The Yellow Wallpaper Conflict Analysis
The Use of Details and Conflicts in
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A satisfying story is made up of various characteristics such as a good setting, a well-developed plot, a detailed character development, an appropriate use of details and conflicts between the characters and the circumstances. Such characteristics enhance depth, and create imagery for the readers to emotionally identify with the story. I will specifically focus on the use of details and conflicts between characters through “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Primarily, the use of details enriches the readers’ imagination and indulgence. Since a short story is limited in length, detailed descriptions on the characters and conflicts are …show more content…
crucial. The story focuses on an unnamed woman writer’s journal, which records her mental health deterioration and grisly fixation on the appalling yellow wallpaper caused by John, her husband’s arrangement for a “perfect rest” in a detached room. Her change in mental state is reflected in the detailed narration of her “creepy” feelings of the yellow wallpaper. Specifically, her paranoia is demonstrated as she expresses the empty house “spoils my ghostliness, I am afraid, but I don’t care – there is something strange about the house – I can feel it” (Gilman 598). The detailed description of her impending madness in which she ultimately identifies with the woman in the wallpaper and “creep smoothly on the floor”, allows readers to be attuned to the atmosphere and settings of the story. Conflict is another important element, which can add complexity and suspense to a short story’s plot.
The “Yellow Wallpaper” demonstrates the conflict of character against character and character against oneself. The former is explicitly illustrated by her husband’s complete dominance over his wife while the latter is implicitly portrayed by the woman’s deprivation of freedom in which she feels “trapped” by the yellow wallpaper of her house. The conflict between the husband and wife is intensified when John confines her wife in the “barred” bedroom and forbids her from writing. Her statement: “he hates to have me write a word,” contradicts with her perception that “congenial work, with excitement and change would do me good” (Gilman 598-599). His ignorance and dominance consequently drive the protagonist into further hysteria in which she develops an obsession on the insignificant details of her surroundings. Moreover, her loneliness and solitude probably contribute to the hallucinations she develops. In the end, she finds out that “the font pattern does move” and “the woman” is shaking on the bars on the wall (Gilman 606). Such illusion suggests the trapped woman behind the yellow wallpaper is possibly the protagonist’s reflection of her inner self. The conflict between her husband and herself mirrors her feelings of “isolation” and “imprisonment” in the constraining room, which adds flavour to the
story.
Although I have examined the use of details and conflicts as independent characteristics in the story, such elements collaborate together to create new messages that incite the readers into introspection. These elements all add a different level of depth and ambience, which amplifies the affluence that makes a successful story.
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 7th Edition. Eds. Richard Bausch & R.V. Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2006. 597-608.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A satisfying story is made up of various characteristics such as a good setting, a well-developed plot, a detailed character development, an appropriate use of details and conflicts between the characters and the circumstances. Such characteristics enhance depth, and create imagery for the readers to emotionally identify with the story. I will specifically focus on the use of details and conflicts between characters through “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Primarily, the use of details enriches the readers’ imagination and indulgence. Since a short story is limited in length, detailed descriptions on the characters and conflicts are …show more content…
crucial. The story focuses on an unnamed woman writer’s journal, which records her mental health deterioration and grisly fixation on the appalling yellow wallpaper caused by John, her husband’s arrangement for a “perfect rest” in a detached room. Her change in mental state is reflected in the detailed narration of her “creepy” feelings of the yellow wallpaper. Specifically, her paranoia is demonstrated as she expresses the empty house “spoils my ghostliness, I am afraid, but I don’t care – there is something strange about the house – I can feel it” (Gilman 598). The detailed description of her impending madness in which she ultimately identifies with the woman in the wallpaper and “creep smoothly on the floor”, allows readers to be attuned to the atmosphere and settings of the story. Conflict is another important element, which can add complexity and suspense to a short story’s plot.
The “Yellow Wallpaper” demonstrates the conflict of character against character and character against oneself. The former is explicitly illustrated by her husband’s complete dominance over his wife while the latter is implicitly portrayed by the woman’s deprivation of freedom in which she feels “trapped” by the yellow wallpaper of her house. The conflict between the husband and wife is intensified when John confines her wife in the “barred” bedroom and forbids her from writing. Her statement: “he hates to have me write a word,” contradicts with her perception that “congenial work, with excitement and change would do me good” (Gilman 598-599). His ignorance and dominance consequently drive the protagonist into further hysteria in which she develops an obsession on the insignificant details of her surroundings. Moreover, her loneliness and solitude probably contribute to the hallucinations she develops. In the end, she finds out that “the font pattern does move” and “the woman” is shaking on the bars on the wall (Gilman 606). Such illusion suggests the trapped woman behind the yellow wallpaper is possibly the protagonist’s reflection of her inner self. The conflict between her husband and herself mirrors her feelings of “isolation” and “imprisonment” in the constraining room, which adds flavour to the
story.
Although I have examined the use of details and conflicts as independent characteristics in the story, such elements collaborate together to create new messages that incite the readers into introspection. These elements all add a different level of depth and ambience, which amplifies the affluence that makes a successful story.
Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 7th Edition. Eds. Richard Bausch & R.V. Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2006. 597-608.