Outline For The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, depicted the
medical care of depression and beliefs of that era and the treatment of women. 2. The struggle in
the story was an unnamed writer and her husband, John, who was a physician and was treating
his wife for depression. 3. The author was the protagonist who was ill and found her being
placed in a rundown mansion situated in a rural area, far from society. 4. Her husband, the
antagonist, thought it was best for her to recuperate in a quiet and desolate surrounding. 5. The
tormented author fought with a bout of depression or oppression, both expressed by statements
directed toward her husband. 6. The imprisoned woman was compelled to free herself from …show more content…
her bondage, whether it be physical or psychological.
1. To point out writing style, Barbara Suess, who reviewed the story, stated the author
used symbolism in her journal to communicate her ideas, which included the yellow wallpaper,
the gate located throughout the premises, the notebook, the beautiful gardens, and the nursery. 2.
She never liked the yellow wallpapered room and affirmed, “I never saw a worse paper in my
life” (Gilman). 3. “She never wanted to be in that room and yet she was forced. 4. And this
kind of correlated with how women were oppressed by men” (Suess). 5. The change in her
environment altered her personality and her way of thinking; the author changed during the
writing of the story from a meek, mild, and shy individual to an obsessed, determined, and
independent character.
Eutsler 2
1. In contrast, Douglas Rednour reviewed the book with a different perspective.
Rednour felt the author of the book was seeking a new life and experiencing “paranormal
phenomena, from enigmatic dreams to finding empty coffins around the house” (Rednour). 2. He
mentioned that the novel could be classified as a horror story. 3. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman
tale, The Yellow Wallpaper is a slow-burn modern horror that fuses the visual style of
today’s independent filmmaking with classic gothic horror story”(Rednour). 4. Rednour
inferred that the setting in an isolated house was because the main characters had lost their
fortune and had to move. 5. “Charlotte becomes convinced that their child is somehow still
living in the home” andt contacts a spiritualist friend” (.Rednour)” 6.
I would not classify the
book as a horror story.
1. In addition to the other critics, Conrad Schumaker, explained that Gilman’s story was
about the domineering role the husband played during this particular era. 2.“Though he is
clearly a domineering husband who wants to have absolute control over his wife, John also
has other reasons for forbidding her to write or paint” (Schumaker). 3. Schumaker was
referring to the treatment he recommended for his wife, rest for exhaustion. 4. Not only did he
fear her “work” but was “fearful and contemptuous of her imaginative and artistic powers”
(Shumaker). 5. He also explains that” their relationship offers an insight into how and why
this fear of the imagination has been institutionalized through assigned gender roles”
(Schumaker).
1. Even though the main character was determined to set herself free and became
captivated by the wallpaper which is all she focused on: “at night in any kind of light, in
twilight, candlelight, and worst by moonlight, she visualizes a woman creeping behind the
wallpaper who said; “Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady
Eutsler
3
spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard” (Gilman). 2. The wallpaper and
her soul united to become one which is the turning point of the story. 3. She was tired of her
illness and succumbed to the wallpaper and became insane; she ripped the entire room of the
smelly, dirty, drab wallpaper.4. John entered the room and fainted; “Now why should that man
have fainted? 5. But he did, and right across my path by the wall so that I had to creep over
him every time” (Gilman). 6. This implied that the writer was now in control; how dare that
man get in her way and ruin her path to freedom. 7. The wallpaper was her bondage until she
was free, free from John. 8. The imprisoned woman won the battle to free herself from her
bondage, by psychological means, free to live her life.
Eutsler 4
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1892. Literature: The Human Experience.
Shorter 9th ed. Eds. Richard Abarian and Marvin Klotz. Bosston, 2007. 729-40.
King, Jeannette, and Pam Morris. “On Not Reading Between the Lines: Models Of Reading in
“The Yellow Wallpaper.” Studies In Short Fiction 26.1 (1989): 22 Academic Search
Premier: Web 1 Oct. 2015.
