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Analysis of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on April 28, 2022

First published in New England Magazine in January 1892, and reprinted by Small, Maynard and Company as a chapbook (1899), “The Yellow Wall-Paper” is Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s most famous work. Depicting the nervous breakdown of a young wife and mother, the story is a potent example of psychological realism. Based loosely on Gilman’s own experiences in undergoing the rest cure for neurasthenia, the story documents the psychological torment of her fictional first-person narrator.

The narrator’s husband, John, a physician, prescribes isolation and inactivity as treatment for her illness, a “temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency” (10). John forbids her to engage in any kind of labor, including writing. Despite his admonitions, however, the narrator records her impressions in a secret diary.

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These diary entries compose the text of the story; they reveal the narrator’s emotional descent. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that she is suffering an acute form of postpartum depression, a condition acknowledged neither by John nor by the late-19th-century medical community. So severe is the narrator’s depression that a nursemaid has assumed care of the new baby. Deprived of the freedom to write openly, which she believes would be therapeutic, the narrator gradually shifts her attention to the yellow wallpaper in the attic nursery where she spends her time. The paper both intrigues and repels her; it becomes the medium on which she symbolically inscribes her “text.” Soon she detects a subpattern in the wallpaper that crystallizes into the image of an imprisoned woman attempting to escape. In the penultimate scene, the narrator’s identity merges with that of the entrapped woman, and together they frantically tear the paper from the walls. In an ironic reversal in the final scene, John breaks into the room and, after witnessing the full measure of his wife’s insanity, faints. Significantly, however, he is still blocking his wife, literally and symbolically obstructing her path so that she has to “creep over him every time!” (36).

Critics disagree over the meaning of the story, variously arguing the significance of everything from linguistic cues, to psychoanalytic interpretations, to historiographical readings. While some critics have hailed the narrator as a feminist heroine, others have seen in her a maternal failure coupled with a morbid fear of female sexuality. Some have viewed the story, with its yellow paper, as an exemplar of the silencing of women writers in 19th-century America; others have focused on its gothic elements.

Since the Feminist Press reissued the story in 1973, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” has been widely anthologized and is now firmly assimilated in the American literary body of work.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wall-paper. Boston: Small, Maynard, & Co., 1899. Reprint, Old Westbury, N.Y.: Feminist Press, 1973. Lanser, Susan A. “Feminist Criticism, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’ and the Politics of Color in America.” Feminist Studies 15, no. 3 (Fall 1989): 415–441. Shumaker, Conrad. “ ‘Too Terribly Good to Be Printed’: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’ ” American Literature 57, no. 4 (1985): 588–599. Veeder, William. “Who Is Jane? The Intricate Feminism of Charlotte Perkins Gilman.” Arizona Quarterly 44, no. 3 (1988): 40–79.

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" tells the story of a young woman’s gradual descent into psychosis. " The Yellow Wallpaper" is often cited as an early feminist work that predates a woman’s right to vote in the United States. The author was involved in first-wave feminism, and her other works questioned the origins of the subjugation of women, particularly in marriage. "

The Yellow Wallpaper" is a widely read work that asks difficult questions about the role of women, particularly regarding their mental health and right to autonomy and self-identity. We’ll go over The Yellow Wallpaper summary, themes and symbols, The Yellow Wallpaper analysis, and some important information about the author.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" Summary

"The Yellow Wallpaper" details the deterioration of a woman's mental health while she is on a "rest cure" on a rented summer country estate with her family. Her obsession with the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom marks her descent into psychosis from her depression throughout the story.

The narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" begins the story by discussing her move to a beautiful estate for the summer. Her husband, John, is also her doctor , and the move is meant in part to help the narrator overcome her “illness,” which she explains as nervous depression, or nervousness, following the birth of their baby. John’s sister, Jennie, also lives with them and works as their housekeeper.

Though her husband believes she will get better with rest and by not worrying about anything, the narrator has an active imagination and likes to write . He discourages her wonder about the house, and dismisses her interests. She mentions her baby more than once, though there is a nurse that cares for the baby, and the narrator herself is too nervous to provide care.

The narrator and her husband move into a large room that has ugly, yellow wallpaper that the narrator criticizes. She asks her husband if they can change rooms and move downstairs, and he rejects her. The more she stays in the room, the more the narrator’s fascination with the hideous wallpaper grows.

After hosting family for July 4th, the narrator expresses feeling even worse and more exhausted. She struggles to do daily activities, and her mental state is deteriorating. John encourages her to rest more, and the narrator hides her writing from him because he disapproves.

In the time between July 4th and their departure, the narrator is seemingly driven insane by the yellow wallpaper ; she sleeps all day and stays up all night to stare at it, believing that it comes alive, and the patterns change and move. Then, she begins to believe that there is a woman in the wallpaper who alters the patterns and is watching her.

A few weeks before their departure, John stays overnight in town and the narrator wants to sleep in the room by herself so she can stare at the wallpaper uninterrupted. She locks out Jennie and believes that she can see the woman in the wallpaper . John returns and frantically tries to be let in, and the narrator refuses; John is able to enter the room and finds the narrator crawling on the floor. She claims that the woman in the wallpaper has finally exited, and John faints, much to her surprise.

Background on "The Yellow Wallpaper"

The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was a lecturer for social reform, and her beliefs and philosophy play an important part in the creation of "The Yellow Wallpaper," as well as the themes and symbolism in the story. "The Yellow Wallpaper" also influenced later feminist writers.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, known as Charlotte Perkins Stetsman while she was married to her first husband, was born in Hartford, CT in 1860. Young Charlotte was observed as being bright, but her mother wasn’t interested in her education, and Charlotte spent lots of time in the library.

Charlotte married Charles Stetsman in 1884, and her daughter was born in 1885. She suffered from serious postpartum depression after giving birth to their daughter, Katharine. Her battle with postpartum depression and the doctors she dealt with during her illness inspired her to write "The Yellow Wallpaper."

