinions, and feelings are irrelevant. Her echo of helplessness, â€Å"but what is one to do†(631) results from a husband who ignores his wife’s needs which need to be addressed. As a consequence to John’s offensive treatment she chooses to take control and free herself in the only way she can - escaping into the yellow wall-paper and being free to choose, â€Å"when the sun came†(640), â€Å"back behind†¦when it comes night†(641), when to come back to reality. In this context, Gilman’s woman figure, the narrator, discovers a way to escape male bondage from her husband.Show Mor eRelatedCharacter Analysis Yellow Wallpaper1146 Words   |  5 PagesEnglish 1002 Rodems February 7, 2011 The Yellow Wallpaper Many people deal with post-traumatic depression and it can have a huge impact on one’s life. In the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, the main character, as well as the narrator, is an unnamed woman dealing with post-traumatic depression. The exceptionally imaginative protagonist’s metamorphosis is due to her isolated confinement in a room with â€Å"yellow wallpaper† in order for her to recover from depressionRead More Essay on Janes Search for Self-identity in The Yellow Wallpaper609 Words   |  3 PagesJanes Search for Self-identity in The Yellow Wallpaper  Ã‚      The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the late nineteenth century, explores the dark forbidding world of one womans plunge into a severe post-partum depressive state. The story presents a theme of the search for self-identity. Through interacting with human beings and the environment, the protagonist creates for herself a life of her own. Charlotte Gilman, through the first person narrator, speaks toRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper, By Harriet Beecher Stowe1603 Words   |  7 PagesThe Yellow Wallpaper is a feminist piece of literature that analyzed women’s struggle in the 1900s, such as medical diagnosis and women’s roles. Over the years, women struggled to attain independence and freedom. In order to achieve these liberties, they were females who paved the way and spoke out about these issues to secure equal rights for women. In addition, these powerful females used their vulnerability to challenge the male domination through their literary work. The Yellow Wallpaper is aRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1442 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Charlotte Perkins Gilman was one of the most prominent feminists of her century. She brilliantly created a haunting and gothic allegory in her short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† It was difficult for women to express themselves in a male dominant society, and they would often try to seek greater fulfillment. Gilman takes her audience through her unnamed character’s journey of emotional deterioration, and her quest for control over her own life. The author’s allegory for theRead MoreThe Instituition of Marriage748 Words   |  3 Pages In the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, I will discuss how women were oppressed by the institution of marriage in the nineteenth century while making comparative references to â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin. Women were treated as second class citizens during the 1800’s, which under rule of their husband weren’t allowed to be a person of their own, but l ive in the shadow of their husband. The narrator in â€Å"The yellow Wallpaper† is diagnosed with a nervousRead MorePatriarchy, The Yellow Wallpaper, By Charlotte Perkins Gilm Patriarchy And The Treatment Of Women1538 Words   |  7 PagesProtogyrou ERH 206WX MAJ Knepper 27 Mar 2015 Patriarchy in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman illustrates the patriarchy and the treatment of women in society during the nineteenth century. This is evident through two parts. First, one sees the treatment of women directly through the narrator’s interaction with her doctor and husband, John. Finally, it is clear through the symbolic wallpaper as well as other physical characteristics of the room that’s sheRead MoreThere Have Been Multiple Conceptions About â€Å"The Yellow1510 Words   |  7 Pages There have been multiple conceptions about â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† over the true significance of the story and it has been evaluated by many scholarly writers for several generations. The story was written by the poet Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the nineteenth-century and it conveyed ideas about symbolism, feminism and individualism. It provides the reader with her viewpoint on society’s subjugation of women by the patriarchal model that reserved power for men. The gender ideology stressed that womenRead MoreSummary Of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1584 Words   |  7 PagesEngendering: Revising the Marginalized Subjugation of Women in Society The true message of what the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† implied has been pondered over for several generations along with being evaluated by many scholarly writers. The story was written by the talented poet Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the nineteenth-century and it conveyed many ideas about symbolism, feminism and individualism. It provides the reader with her viewpoint on society’s subjugation of women by the patriarchalRead MoreTheme Of Escapism In The Boat1009 Words   |  5 PagesWallpaper,† and in Alistair MacLeod’s â€Å"The Boat† Oftentimes, when burdening or stressful circumstances begin to generate strain on an individual, they find themselves turning to literary art as a form of mental relief. This deliverance applies, in particular, to the narrator in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† and the father in â€Å"The Boat,† by Alistair MacLeod. In both short stories, readers can pinpoint several instances in which these specific characters seek solace through differingRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1326 Words   |  6 Pagesbreakdown thus inspiring her famous short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† in 1892 (Hudock). â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is written in the first person voice, reporting the narrator’s thinking, feelings, and perception during this time. The story is admired as a tale of horror and madness in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe and is considered by critics her only genuinely literary piece of work she wrote (Butterworth). The short story, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is about a nameless narrator who suffers from a temporary