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Feminism In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is a story about a woman’s struggle to be heard in a society working against her. The narrator has been diagnosed with “nervous depression” (648), and her physician husband decides to take her to a mansion to help her recover; her recovery also involves not participating in any activity that might stimulate her mind, like writing. The narrator describes the house as having “hedges and walls and gates that lock” (648), and the room she has to stay in has bars on the windows, almost like a prison. The narrator also points out the hideous wallpaper, and makes many references to it throughout the story. This wallpaper symbolizes much more than horrid design; it is a symbol of the narrator’s, and other …show more content…

Feminism, as it relates to this story, is about women being treated equally as men, being free to express themselves, and being taken seriously. The Yellow Wallpaper acts as a window into the life of a victim of oppression. The narrator’s thoughts, feelings, and needs are constantly written off as silly and less important when compared to her husband’s. This is demonstrated on page 652 when the narrator is begging her husband to take her away from the mansion because of how unhappy it makes her, but he says, “The repairs are not done at home, and I cannot possibly leave town just now,” and that she’s not “in any danger.” John has just proven that he doesn’t see his wife’s needs or her illness as authentic or important; he is more concerned about himself and materialistic things than his wife. The fact that the narrator cannot leave her room, let alone the mansion, demonstrates John’s control over her, her lack of freedom, and the importance of power when dealing with inequality. John has been given all of the power in the relationship; so the narrator is not allowed to do, think, or speak as she pleases, and she is not taken seriously by her husband. Because the narrator lacks power in her relationship, and in society, she lives a life of imprisonment and

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As was common of the treatment of women during the nineteenth century, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," is one of oppression as John, the protagonist's physician husband, tries to cure her mental illness with a treatment plan of solitude and rest after moving in hopes his wife will regain her health. While critics have debated what causes the character's eventual insanity, María Teresa González Mínguez suggests that lack of a creative outlet lends to the woman's rapid regression. The protagonist's lack of a creative outlet combined with isolation ensures a downward spiral for the woman as symptoms of her mental illness ultimately consume her. While John hopes monitoring his wife's behaviors will cure her, his efforts only worsen her mental state.

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She wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” in an effort to open the public’s eyes to the unfairness of this treatment. By infusing Jane’s narrative with childish language and actions without ever actually calling “Jane” by her name, Gilman creates a universal experience any woman of the time could insert herself into. This allowed women to fully realize the injustice they faced. John’s belittlement of Jane also serves to create both a universal and eye opening experience for the women reading it. Additionally, for those who were willing to read into the symbolism, the nursery and the meaning underlying it added to the injustice Gilman conveys.

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