The couple separated in 1888, the year that Perkins Gilman wrote her first book, Art Gems for the Home and Fireside. She later wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" in 1890, while she was in a relationship with Adeline Knapp, and living apart from her legal husband. "The Yellow Wallpaper" was published in 1892, and in 1893 she published a book of satirical poetry , In This Our World, which gained her fame.

Eventually, Perkins Gilman got officially divorced from Stetsman, and ended her relationship with Knapp. She married her cousin, Houghton Gilman, and claimed to be satisfied in the marriage .

Perkins Gilman made a living as a lecturer on women’s issues, labor issues, and social reform . She toured Europe and the U.S. as a lecturer, and founded her own magazine, The Forerunner.

Publication

"The Yellow Wallpaper" was first published in January 1892 in New England Magazine.

During Perkins Gilman's lifetime, the role of women in American society was heavily restricted both socially and legally. At the time of its publication, women were still twenty-six years away from gaining the right to vote .

This viewpoint on women as childish and weak meant that they were discouraged from having any control over their lives. Women were encouraged or forced to defer to their husband’s opinions in all aspects of life , including financially, socially, and medically. Writing itself was revolutionary, since it would create a sense of identity, and was thought to be too much for the naturally fragile women.

Women's health was a particularly misunderstood area of medicine, as women were viewed as nervous, hysterical beings, and were discouraged from doing anything to further “upset” them. The prevailing wisdom of the day was that rest would cure hysteria, when in reality the constant boredom and lack of purpose likely worsened depression .

Perkins Gilman used her own experience in her first marriage and postpartum depression as inspiration for The Yellow Wallpaper, and illustrates how a woman’s lack of autonomy is detrimental to her mental health.

Upon its publication, Perkins Gilman sent a copy of "The Yellow Wallpaper" to the doctor who prescribed her the rest cure for her postpartum depression.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" Characters

Though there are only a few characters in the story, they each have an important role. While the story is about the narrator’s mental deterioration, the relationships in her life are essential for understanding why and how she got to this point.

The Narrator

The narrator of the story is a young, upper-middle-class woman. She is imaginative and a natural writer, though she is discouraged from exploring this part of herself. She is a new mother and is thought to have “hysterical tendencies” or suffer from nervousness. Her name may be Jane but it is unclear.

John is the narrator’s husband and her physician. He restricts her activity as a part of her treatment. John is extremely practical, and belittles the narrator's imagination and feelings . He seems to care about her well-being, but believes he knows what is best for her and doesn't allow her input.

Jennie is John’s sister, who works as a housekeeper for the couple. Jennie seems concerned for the narrator, as indicated by her offer to sleep in the yellow wallpapered room with her. Jennie seems content with her domestic role .

Main Themes of "The Yellow Wallpaper"

From what we know about the author of this story and from interpreting the text, there are a few themes that are clear from a "Yellow Wallpaper" analysis. "The Yellow Wallpaper" was a serious piece of literature that addressed themes pertinent to women.

Women's Role in Marriage

Women were expected to be subordinate to their husbands and completely obedient, as well as take on strictly domestic roles inside the home . Upper middle class women, like the narrator, may go for long periods of time without even leaving the home. The story reveals that this arrangement had the effect of committing women to a state of naïveté, dependence, and ignorance.

John assumes he has the right to determine what’s best for his wife, and this authority is never questioned. He belittles her concerns, both concrete and the ones that arise as a result of her depression , and is said so brush her off and “laugh at her” when she speaks through, “this is to be expected in marriage” He doesn’t take her concerns seriously, and makes all the decisions about both of their lives.

As such, she has no say in anything in her life, including her own health, and finds herself unable to even protest.

Perkins Gilman, like many others, clearly disagreed with this state of things, and aimed to show the detrimental effects that came to women as a result of their lack of autonomy.

Identity and Self-Expression

Throughout the story, the narrator is discouraged from doing the things she wants to do and the things that come naturally to her, like writing. On more than one occasion, she hurries to put her journal away because John is approaching .

She also forces herself to act as though she’s happy and satisfied, to give the illusion that she is recovering, which is worse. She wants to be a good wife, according to the way the role is laid out for her, but struggles to conform especially with so little to actually do.

The narrator is forced into silence and submission through the rest cure, and desperately needs an intellectual and emotional outlet . However, she is not granted one and it is clear that this arrangement takes a toll.

The Rest Cure

The rest cure was commonly prescribed during this period of history for women who were “nervous.” Perkins Gilman has strong opinions about the merits of the rest cure , having been prescribed it herself. John’s insistence on the narrator getting “air” constantly, and his insistence that she do nothing that requires mental or physical stimulation is clearly detrimental.

The narrator is also discouraged from doing activities, whether they are domestic- like cleaning or caring for her baby- in addition to things like reading, writing, and exploring the grounds of the house. She is stifled and confined both physically and mentally, which only adds to her condition .

Perkins Gilman damns the rest cure in this story, by showing the detrimental effects on women, and posing that women need mental and physical stimulation to be healthy, and need to be free to make their own decisions over health and their lives.

The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis: Symbols and Symbolism

Symbols are a way for the author to give the story meaning, and provide clues as to the themes and characters. There are two major symbols in "The Yellow Wallpaper."

The Yellow Wallpaper

This is of course the most important symbol in the story. The narrator is immediately fascinated and disgusted by the yellow wallpaper, and her understanding and interpretation fluctuates and intensifies throughout the story.

The narrator, because she doesn’t have anything else to think about or other mental stimulation, turns to the yellow wallpaper as something to analyze and interpret. The pattern eventually comes into focus as bars, and then she sees a woman inside the pattern . This represents feeling trapped.

At the end of the story, the narrator believes that the woman has come out of the wallpaper. This indicates that the narrator has finally merged fully into her psychosis , and become one with the house and domesticated discontent.

Though Jennie doesn’t have a major role in the story, she does present a foil to the narrator. Jennie is John’s sister and their housekeeper, and she is content, or so the narrator believes, to live a domestic life. Though she does often express her appreciation for Jennie’s presence in her home, she is clearly made to feel guilty by Jennie’s ability to run the household unencumbered .

