Anaylsis of the Yellow Wallpaper
Hypothesis: Gillman uses the yellow wallpaper to expose oppression against women living in patriarchal society in the 19th Century.
After studying and interpreting Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, I am able to make the hypothesis that Gillman uses the yellow wallpaper to expose oppression against women living in patriarchal society in the 19th Century. The short story is written based on Gillman’s own life when she underwent “nervous prostration” after the birth of her daughter. Gillman allows her readers to understand the perspective of a female in the 19th century and how her role in society resulted in insanity. Feminist literacy critics Ed. Janet Witalec “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1) and Rena Korb, "An overview of 'The Yellow Wallpaper'" (2) both support my hypothesis. They analyze the behaviour and environment of the narrator in relation to this period of time. This woman who is suffering from nervous depression narrates “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She is married to a doctor, who controls her life. Through patronising and bombarding her with ideas that she must feel, her husband demands that she must not write. He claims her creative activities will only make her more “nervous” and “crazy”, although the narrator found great joy in writing. She keeps a secret journal of which she describes the yellow wallpaper and the environment that she lives in. Her journal gives the readers an insight to her perspective on life as an oppressed woman in the 19th Century. Witalec and Korb use a feminist lens to express their opinions on the short story, which support my hypothesis.
Ed. Janet Witalec discusses the patriarchal pressures on women in the 19th Century, which caused obstacles for the entire female gender. Witalec states that in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ “critics acknowledge the story as a feminist text written in protest of the negligent treatment of women by a patriarchal society” (1) Witalec supports the hypothesis that the yellow
After studying and interpreting Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, I am able to make the hypothesis that Gillman uses the yellow wallpaper to expose oppression against women living in patriarchal society in the 19th Century. The short story is written based on Gillman’s own life when she underwent “nervous prostration” after the birth of her daughter. Gillman allows her readers to understand the perspective of a female in the 19th century and how her role in society resulted in insanity. Feminist literacy critics Ed. Janet Witalec “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1) and Rena Korb, "An overview of 'The Yellow Wallpaper'" (2) both support my hypothesis. They analyze the behaviour and environment of the narrator in relation to this period of time. This woman who is suffering from nervous depression narrates “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She is married to a doctor, who controls her life. Through patronising and bombarding her with ideas that she must feel, her husband demands that she must not write. He claims her creative activities will only make her more “nervous” and “crazy”, although the narrator found great joy in writing. She keeps a secret journal of which she describes the yellow wallpaper and the environment that she lives in. Her journal gives the readers an insight to her perspective on life as an oppressed woman in the 19th Century. Witalec and Korb use a feminist lens to express their opinions on the short story, which support my hypothesis.
Ed. Janet Witalec discusses the patriarchal pressures on women in the 19th Century, which caused obstacles for the entire female gender. Witalec states that in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ “critics acknowledge the story as a feminist text written in protest of the negligent treatment of women by a patriarchal society” (1) Witalec supports the hypothesis that the yellow