The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Example

American Gothic literature of the late nineteenth century can generally be characterized by its interest in Psychology. Rather than incorporate the supernatural or science fiction, which is the foci in other Gothic works at the time, authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Charlotte Perkins Gilman use this mental condition of their protagonist in order to achieve the expected Gothic reaction. Specifically, in Gilman's "the Yellow Wallpaper", the protagonist, a white, middle class housewife diagnosed with depression, sinks into insanity right before the readers eyes; her psychology unfolds and produces that horrific reaction appropriate for the American Gothic. This, however, in not the only product of Gilman's work. Through literary style, unusual characterization, and a haunting (and knowledgeable) account of madness, Gilman makes her intended statement effectively: nineteenth century women were not only repressed, but practically driven to inhumanity by the men who overprotected and underestimated them. Both traditional Gothic elements and productive special position are laced throughout Gilman's short story. To first look at a piece of fiction, one must examine it's technical aspects, that is, the literary style with which it is written. In the Gothic tradition, "the Yellow Wallpaper" is written using a unique narrative technique. The narrator is also the protagonist, whose actions and thoughts the reader learns about through her journal. This tool brings the narrator to life and gives the reader a sense of trust in the main character, Jane. In the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the setting, the other characters, and her feelings. Because she is in a position of weakness, the reader sympathasizes with her melancholy and shares her resentment for her physician husband, John, who "does not believe that [she is] sick!" (Gilman 249). Telling the story in first person also exemplifies Gilman's feminist ideology: by giving the central of the