Irony in The Yellow Wallpaper

"The Yellow Wallpaper" makes good use of dramatic and situational irony. Dramatic literary device in which the reader knows or understands things that the characters do not. Situational irony is when the character’s actions are meant to do one thing, but actually do another. Here are a few examples.

For example, when the narrator first enters the room with the yellow wallpaper, she believes it to be a nursery . However, the reader can clearly see that the room could have just as easily been used to contain a mentally unstable person.

The best example of situational irony is the way that John continues to prescribe the rest-cure, which worsens the narrator's state significantly. He encourages her to lie down after meals and sleep more, which causes her to be awake and alert at night, when she has time to sit and evaluate the wallpaper.

The Yellow Wallpaper Summary

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is one of the defining works of feminist literature. Writing about a woman’s health, mental or physical, was considered a radical act at the time that Perkins Gilman wrote this short story. Writing at all about the lives of women was considered at best, frivolous, and at worst dangerous. When you take a look at The Yellow Wallpaper analysis, the story is an important look into the role of women in marriage and society, and it will likely be a mainstay in the feminist literary canon.

What's Next?

Looking for more expert guides on literary classics? Read our guides on The Cask of Amontillado and The Great Gatsby .

Need important and interesting quotes? Check out these 18 To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes and 9 Great Mark Twain Quotes .

For help analyzing literature and writing essays , read our expert guide on imagery , literary elements , and writing an argumentative essay .

Carrie holds a Bachelors in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, and is currently pursuing an MFA. She worked in book publishing for several years, and believes that books can open up new worlds. She loves reading, the outdoors, and learning about new things.

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The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte perkins gilman, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Yellow Wallpaper: Introduction

The yellow wallpaper: plot summary, the yellow wallpaper: detailed summary & analysis, the yellow wallpaper: themes, the yellow wallpaper: quotes, the yellow wallpaper: characters, the yellow wallpaper: symbols, the yellow wallpaper: literary devices, the yellow wallpaper: quizzes, the yellow wallpaper: theme wheel, brief biography of charlotte perkins gilman.

Historical Context of The Yellow Wallpaper

Other books related to the yellow wallpaper.

• Full Title: The Yellow Wallpaper
• When Written: June, 1890
• Where Written: California
• When Published: May, 1892
• Literary Period: Gothic
• Genre: Short story; Gothic horror; Feminist literature
• Setting: Late nineteenth century, in a colonial mansion that has been rented for the summer. Most of the story’s action takes place in a room at the top of the house that is referred to as the “nursery.”
• Climax: The narrator suffers a complete mental breakdown, identifying herself with the woman she has hallucinated as being trapped in the yellow wallpaper and clawing at the walls as she creeps in endless circles about the room and over her fainted husband.
• Antagonist: John, the narrator’s husband and doctor, could be considered an antagonist, although he is not a purely evil character.
• Point of View: First person narrator, in a series of diary entries.

Extra Credit for The Yellow Wallpaper

Self-funded. To finance her education at the Rhode Island School of Design, Charlotte Perkins Gilman painted advertisements (trade cards) for soap companies.

Utopian lit. In addition to critiques like The Yellow Wallpaper , Gilman wrote utopian fiction through which she imagined a world in which social conditions reflected equality for women.

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The Yellow Wallpaper

A madwoman’s perspective: examining point of view in “the yellow wallpaper” emily price college.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman presents readers with the theme of a woman restrained by her more powerful husband. When a woman being treated for hysteria by her domineering spouse is forced to stay in a room with maddening yellow wallpaper, she is eventually driven insane, imagining a woman is trapped inside the pattern. She herself is trapped in a world where women are not taken seriously and are dismissed as hysterical. Gilman’s choice of a first person point of view - more specifically one of a woman writing in a diary - helps to emphasize the frightening situation of the woman in the story. The unique point of view allows readers to see not only the internal feelings of a woman essentially imprisoned, but also the implications of writing such a diary and the moments when the woman is holding back (or being held back).

It must be admitted that there is a problem with having a first person narrator in a work of fiction. A certain degree of reliability is lost when readers only hear one side of the story, especially when it’s impossible to tell if that one side of the story is even true. Gilman certainly sets up the narrator of “The Yellow Wall-Paper” to be less than perfectly truthful. Soon after the...

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Analysis of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by C. Perkins Gilman

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Like Kate Chopin's " The Story of an Hour ," Charlotte Perkins Gilman's " The Yellow Wallpaper " is a mainstay of feminist literary study. First published in 1892, the story takes the form of secret journal entries written by a woman who is supposed to be recovering from what her husband, a physician, calls a nervous condition.

This haunting psychological horror story chronicles the narrator's descent into madness, or perhaps into the paranormal, or perhaps—depending on your interpretation—into freedom. The result is a story as chilling as anything by Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King .

Recovery Through Infantilization

The protagonist's husband, John, does not take her illness seriously. Nor does he take her seriously. He prescribes, among other things, a "rest cure," in which she is confined to their summer home, mostly to her bedroom.

The woman is discouraged from doing anything intellectual, even though she believes some "excitement and change" would do her good. She is allowed very little company—certainly not from the "stimulating" people she most wishes to see. Even her writing must happen in secret.

In short, John treats her like a child. He calls her diminutive names like "blessed little goose" and "little girl." He makes all decisions for her and isolates her from the things she cares about.

Even her bedroom is not the one she wanted; instead, it's a room that appears to have once been a nursery, emphasizing her return to infancy. Its "windows are barred for little children," showing again that she is being treated as a child—as well as a prisoner.

John's actions are couched in concern for the woman, a position that she initially seems to believe herself. "He is very careful and loving," she writes in her journal, "and hardly lets me stir without special direction." Her words also sound as if she is merely parroting what she's been told, though phrases like "hardly lets me stir" seem to harbor a veiled complaint.

