Gothic Traits in The Yellow Wa
Gothic Traits In "The Yellow Wall-Paper" In Charlotte Perkins Gilmans "The Yellow Wall-Paper" gothic symbolsrepresented by characters and surroundings lead to a woman's insanity. A "restcure" prescribed by doctors to cure mental problems meant for some a life ofisolation and an end to all mental stimulation. This is the type of torture that theJohn, the villain, has sentenced the narrator to. She s doomed to life in a prison cell with little or no freedom to do as she pleases. John portrays a Gothic villain through various ways, some more subtle thanothers. One specific way that John portrays a Gothic villain is that he never listensto the narrators opinion. Being a physician of "high standing" Johns opinions arenever challenged(667). Perhaps for fear of reprisal or because the narrator doesnot know any better. John laughs at the thoughts and opinions of his wife thinkingthat she is inferior, and that her thoughts are not important. Another Gothic trait is
Just the colorof the wallpaper seems to bother the narrator. "The color is revolting; asmoldering unclean yellow"(668) . The setting of the story takes place in a large house, a "colonialmansion"(667). The house is also in a secludedlocation which makes any attempt for escape useless. She slowly starts to wear downto his constant belittlement and her seclusion from the outside world. This room could be seen as a dungeon or prison cell. In that time, it was understood that a womens place in society is in the home, taking care of children and doing chores. The narrator in this story is also a Gothic symbol. The narrator eventually becomes obsessed with thepaper, she starts seeing things in it. The roomis situated at the top of the house which can be seen as the secluded tower of ahaunted castle. The woman in this story did challenge this way of life, and paid with her sanity. He dominates her by setting rules and not allowing any activity. The narrator refers to it as being a "haunted house" and that"there is something queer about it"(667). A garden can have amaze like quality giving a sense of being trapped.
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