The Yellow Wallpaper Feminist Analysis
The Yellow Wallpaper was published in 1862, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. When it was published, it became a very controversial piece because of its atypical storyline. The topic of this story revolved around a woman losing her state of mind which was loosely based on the author; Gilman. Gilman shared a similar experience allowing me to criticize this story sociologically. The role of women during this time was known as feeble and needed a male dominant figure to keep them in line, this can be shown in the story. With this, I’m able to judge this piece from a feminist point of view. So with this in place I’ll be using a sociological and feminist criticism for The Yellow Wallpaper. Before I go into the criticism of the piece itself, first allow me to discuss the author of this piece, Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Gilman was a feminist, lecturer, and writer and her most well-known story is The Yellow Wallpaper. According to Encyclopædia Britannica “She soon proved to be totally unsuited to the domestic routine of marriage (p.2)”. She didn’t fit into the typical mold of a housewife and didn’t want to live her life domestically. You see
…show more content…
some of these traits, in the main character of The Yellow Wallpaper. For example Gilman takes this treatment known as The Sleep Cure which we know that the main character takes as well eventually sending both of them into a state of delusions. While looking up information I came across a criticism that identified the main character, which has no name, as Jane. So for my criticism the main characters name will be Jane. Now onto this story, it starts with Jane and her husband, John that move into a new house. John is a physician of high standing as well as Jane’s brother. She gets moved into a room by herself with one window and one bed. Now looking into this normally, you see nothing wrong with this picture, but as the story continues on you see her decline into madness. If you really look into it, this room that she stays in by herself might be a medical room, making her a patient. In the beginning of the story the main character talks about how her husband thinks she’s unsafe and constantly needs protection. As a feminist, Gilman portrays through her character what the culture is like during her time, as John is constantly looking out for his wife. So much so that he keeps her in the room all day and doesn’t let her outside. A secondary viewpoint can be looked at, as well, maybe it’s not John being overprotective and dominant, and maybe he’s looking out for his wife as one of his regular patients. The theme of feminism and sociology go hand in hand, as the story can be looked at both ways. This crosses both fields equally depending on how you interpret the story. For instance as the main character first starts her descension into madness, John is there to treat her as a dominating husband to his weak minded wife. Another point would be that John and his wife’s brother are there as doctors treating her as the mentally ill patient that she really is. Now for the real main character of this story; The Yellow Wallpaper.
The wallpaper plays the biggest part in this story because it’s the reason for Jane’s craziness and it shifts the way the story is told. As Jane notices the wallpaper at first she thinks it’s the nicest thing in the room, she starts to look at it more closely, so much to the point where she studies the pattern. Eventually she starts seeing something within the wallpaper; a person. As the days go on in this obsession with the person in the wallpaper grows and grows. During the daytime she acts normal enough to keep John off her back. She says “I know John would think it absurd” saying that John thinks her ideas are ridiculous and that maybe she really is delusional. Ultimately she succumbs to the madness and starts to rip off the wallpaper so she can free the
“woman”.
Now I think that he main characters name is Jane due to the fact that when she finally starts to rip off the wallpaper she says “I’ve got out at last…. In spite of you and Jane”. When she says frees that “woman”, she’s freeing herself. The battered woman from an overbearing husband, or the mental health patient escaping her doctor, doing this she transcends into a different world where she’s no longer Jane and becomes something or somebody else.
some of these traits, in the main character of The Yellow Wallpaper. For example Gilman takes this treatment known as The Sleep Cure which we know that the main character takes as well eventually sending both of them into a state of delusions. While looking up information I came across a criticism that identified the main character, which has no name, as Jane. So for my criticism the main characters name will be Jane. Now onto this story, it starts with Jane and her husband, John that move into a new house. John is a physician of high standing as well as Jane’s brother. She gets moved into a room by herself with one window and one bed. Now looking into this normally, you see nothing wrong with this picture, but as the story continues on you see her decline into madness. If you really look into it, this room that she stays in by herself might be a medical room, making her a patient. In the beginning of the story the main character talks about how her husband thinks she’s unsafe and constantly needs protection. As a feminist, Gilman portrays through her character what the culture is like during her time, as John is constantly looking out for his wife. So much so that he keeps her in the room all day and doesn’t let her outside. A secondary viewpoint can be looked at, as well, maybe it’s not John being overprotective and dominant, and maybe he’s looking out for his wife as one of his regular patients. The theme of feminism and sociology go hand in hand, as the story can be looked at both ways. This crosses both fields equally depending on how you interpret the story. For instance as the main character first starts her descension into madness, John is there to treat her as a dominating husband to his weak minded wife. Another point would be that John and his wife’s brother are there as doctors treating her as the mentally ill patient that she really is. Now for the real main character of this story; The Yellow Wallpaper.
The wallpaper plays the biggest part in this story because it’s the reason for Jane’s craziness and it shifts the way the story is told. As Jane notices the wallpaper at first she thinks it’s the nicest thing in the room, she starts to look at it more closely, so much to the point where she studies the pattern. Eventually she starts seeing something within the wallpaper; a person. As the days go on in this obsession with the person in the wallpaper grows and grows. During the daytime she acts normal enough to keep John off her back. She says “I know John would think it absurd” saying that John thinks her ideas are ridiculous and that maybe she really is delusional. Ultimately she succumbs to the madness and starts to rip off the wallpaper so she can free the
“woman”.
Now I think that he main characters name is Jane due to the fact that when she finally starts to rip off the wallpaper she says “I’ve got out at last…. In spite of you and Jane”. When she says frees that “woman”, she’s freeing herself. The battered woman from an overbearing husband, or the mental health patient escaping her doctor, doing this she transcends into a different world where she’s no longer Jane and becomes something or somebody else.