Fact Versus Fancy

John dismisses anything that hints of emotion or irrationality—what he calls "fancy." For instance, when the narrator says that the wallpaper in her bedroom disturbs her, he informs her that she is letting the wallpaper "get the better of her" and refuses to remove it.

John doesn't simply dismiss things he finds fanciful though; he also uses the charge of "fancy" to dismiss anything he doesn't like. In other words, if he doesn't want to accept something, he simply declares that it is irrational.

When the narrator tries to have a "reasonable talk" with him about her situation, she is so distraught that she is reduced to tears. Instead of interpreting her tears as evidence of her suffering, he takes them as evidence that she is irrational and can't be trusted to make decisions for herself.

As part of his infantilization of her, he speaks to her as if she is a whimsical child, imagining her own illness. "Bless her little heart!" he says. "She shall be as sick as she pleases!" He does not want to acknowledge that her problems are real, so he silences her.

The only way the narrator could appear rational to John would be to become satisfied with her situation, which means there is no way for her to express concerns or ask for changes.

In her journal, the narrator writes:

"John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him."

John can't imagine anything outside his own judgment. So when he determines that the narrator's life is satisfactory, he imagines that the fault lies with her perception. It never occurs to him that her situation might really need improvement.

The Wallpaper

The nursery walls are covered in putrid yellow wallpaper with a confused, eerie pattern. The narrator is horrified by it.

She studies the incomprehensible pattern in the wallpaper, determined to make sense of it. But rather than making sense of it, she begins to identify a second pattern—that of a woman creeping furtively behind the first pattern, which acts as a prison for her.

The first pattern of the wallpaper can be seen as the societal expectations that hold women, like the narrator, captive. Her recovery will be measured by how cheerfully she resumes her domestic duties as wife and mother, and her desire to do anything else—like write—is something that would interfere with that recovery.

Though the narrator studies and studies the pattern in the wallpaper, it never makes any sense to her. Similarly, no matter how hard she tries to recover, the terms of her recovery—embracing her domestic role—never make sense to her, either.

The creeping woman can represent both victimization by the societal norms and resistance to them.

This creeping woman also gives a clue about why the first pattern is so troubling and ugly. It seems to be peppered with distorted heads with bulging eyes—the heads of other creeping women who were strangled by the pattern when they tried to escape it. That is, women who couldn't survive when they tried to resist cultural norms. Gilman writes that "nobody could climb through that pattern—it strangles so."

Becoming a Creeping Woman

Eventually, the narrator becomes a creeping woman herself. The first indication is when she says, rather startlingly, "I always lock the door when I creep by daylight." Later, the narrator and the creeping woman work together to pull off the wallpaper.

The narrator also writes, "[T]here are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast," implying that the narrator is only one of many.

That her shoulder "just fits" into the groove on the wall is sometimes interpreted to mean that she has been the one ripping the paper and creeping around the room all along. But it could also be interpreted as an assertion that her situation is no different from that of many other women. In this interpretation, "The Yellow Wallpaper" becomes not just a story about one woman's madness, but a maddening system.

At one point, the narrator observes the creeping women from her window and asks, "I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?"

Her coming out of the wallpaper—her freedom—coincides with a descent into mad behavior: ripping off the paper, locking herself in her room, even biting the immovable bed. That is, her freedom comes when she finally reveals her beliefs and behavior to those around her and stops hiding.

The final scene—in which John faints and the narrator continues to creep around the room, stepping over him every time—is disturbing but also triumphant. Now John is the one who is weak and sickly, and the narrator is the one who finally gets to determine the rules of her own existence. She is finally convinced that he only "pretended to be loving and kind." After being consistently infantilized by his comments, she turns the tables on him by addressing him condescendingly, if only in her mind, as "young man."

John refused to remove the wallpaper, and in the end, the narrator used it as her escape. 

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The Symbolism of ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ Explained

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ is an 1892 short story by the American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A powerful study of mental illness and the inhuman treatments administered in its name, the story succeeds largely because of its potent symbolism. Let’s take a look at some of the key symbols in the tale.

We have summarised the plot of the story and analysed it in detail in a separate post .

But let’s briefly summarise the plot of the story here, as a reminder: the narrator and her husband John, a doctor, have come to stay at a large country house. As the story develops, we realise that the woman’s husband has brought her to the house in order to try to cure her of her mental illness. His proposed (well, enforced ) treatment is to lock his wife away from everyone except him, and to withhold everything from her that might excite her.

It becomes clear, as the story develops, that depriving the female narrator of anything to occupy her mind is making her mental illness worse, not better. The narrator outlines to us how she sometimes sits for hours in her room, tracing the patterns in the yellow wallpaper on the walls of her room.

She then tells us she thinks she can see a woman ‘stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern.’ She becomes obsessed with the wallpaper as her mental state deteriorates, before eventually locking herself within the room and crawling around on the floor.

The Mansion.

‘ The Yellow Wallpaper ’ begins with the idea that we are about to read a haunted house story, a Gothic tale, a piece of horror. Such stories were a staple of late nineteenth-century magazines and enjoyed huge popularity.

And why else, wonders the story’s female narrator, would the house be available so cheaply unless it was haunted? And why had it remained unoccupied for so long? This is how many haunted house tales begin, so we are deliberately placed on this track, but it will turn out to be the wrong track.

But as we read on, we realise that the ‘haunting’ is not supernatural but psychological: the narrator of Gilman’s story contains her own demons within her mind, and her husband’s ‘treatment’ actually accentuates and intensifies these.

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ has the structure and style of a diary. This is in keeping with what the female narrator tells us: that she can only write down her experiences when her husband John is not around, because he forbids her to write because he thinks it will overexcite her. The whole story thus has the air of a secret text, with the narrator confiding in us – indeed, the reader is her only confidant.

But it also has the effect of shifting the narrative tense: from the usual past tense to the more unusual present tense. This has benefits in that it creates the sense of a continuous narrative, and events unfolding as we read them.

