Who is Jane in The Yellow Wallpaper
There are many opposing opinions on the identity of Jane in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper." The narrator of the story is never referred to by name throughout the entire work, however a questionable statement made by the narrator at the end of the story leads many to believe her name is Jane. Because the story does not specifically profess the narrator to be Jane, controversy has risen about Jane's identity. There are many reasons to believe the narrator to be Jane and reject the assumption of a mere typo. A common misconception of the identity of Jane is that she is actually Jennie, the sister-in-law and housekeeper. In Johnson's study, he refers to John's "like-named sister and housekeeper" (523) as Jane instead of Jennie. However, Charlotte Perkins Gilman may disagree with Johnson because in her own story she refers to this woman as Jennie twelve times and not Jane once. The passage that comes into question on this issue is when the narrator retorts to her husband, "'I've got out at last, in spite of you and Jane'" (172). Also in the story the narrator talks about how nice Jennie is to her saying, "Jennie is good and lets me alone when I want her to" (164). Jennie was not
Delashmit refers to the story Jane Eyre saying, "The correspondences between Gilman's story and Jane Eyre increase the probability that the "Jane" she refers to is really herself and not John's sister Jenny (a diminutive of Jane)" (33). 'Too Terribly Good to be Printed': Charlotte Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper. By rejecting that woman she might free the other, imprisoned woman within herself. She turns away from her own narrative. Old Westbury, NY: Feminist Press, 1973.
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Acceptance Essays
