This essay dwells upon a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper”. It analyzes the characters, style, themes and symbols of the story. Also, the essay examines the author’s contribution to the development of early feminism in the 19th century and describes those events in Gilman’s life which could become the basis for this story, which, in fact, is partially autobiographical.
The author speaks on behalf of a woman who spends days and nights in a room with yellow wallpaper. In fact, her husband and her doctor think that being in that room can help her overcome the consequences of postpartum psychosis. It must be said that the main character, Jane, did not like that room on the first glance; from the very beginning she describes …show more content…
Actually, this room with the yellow wallpaper is Jane’s prison; the readers can feel it by the tone of the narration, which gradually becomes desperate. However, Jane does not make any tangible attempts to leave the room: she looks for a solution inside it. It means that she does not count on changing the outside world; her intentions reflect only some timid endeavors to convey her anxiety to all other people. Also, as mentioned, this story is in many ways personal: Gilman herself suffered from improper treatment of a male doctor, similarly to the protagonist of her story. Thereby, “Gilman's life affected her writings, both the nonfiction, which gained her fame, and the fiction, especially "The Yellow Wallpaper" (Berman 2).
Certainly, “The Yellow Wallpaper” became one of the writings which contributed to the development of a feminist movement in America and Europe. Obviously, Gilman used all power of her literary talent to tell about injustice in relation to women only in the well-to-do families. In fact, in every line of this story readers can feel helplessness and despair of the main character. Of course, the text is full of symbols; even the situation when Jane crawls over her husband’s body looks like a little victory of all women over men who are unwilling to understand
The author speaks on behalf of a woman who spends days and nights in a room with yellow wallpaper. In fact, her husband and her doctor think that being in that room can help her overcome the consequences of postpartum psychosis. It must be said that the main character, Jane, did not like that room on the first glance; from the very beginning she describes …show more content…
Actually, this room with the yellow wallpaper is Jane’s prison; the readers can feel it by the tone of the narration, which gradually becomes desperate. However, Jane does not make any tangible attempts to leave the room: she looks for a solution inside it. It means that she does not count on changing the outside world; her intentions reflect only some timid endeavors to convey her anxiety to all other people. Also, as mentioned, this story is in many ways personal: Gilman herself suffered from improper treatment of a male doctor, similarly to the protagonist of her story. Thereby, “Gilman's life affected her writings, both the nonfiction, which gained her fame, and the fiction, especially "The Yellow Wallpaper" (Berman 2).
Certainly, “The Yellow Wallpaper” became one of the writings which contributed to the development of a feminist movement in America and Europe. Obviously, Gilman used all power of her literary talent to tell about injustice in relation to women only in the well-to-do families. In fact, in every line of this story readers can feel helplessness and despair of the main character. Of course, the text is full of symbols; even the situation when Jane crawls over her husband’s body looks like a little victory of all women over men who are unwilling to understand