The Husband.

The narrator’s husband, John, is a doctor, but he is a world away from the ‘mad doctor’ trope found in Gothic texts, especially those influenced by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein and Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde .

John’s greatest flaw is not his inherent evil but his dogged devotion to the prevailing scientific opinion of the day. His danger to his wife is not in being some eccentric or power-hungry outlier, but in holding too fast to the medical orthodoxy of the time. He believes that incarcerating his wife alone away from her family – even her own children – will make her better.

Gilman uses suggestive symbolism to dramatise the complex relationship between husband and wife in the story. Take that final dramatic scene where John is about to break down the door to his wife’s chamber with an axe. So far, so ‘mad axeman found in countless horror stories and fairy tales’, with shades of Bluebeard , that wife-killer from European folk history.

But this narrative is complicated by the fact that John has come to save his wife from herself, while she – having locked herself away in the room in order to protect her husband and family from the strange women she believes are behind the yellow wallpaper in the room – believes she is protecting him.

Of course, her madness has been made worse by John’s treatment of her in the first place, but he believes he is acting in her own interests. The symbolism of the axe here, and the husband being prepared to break down the door to his wife’s bedroom, is layered and complex.

The Nursery.

It is significant that the room in which the narrator is incarcerated is the old nursery in the large house. The narrator tells us that there are bars on the windows to protect little children from hurting themselves, although ‘bars’ here also symbolise the narrator’s de facto imprisonment in the room.

The fact that the room was once a nursery and then, the narrator deduces, a ‘gymnasium’ is loaded with significance. The room thus symbolises the narrator’s own childlike state as she is treated like a naughty child by her husband and locked away in her room. The reference to a gymnasium is ironic, since a gymnasium is a room for exercise, but the room actually worsens the narrator’s health.

The Yellow Wallpaper.

The most powerful symbol in the story is the yellow wallpaper itself. But it is also, perhaps, the most ambiguous symbol in the story, because it can invite at least two very different interpretations.

The first interpretation views the yellow wallpaper as an outward and visible symbol of the narrator’s own internal state of mind. Her disordered mental state leads her to see all manner of figures in the paper’s patterns. Human beings have evolved to look for patterns as a survival mechanism, but here the narrator’s pattern-hunting is her undoing.

At one point, she mentions a ‘particularly irritating’ pattern which ‘you can only see it in certain lights, and not clearly then’. This closely ties the paper’s patterns with the narrator’s shifting moods and highlights the subjective nature of what she sees (or thinks she sees) in the wallpaper.

However, given the kinds of shapes the narrator describes seeing in the wallpaper, a second interpretation is possible. This one is more firmly focused on the story’s feminist message, and sees the shapes in the wallpaper as symbols of female oppression at the time the story was written. For example, the narrator describes detecting a figure ‘like a woman stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern.’

Indeed, the word ‘creeping’ (and its accompanying adjective, ‘creepy’, which seems doubly apt here) recurs numerous times throughout this short story. It implies that the narrator sees a version of herself – and all oppressed women – within the wallpaper, having to tread carefully around others, unable to be fully themselves. The verb ‘stooping’ also suggests bearing the weight of some kind of burden.

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The Yellow Wallpaper

Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’: Point of View Essay

Introduction.

Charlotte Perkins is a famous writer, journalist, and feminist. The Yellow Wallpaper is one of her short stories containing a feminist attitude characteristic of all her works.

In her numerous works, she consistently discusses the hierarchical status of women in society regarding patriarchy. The central theme in The Yellow Wallpaper is a restriction and subordination of women in domestic spheres. That is a consequence of male dominance in marriages. The first person’s point of view effectively illustrates this theme. Symbolism also emphasizes the subjugation of women in the story. This essay focuses on how the point of view in The Yellow Wallpaper helps to develop the theme.

The Yellow Wallpaper: Narration

Gilman points out the conventional setup of the nineteenth-century middle-class assumptions and attitudes towards marriages that prevent women from exercising their wishes and desires.

The theme of the short story is real because it is driven by the unfortunate events which occurred in Gilman’s life (Delashmit and Long 32).

Loss of identity for women among American households was a common scenario in American society in the nineteenth century. Women who wished to stabilize and express themselves did not get a listening ear.

The male-dominated society considered all female ideas invalid. Gilman’s story focuses on male dominance. She brings out her atrocious tale to explain what women face and how their husbands subject them to dictatorship. Gilman tells her story using first-person narration. Through the means of it, the readers empathize with the Narrator as they follow the progression of the story. First-person narration helps one get a deeper comprehension of the storyline and language.

There is an epistolary style in the story because the Narrator gives the sequence of events as diary entries. The continual use of the pronoun ‘I’ makes the reader relate to the Narrator’s point of view. According to Hochman (89), first-person narration in The Yellow Wallpaper makes this story incredibly different. It distinguishes this story from other creative stories of that time.

Moreover, it is an immensely challenging task for Gilman to bring out the story from her point of view, disregarding possible negative critiques from literary critics and the masses. Gilman forms an insider’s perspective to this story, thus giving an autobiographical nature to the text. Hochman further explains that such achievements were significant in America during the 1890s (89).

The Narrator’s point of view connects with the central theme of the story. The story has a feminist approach that explores feminism and challenges male dominance in society that roots in most households. Men feel that they have every right to exercise authority over women. For example, Gilman’s husband does not accept any explanation from her and always imposes his will over her.

The Narrator’s point of view gives the reader a mental picture of the setting for the story. Gilman’s description of the rental mansion shows the beauty of the place. She uses words such as “there is a delicious garden” and “the most beautiful place” to emphasize this beauty.

However, she also contradicts her point of view by describing the mansion as “a colonial mansion, a hereditary estate.” These phrases indicate that Gilman believes that men have colonized the mansion since time immemorial. It also shows that men dominate a place meant for equal sharing by both genders.

