Gothic Traits In "The Yellow Wall-Paper"
In Charlotte Perkins Gilmans "The Yellow Wall-Paper" gothic symbols
represented by characters and surroundings lead to a woman's insanity. A "rest
cure" prescribed by doctors to cure mental problems meant for some a life of
isolation and an end to all mental stimulation. This is the type of torture that the
John, 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 than
others. One specific way that John portrays a Gothic villain is that he never listens
to the narrators opinion. Being a physician of "high standing" Johns opinions are
never challenged(667). Perhaps for fear of reprisal or because the narrator does
not know any better. John laughs at the thoughts and opinions of his wife thinking
that she is inferior, and that her thoughts are not important. Another Gothic trait is
the fact that John is putting his wife in uncomfortable and unfamiliar surroundings.
He dominates her by setting rules and not allowing any activity. He locks her
away in a tower like setting which adds to the Gothic theme.
The setting of the story takes place in a large house, a "colonial
mansion"(667). The house in itself could be seen as a Gothic symbol because of
its Gothic traits. The narrator refers to it as being a "haunted house" and that
"there is something queer about it"(667). The house is large with broken
greenhouses which gives an overwhelming first impression. The greenhouses could
represent a delapedated state that the house could be in. Near the house is a large
garden. Gardens are common in haunted house type settings. A garden can have a
maze like quality giving a sense of being trapped. The house is also in a se...