Rednour, Douglas. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Library Journal 140.16 (2015). 46. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
Schumaker, Conrad. “Too Terribly To Be Printed”: Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
American Literature 57.4 (1985): 588. Academic Search Premier. Web 30 Sept. 2015.
medical care of depression and beliefs of that era and the treatment of women. 2. The struggle in
the story was an unnamed writer and her husband, John, who was a physician and was treating
his wife for depression. 3. The author was the protagonist who was ill and found her being
placed in a rundown mansion situated in a rural area, far from society. 4. Her husband, the
antagonist, thought it was best for her to recuperate in a quiet and desolate surrounding. 5. The
tormented author fought with a bout of depression or oppression, both expressed by statements
directed toward her husband. 6. The imprisoned woman was compelled to free herself from …show more content…
her bondage, whether it be physical or psychological.
1. To point out writing style, Barbara Suess, who reviewed the story, stated the author
used symbolism in her journal to communicate her ideas, which included the yellow wallpaper,
the gate located throughout the premises, the notebook, the beautiful gardens, and the nursery. 2.
She never liked the yellow wallpapered room and affirmed, “I never saw a worse paper in my
life” (Gilman). 3. “She never wanted to be in that room and yet she was forced. 4. And this
kind of correlated with how women were oppressed by men” (Suess). 5. The change in her
environment altered her personality and her way of thinking; the author changed during the
writing of the story from a meek, mild, and shy individual to an obsessed, determined, and
independent character.
Eutsler 2
1. In contrast, Douglas Rednour reviewed the book with a different perspective.
Rednour felt the author of the book was seeking a new life and experiencing “paranormal
phenomena, from enigmatic dreams to finding empty coffins around the house” (Rednour). 2. He
mentioned that the novel could be classified as a horror story. 3. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman
tale, The Yellow Wallpaper is a slow-burn modern horror that fuses the visual style of
today’s independent filmmaking with classic gothic horror story”(Rednour). 4. Rednour
inferred that the setting in an isolated house was because the main characters had lost their
fortune and had to move. 5. “Charlotte becomes convinced that their child is somehow still
living in the home” andt contacts a spiritualist friend” (.Rednour)” 6.
I would not classify the
book as a horror story.
1. In addition to the other critics, Conrad Schumaker, explained that Gilman’s story was
about the domineering role the husband played during this particular era. 2.“Though he is
clearly a domineering husband who wants to have absolute control over his wife, John also
has other reasons for forbidding her to write or paint” (Schumaker). 3. Schumaker was
referring to the treatment he recommended for his wife, rest for exhaustion. 4. Not only did he
fear her “work” but was “fearful and contemptuous of her imaginative and artistic powers”
(Shumaker). 5. He also explains that” their relationship offers an insight into how and why
this fear of the imagination has been institutionalized through assigned gender roles”
(Schumaker).
1. Even though the main character was determined to set herself free and became
captivated by the wallpaper which is all she focused on: “at night in any kind of light, in
twilight, candlelight, and worst by moonlight, she visualizes a woman creeping behind the
wallpaper who said; “Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady
Eutsler
3
spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard” (Gilman). 2. The wallpaper and
her soul united to become one which is the turning point of the story. 3. She was tired of her
illness and succumbed to the wallpaper and became insane; she ripped the entire room of the
smelly, dirty, drab wallpaper.4. John entered the room and fainted; “Now why should that man
have fainted? 5. But he did, and right across my path by the wall so that I had to creep over
him every time” (Gilman). 6. This implied that the writer was now in control; how dare that
man get in her way and ruin her path to freedom. 7. The wallpaper was her bondage until she
was free, free from John. 8. The imprisoned woman won the battle to free herself from her
bondage, by psychological means, free to live her life.
Eutsler 4
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1892. Literature: The Human Experience.
Shorter 9th ed. Eds. Richard Abarian and Marvin Klotz. Bosston, 2007. 729-40.
King, Jeannette, and Pam Morris. “On Not Reading Between the Lines: Models Of Reading in
“The Yellow Wallpaper.” Studies In Short Fiction 26.1 (1989): 22 Academic Search
Premier: Web 1 Oct. 2015.
Rednour, Douglas. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Library Journal 140.16 (2015). 46. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.
Schumaker, Conrad. “Too Terribly To Be Printed”: Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
American Literature 57.4 (1985): 588. Academic Search Premier. Web 30 Sept. 2015.