Thrailkill (525) interprets that the luxuriousness of the mansion is heritable (goes by from one generation to the next). The Narrator depicts the relationship between her husband and her from the first-person narration. She admits that John laughs at her, a statement that indicates that she is a casualty of low self-esteem and exasperation. She is also the object of ridicule to her husband.

The Narrator’s perspective becomes more explicit when she strongly points out that she is aware of her “nervous condition,” meaning that she is also conscious as a writer to raise this issue from a feminist’s point of view. The Narrator’s point of view brings out sarcasm and irony as styles in the story. The Narrator says that she is glad that her case is not severe when her husband is away at the hospital for long periods.

This shows how ironic it is that Gilman’s husband is busy solving serious cases outside, while his wife is suffering from nervous depression. It is also ironic that her husband’s attempts to cure her leave her in a worse mental state even after following distinctive directions.

The yellow wallpaper in Gilman’s room metaphorically supports her idea of the effects of male dominance on women’s lives. Similarly, her life has turned out unpleasant and unattractive, like an “unclean yellow” (Quawas 35).

Symbolism is an imperative style in the story. Symbolism clarifies the underlying purpose behind the writing of the story. Symbolism also adds to the perspective that the story builds in the reader and the Narrator’s minds.

The yellow wallpaper in the story is symbolic of the suppressed emotions of the protagonist. The wallpaper is “ripped,” “soiled,” “unclean yellow,” “revolting,” and “formless sort of figures.” These descriptions of the wallpaper are symbolic of the shapeless and suffocating life that the Narrator leads.

It symbolizes a filled with life with harsh memories. “Soiled” symbolizes the burial act, thus representing the death of her ideal life. “Ghostly sub-pattern” is symbolic of the haunted life she leads guided by ghosts of the dead. It shows her desires relating to her fascination with writing and creativity. She wants to fly away from the cage of patriarchy.

The Narrator’s character undergoes self-realization, developing through the mindset of the reader. The use of the first-person narration in The Yellow Wallpaper shapes the strength of the main character.

The course of action that the Narrator anticipates taking concerning her subdued life develops her character in the course of the story (Subotsky 22).

The deeper she interprets the emotional patterns on the yellow wallpaper, the farther she moves from her own life. Her character develops when she realizes the pain suffered by her fellow women.

Works Cited

Delashmit, M. & Long, C. “Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” The Explicator 50.1(1991):32. Print.

Hochman, B. “The Reading Habit and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’.” American Literature 74.1 (2002): 89-110. Print.

Quawas, R. “A New Woman’s Journey into Insanity: Descent and Return in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” AUMLA: Journal of the Australasian Universities Modern Language Association 105 (2006):35. Print.

Subotsky, F. “The Yellow Wallpaper (1892), Charlotte Perkins Gilman – Psychiatrists in 19th-century fiction.” The British Journal of Psychiatry195.1(2009):22. Print.

Thrailkill, J. “Doctoring ‘The yellow wallpaper.’” ELH 69.2 (2002): 525. Print.

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Analysis of Feminism in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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The Yellow Wallpaper: Themes & Symbols

There is no one major theme of The Yellow Wallpaper, but a few central ones: feminism and gender roles, freedom of expression, and mental illness.

Welcome to The Yellow Wallpaper themes & symbols page prepared by our editorial team!

• 📍 Point of View
• 🖋️ Literary Devices
• 🗺️ Navigation

🎓 References

🎵 the yellow wallpaper themes.

The Yellow Wallpaper tackles several themes relevant in modern times. The central conflict in the short story is the main character’s lack of agency resulting from her being a product of the patriarchal setting . Her inability to express herself is exacerbated even further by the need to conform to societal norms of the time.

Mental Illness in The Yellow Wallpaper

Although the mental illness is never given a name, it’s clear from the context that the main characte r is suffering from postpartum depression . It was poorly understood at the time, and the most common treatment was the so-called “rest cure,” which didn’t work. Charlotte Perkins Gilman , the author, learned it the hard way and described it in her short story.

“But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 1

The Yellow Wallpaper as an Autobiography

The Yellow Wallpaper is a semi-autobiographical story, as evidenced in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper . The writer posted this short article to address some of the questions readers had been mailing to her. Specifically, people were amazed by the apparent authenticity of the main character’s experience. Could it be that Gilman managed to grasp the details so masterfully precisely because she had experienced them firsthand?

As Gilman states in the article, she wrote the short story not to shock and appall the public with its gothic horror mental illness extravaganza. Instead, it was planned to be a cautionary tale against the use of “rest cure” for women diagnosed with postpartum depression. She was indeed a survivor of this novelty treatment, the newest invention of the most venerable psychiatrist in the city. After Gilman gave birth to her firstborn, she could not enjoy motherhood. As it was revealed in her autobiography, while holding her baby, she felt nothing but pain.

Upon consulting with Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, she was diagnosed with “nervous exhaustion,” aka “ neurasthenia ,” and the freaky escapade was on. Gilman was forcefully bedridden for an entire month with no visitors allowed, being fed fat-rich products to give her body extra sustenance. She was forbidden to get up from bed, read, write, talk, and she couldn’t even feed herself. After four weeks of this torture, she went home and proceeded to follow the “solemn” instructions of the “wise man.”

Live as domestic a life as possible. Have but two hours’ intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush, or pencil as long as you live.

According to Gilman, after three months of such life, she “came so near the borderline of “utter ruin” that she “could see over.” Recognizing the danger, she “cast the noted specialist’s advice to the winds and went to work again – work, the normal life of every human being; work, in which is joy and growth and service, without which one is a pauper and a parasite.”

After recovering her strength, Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper adding some colorful details for a more significant expressive effect. She actually “never had hallucinations or objections” to her “mural decorations.” Gilman wrote the story not “to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked.” The public was impressed by the bold descriptions of a descent into madness. There were instances of abandoning the treatment, which the author was notified of to her great joy. It was also said that the “noted specialist” went on to alter “his treatment of neurasthenia since reading The Yellow Wallpaper ” – although he “never acknowledged it.”

Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper

The question of gender is all-prevalent in The Yellow Wallpaper . The story is often regarded to commend feminism because the author portrays the relationship between the wife and the husband. Both assume their respective gender roles . The husband is rational, right, authorial, always confident, never uncertain. The wife is timid, shy, and submissive. She looks up to her husband as her senior, questions her judgment, and prioritizes his needs and feelings over hers.

“John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 1

This rigid distribution of roles eventually results in a disaster. The feminist discourse doesn’t necessarily imply that having such dynamics in a couple is ultimately wrong. According to feminist critique, what is wrong is to force it upon all people, as expected in a patriarchal society. When the expectations go astray, and the reality kicks in, one might expect a massive failure.

The patriarchal setting doesn’t taint just the interpersonal relationships, though. It’s evident from the story that the very system is contaminated by this way of thinking. It’s not just the personal and professional agency of women that is in jeopardy – the unbiased perception of their words is critical to their very well-being. The patriarchal set of mind clouds the medical judgment of male doctors and disallows medical professionals to evaluate things correctly. The Yellow Wallpaper tackles the “rest cure” question specifically. If the doctors cared to listen to their female patients, it would be evident that this treatment doesn’t work. But if a doctor intends to go the “confident patriarch” way, then the feelings and opinions of his female patients cease to matter.

The treatment you’ve prescribed works because you are always right and because you said so. Take the narrator’s husband, John, for example.

“If a physician of high standing, and one’s husband, assures friends and relatives that there is nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency – what is one to do?” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 1

John’s being ashamed of his wife’s not society-friendly condition, as well as his unwavering confidence in his judgment, resulted in his complete blindness to the progression of his wife’s sickness. And when it was too late, who was to blame – the husband for being so rigid-thinking, so narrow-minded? The wife for not finding the strength to stand up for herself? Or the patriarchal society that produced those two individuals in the first place?

Freedom of Expression in The Yellow Wallpaper

One of the major themes explored in The Yellow Wallpaper is freedom of expression . The main character of the story is denied it every step of the way. As a woman, she is expected to assume a submissive position and to prioritize the wants of others before hers. Then, her desire for self-expression is regarded as not just unnecessary but actively hazardous.

A woman has no place to do mental labor in the patriarchal setting because her primary function is that of a wife and a mother, a servant to the family, and the husband.

Once she upsets this “natural order,” all sorts of weirdness and disorder is to be expected, hence the ban on mental activities for the narrator.

“I think sometimes that if I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me.” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 2

The particular tragedy of this situation is that the narrator herself internalizes this way of thinking. She accepts the control of society and her husband over her life and her decisions. The conflict between how things are and she chooses to interpret them is the main reason for the eventual misfortune. Her entire being reacts to the harmful environment she is in. She seeks to express the things she cannot share with anybody through writing a secret diary, which, of course, is not nearly enough. She feels anger towards her husband for not listening to her, for constantly putting her down, for making her suffer because “it’s doing her good.” But the idea that the husband is always right is so deeply ingrained in the narrator that she doesn’t believe her feelings and sweeps them under the carpet.

“I suppose John never was nervous in his life. He laughs at me so about this wallpaper!” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 2

The immense shame of her disability makes matters even worse. The narrator keeps telling herself how her husband loves her and how her feelings are uncalled for. The only way for her psyche to free itself is by breaking. Only when she goes mad can she express her anger with being locked up and her distrust of her captors freely.

🌈 Symbols in The Yellow Wallpaper

The most profound image in the story is that of the yellow wallpaper. It’s the most well-described thing from the narrator’s surroundings, being the source of her unhealthy fixation. She finds an excuse to practice her writing skills, coming up with the most colorful, detailed, and creative ways to describe what has captivated her imagination.

“This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had!” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 2

Nevertheless, the wallpaper is not the source of pleasure for the disturbed mind of the narrator. On the contrary, she hates it. In her mind, the wallpaper symbolizes everything unpleasant there is.

What Does the Yellow Wallpaper Symbolize?

The yellow wallpaper is what the narrator gets unwillingly fixated on to give herself the mental exercise she is deprived of. The yellow color of the wallpaper is disgusting and reminds of all things yellow that are foul. But the absolute horror, according to the narrator, is the pattern – the prison bars of the room where she’s caged.

“The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out. I got up softly and went to feel and see if the paper did move…” The Yellow Wallpaper , entry 3

The Woman behind the wallpaper is trapped by the pattern and shakes it like prison bars, trying to get out.

The narrator is trapped in the room with the thing she hates. Just like her, the Woman behind the wallpaper is trapped behind the pattern. In the end, the narrator tears down the wallpaper, helping the Woman behind the wallpaper, who is at this point herself, to get out.

Thus, she symbolically frees herself from the pressure of societal norms she has been forced to adhere to. Unfortunately, this act is not therapeutic but a final step towards a complete mental breakdown. Only by becoming the Woman behind the wallpaper can the narrator be finally free to do what she pleases.

Imagery in The Yellow Wallpaper

The story’s primary focus is on the wallpaper. Its imagery is vivid: the color, repellant shades of yellow; the pattern, slanting waves of optic horror; a shadow figure, stooping down and crawling. The picture contrasts with the idyllic descriptions of the house and the surroundings. It symbolizes the perceived peacefulness of family life versus the hidden sorrow and suffering of the narrator.

🌎 The Yellow Wallpaper: Setting

The Yellow Wallpaper is set in America of the late 19th century . It presents a realistic depiction of contemporary social relationships of the time. The story is centered in a desolate mansion, as it’s customary for the Gothic genre narrative. The room where the Woman spends most of her time symbolizes the prison of social pressure crushing the narrator.

📍 The Yellow Wallpaper: Point of View

The point of view in The Yellow Wallpaper is first-person . The author chooses to present the story through the narrator’s eyes to give an intimate insight into her world. It’s the best way to make the reader feel for the sick Woman and see the world she lives in through her eyes, casting away judgment.

