The Yellow Wallpaper
Analysis of '"'The Yellow Wall-paper'"' the writings of Charlotte Perkins Gilman express feministic views on specific segments of society in America. Her rocky marriage to Charles Stetson sparked the beginning of her poetry writing. She learned during this time about the unequal treatment of women in society, and started to formulate her own views on women's rights. In 1892, she finished her most famous literary work, '"'The Yellow Wall-paper.'"' This fictional story was based on the depression and suffering that she had encountered in her own life. Gillman was quoted saying: '"'It [the story] was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked.'"' (831). In our analysis of this short story, we will look at the story summary, the symbolism used, and Gillman's reasons for writing the story. The female narrator of '"'The Yellow Wall-paper'"' is named Jane and is suffering from temporary depression. She is upset that her husband John doesn't believe that she is sick. She blames him for not helping her, even though he is a physician. She says, '"'I would not say this to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind'"' (833). The depression in
But Jane feels like the wallpaper is trapping her in the room and won't let her out. She decides to tear down the wallpaper, so that she won't feel trapped anymore. She wants to do things like take care of her baby girl, work on her writings, and live a normal life, but the paper is stopping her. The patterns used within the yellow paper have some significant symbolism behind them as well. The baby's name is Mary and is cared for by the couple's housekeeper Jeanie, who is also John's sister. Finally he understands what he has done to his wife. She suffered from melancholia, which caused her to have nervous breakdowns, as well as other side effects. She took us into a world that no one has been to, and opened up the door for female writers of her time, by allowing them to express them without caring about what society thought. He sees this and faints, falling right to the floor (844). She refers to the foreground pattern as being more visible than the background pattern. She feels like John has put her in this situation to punish her for something. The room was setup to look like a hospital or insane asylum, because that is what Jane felt like she was in. The foreground pattern represents things that are proper and looked at by society as the norm or the right thing to do, while the background pattern is the reality of Jane's suffering and oppression. Jane feels trapped in the room and wants to get out so badly, but no one will help her. The story ends with John coming home from work and walking upstairs to see Jane.
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