The Yellow Wallpaper

[Hayley Delk]

 Post #3 

In another Literature class I am enrolled in we have been discussing stories that are early feminist text. Although we have been talking about a lot of authors and stories one that particularly stood out to me was “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Feminist, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defined as the belief woman and men should have equal rights. This story is recognized to be one of the early feminist texts and is about a woman struggling against the social norm.  Since the text was written by a woman I believe her feelings towards society and the norms are shown through this story. To the reader it is clear that an overpowering husband has driven his wife crazy and in attempt to help her by placing her in a room he only drives her insane. Back in the day when dealing with post-partum depression the doctors, as well as husbands, believed it was best to keep a close watch on their wives and keep them placed inside at all times in order for them to “get better”. Because her husband was a physician he treated her more as a patient than as his wife. This indeed drove her out of her mind. In this story it is clear that Gilman’s view on the way women were treated was poor. Gilman felt that women were being treated unfair and without a voice in society. Men should not have had the choice to place their wives in a home and lock them in a room if they were depressed due to having a baby. The story is told through her own thoughts and feelings in a journal. She even says that her husband John doesn’t like her to have a say and doesn’t support her ideas so she has to hide her journal. 

[csb...@gmail.com]

Carly Bardfeld 

Post # 4 “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is one of my favorite pieces of feminist literature. I think there are many plausible interpretations of the female speaker. In relation to the state of the female character’s state of mind, there are minor details that do not seem significant at a first read. I think it is up to the reader to decide if the female character is delusional and/or crazy, suppressed by her husband, or she is crazy and/ or delusional due to her husband’s mistreatment. It is important to note that the female speaker never reveals her name, which adds mystery to her character. Why does Gilman exclude the female character’s name? The female character mentions her husband’s name and occupation, yet she never says her own name. Also, her random rampages and drifts in thought show that, perhaps, there is something mentally or emotionally wrong with her. It seems that her husband—who is a doctor—feels that there is something “off” about her, because she is a woman who craves creativity and freedom. Another important detail in the short story is when the speaker describes the room. She describes the room as a hospital-like setting. She uses elaborate descriptions, which helps the reader better understand the female character. The speaker is definitely feeling a sense of entrapment, and I think that is due to her husband’s unrealistic ideal of women. In my opinion, I think the female character did not live up to her husband’s idea of the perfect woman. As retaliation, he labeled her as “sick,” because she did not fit his standard of wife. To add, there are instances where she seems delusional and crazy—I cannot deny that; however, I think her husband drove her to insanity. I think that if anyone were treated like a child and trapped in a hospital setting, then he or she would develop a slightly skewed perception of reality. To conclude, I think Gilman manipulates the female speaker, in order, to raise awareness that overbearing professionals have a skewed perception of women. 

[Alexandra Zetlaoui]

Post 4

I agree with how Carly dissected the story. The view is seen as a domestic sphere, which was commonly what women were put in during the time in that society. And yea, while it does end a little up in the air (is she sick or crazy, or does she finally have the freedom she wanted from her terrible marriage?), I think the story gives you enough context clues to figure out yourself what the ending is suppose to mean. Especially in the end when her husband is on the floor and she is above him, the symbolism showed in that scene is tremendous. It's her rising over her husband, and her label as insane. It is clear however, that the cure her doctor has prescribed her for her illness (to live a life as domestic as possible) was ultimately what almost drove her to complete insanity, and that writing is what saved her soul. And Carly did notice how the female narrator never once says her name, I think it's because maybe, she has no sense of identity. She sits at home and has failed at being the perfect wife, what women were to suppose to aspire to be in those days, and with that being failed, who could she possibly be? Her husband and marriage has driven her mad and her sense of identity and purpose is lost, but we do get great description of what's around her, and her husband which gives us a better idea of who the narrator is. Seeing how this was written in Gilman's journal, it is easier now to understand and get a feel for the narrator, but back then, when no one knew who she was, perhaps she thought leaving the narrator anonymous would benefit the women reading the story. Maybe, leaving the narrator nameless, would make it easier for women to relate and connect with the character.

[Christen Caporali]

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is a powerful piece of feminist literature that describes a woman’s incarceration, both physically and mentally.  The narrator of the story feels suppressed by her marriage, her society, and in her own efforts to repress her mind. Throughout the story, she becomes more and more disassociated with the outside world, while at the same time gaining a better understanding of the reality of her life.  It is left up to the reader to decide if the narrator is simply insane to begin with, or driven insane by her conditions.

At the time the piece was written, women did not have the same rights to creativity and self-expression that they did today. Women were expected to be passive and childlike, and were unable to better themselves through education. In order to repress and dominate his wife, John prescribes a “rest cure,” during which she is forced to become completely passive, and is not allowed to exercise her mind in any way, especially writing.  This rest cure is the ultimate trigger to the narrator’s loss of sanity. Woolf describes this in her article “A Room of One’s Own”.  She begins her article with a short story about Judith Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s twin sister.  Judith has the same talent as Shakespeare, but while his talents are encouraged and celebrated, hers are unrecognized by her family and the rest of society.  Because of this, she is forced to write in secret and is ashamed of her talent.  This inherently shows the way society systematically discriminated between men and women during the 19^th century.  As a result of her suppression, Judith ultimately commits suicide.  “For it needs little skill in psychology to be sure that a highly gifted girl who tried to use her gift for poetry would have been so thwarted and hindered by other people, so tortured and pulled asunder by her own contrary instincts, that she must have lost her health and sanity to a certainty” (Woolf, 600).  Woolf argues that women have lacked the basic needs for literary production; i.e.; leisure time, privacy, and financial independence. Due to this, women have been unable to fully devote themselves to literature, and have had it suffer as a result.