🖋️ The Yellow Wallpaper: Literary Devices

The author of The Yellow Wallpaper uses several literary devices in the story, such as personification , simile , and dramatic irony . They all serve the purpose of communicating to the reader the impending horror of the narrator’s gradual descent into madness. There are common Gothic elements in the story, such as first-person narration, a lonely house, and suspense.

• Feminist Gothic in “The Yellow Wallpaper” | – Lone Star College
• Feminist Criticism, “The Yellow Wallpaper” – JSTOR
• A Feminist Reading of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper
• The Yellow Wallpaper – BYU ScholarsArchive
• The Yellow Wallpaper
• The Yellow Wallpaper — Feminist Literary Criticism
• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: a gothic story
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The Yellow Wallpaper《黄色壁纸》女性主义解读，内附英语论文范文

The Yellow Wallpaper《黄色壁纸》是女权主义Feminism的代表作。很多在北美留学的同学应该都在课堂上读过这篇小说。今天 Dueessay 就来为大家详细解析小说《黄色壁纸》，还有论文范文可供参考！

The Yellow Wallpaper《黄色壁纸》作者及背景介绍

夏洛特·帕金斯·吉尔曼(charlotte perkins gilman，1860- 1935)是美国首次女权主义运动的主要理论家和活动家之一。她于1892年出版短篇小说《黄色壁纸》（the yellow wallpaper），1898年出版《妇女与经济》（ women and economics）。在1909年至1916年期间，她主办了杂志《先锋》（the forerunner）。.

吉尔曼在当时提出一些著名的观点，比如妇女应该从繁琐的家务中解放出来，经济上应该独立等等，这些挑战男权主义的观点在当时可以说是石破天惊。她最为著名的作品《黄色壁纸》在1892年发表时，就引起了巨大的反响。吉尔曼在小说发表多年后 （1913年）承认，小说是基于她自身的遭遇完成的。她在24岁与艺术家查尔斯・施泰森（Charles Stetson）年结婚，在长达十年的婚姻中，一度受重度忧郁症困扰并接受特殊治疗。

基于这部小说的真实背景和激进的观点，《黄色壁纸》被公认为心理学和女权主义运动史上的一篇杰作。即使在今天，它所蕴含的男女自由平等的思想也仍然有借鉴意义。

The Yellow Wallpaper《黄色壁纸》故事简介

小说结合了作者的亲身经历，描写了一个女人因为精神疾病，被她的医生丈夫安置在一个房间里进行休养治疗的故事。主人公被禁闭在一间黄色墙纸的房间里面，不能阅读也不能写字，她的丈夫停止了她的一切活动。这间房子和黄色壁纸，就如同坚固的牢房，将主人公和外部世界彻底隔绝起来。

虽然主人公的丈夫约翰始终坚信“休息疗养”是最佳方案，但是主人公的病情非但没有好转，反而急剧恶化。她将她的注意力完全集中在画有人头的黄色壁纸上，对上面的图案产生了浓厚的兴趣。她产生了幻觉，她觉得有无数女人在房间中爬行。

在结尾处，这个故事达到了一个高潮，在疗养期的最后一天，主人公撕掉墙上的黄色壁纸，想要释放墙纸上面的女人。她的丈夫十分惊讶，昏倒在地。而主人公也变成了一个爬行人，从昏倒的丈夫身边爬过。

The Yellow Wallpaper《黄色壁纸》主题分析

故事中的主人公在婚姻当中是一个无力和被动的角色。她终日被局限于房间之中，主人公只能保持沉默，只能在内心反抗她的丈夫对她施行的“疗养”。主人公的独立和自由一直受到束缚。而女性的角色，束缚，自由话语权等也是小说表现的主题。

小说中也大量地运用了象征手法。比如，黄色壁纸是女性在社会中受到压制和不公平对待的象征。尤其是壁纸上的格子图案，代表在男权主义的社会中，女性的自由受到禁锢。主人公总是在白天一动不动，强迫自己入睡，而在夜晚时，她却高度兴奋。因此，白天象征着男性和他们主导的社会，而夜晚和月光代表着女性。

在小说的结尾处，主人公最终精神彻底崩溃，撕毁了所有壁纸，并且逃离了牢笼一般的房间。她的丈夫约翰目瞪口呆，最终晕倒。这一戏剧性的结尾也表明了作者对实现男女平等的渴望与自信。

The Yellow Wallpaper《黄色壁纸》常见Essay topics

1) How does the narrator’s description of the wallpaper change over time? How is the wallpaper representative of the domestic sphere?

解析：主人公对黄色壁纸的描述如何变化？黄色壁纸有什么象征意义？为什么说它是家庭生活的象征？

2) What are the conflicts in The Yellow Wallpaper? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) did you notice? Is the conflict resolved?

解析：小说中存在哪些矛盾？比如道德上的，情感上的矛盾？这些矛盾最终被解决了吗？

3) What are some themes in The Yellow Wallpaper? Symbols? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

解析：小说包含了哪些主题和象征？这些主题和象征是如何和情节、人物联系起来的？

4) Compare the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper with Edna in The Awakening. Is the narrator suicidal?

解析：《黄色壁纸》通常会被拿来和另外一部女性主义小说《觉醒》一起讨论。两部作品都体现了男权主义社会对女性的禁锢和女性意识的觉醒，但是两位女主人公所处的环境非常不同。比较这两部小说中主人公不同的命运。

5) Why is The Yellow Wallpaper sometimes considered essential reading in Feminist Literature? What are the qualities that make it representative?

解析：为什么《黄色壁纸》被认为是女性主义文学的代表作？小说有哪些特点使之具有代表性？

6) What is the significance of the first-person perspective of the narrative? Why do you think Gilman briefly changes the point of view from first person singular to the second person as the narrator describes the pattern of the wallpaper?

解析：小说主要运用了第一人称的角度来描述。采用第一人称有什么作用？但是在描述壁纸图案的时候，作者从第一人称转换到了第二人称。你认为作者是因为什么原因转换了人称？

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