The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story that can be reviewed in a feminist lens. The Yellow Wallpaper paints a picture of a woman’s place in 1911, and how she was treated with her Postpartum Depression. She was locked in a room by her husband John which leads her to insanity because she never got the treatment she needed. The theme of feminism is very clear through John the protagonist’s husband, the thoughts of Jane and the environment in which the woman is forcefully placed. Combined, all these describe the imprisonment of woman and the power in which men had over them. John is an impeccable example of a dominating husband, he holds absolute control over his wife. He treats her more as property than as his wife.
John views his wife’s ideas and thoughts as a joke. He doesn't take them seriously whatsoever until it gets to a point where its to late to save her from her madness. It is also clear from what John’s wife said that he laughs at his because it is what is expected by society in that time. Thought out the story when Jane takes control of her own thoughts, his role as a strong protective husband and leader is now reversed. and he becomes a woman himself. “Now why should that man have fainted?” (Perkins 21). Having seen his wife in a state he has never seen her in before caused him to faint. This has a very symbolic meaning because its showing that the hold he had over her has broke. In the acceptance of her current state of delirium, Jane has reversed the roles of husband and wife. John’s shock at this reversal further shows need to control his wife, in order to avoid being seen as a “woman” by society. Aiding the the expression of the Charlotte’s feminist views are the thoughts of Jane. Her desires to express her thoughts and ideas breaks through even society’s strongest barriers. “I did write for awhile in spite of them” (Perkins 2). As a woman who stands alone, she feels depressed and sick until she is able to express