Madness or Revenge, You Be The Judge! Alternative feminist look at "The Yellow Wallpaper"
The “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman is an interesting commentary on turn of the century women’s issues. This is based on the fact that it is a story written by a woman, about a woman and gives the reader a close insight into the character 's perspective. Gilman explores the patriarchal society that women of the 20th century were forced to endure. She effectively captures the oppression and marginalization of women in her story. The depiction of the men in the story, especially John, her husband, her brother and even Dr. S. Weir Mitchell shows a societal imbalance of power and speaks to patriarchal domination. Gilman’s story has been touted by …show more content…
Rula Quawas discusses some theories about these diagnoses in her essay “A New Women’s Journey into Insanity: Descent and Return in The Yellow Wallpaper”. Quawas contends the narrator’s husband believes she is not getting well by choice. He demonstrates this by saying “she shall be as sick as she pleases!” (661). This attitude causes the narrator to rebel against her husband, brother and Dr. S. Weir Mitchell’s treatment and the infamous rest cure. The narrator appears to comply with her treatment regime in the beginning of story. She is subservient to her husband, as a proper Victorian woman should be, entrusting him in all the practical matters concerning her health and family issues. Gilman demonstrates the narrators acceptance and compliance with this passage “I take the phosphates or phosphite – whichever it is, and the tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise…”(655). The narrator’s struggle with the medication pronunciation confirms her non–technical knowledge appropriate for the time period, level of education and social station. As the story continues to evolve, the narrator starts to act out and develop a different attitude toward her husband and his diagnosis. The narrator speaks differently to her husband saying things like “ I don’t weigh a bit more, I said” (Gilman 661). This change in attitude could be interpreted as the narrator’s …show more content…
Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is rich with patriarchal domination examples beginning in the first paragraphs of the story. The narrator tells us about her husband laughing at her (Gilman 655). This early revelation sets the tone of the story as we see the Victorian male dominated marriage dynamic at work. Denise Knight in her article “I’m getting angry enough to do something desperate: The Question of Female Madness”, explores the theory of internal rage. Knight believes the narrator’s behavior can be linked to her husband’s patronization thus creating rage. Based on the information presented in the article it can be theorized that the narrator’s actions are linked to the domineering nature of her husband. The narrator expresses her displeasure at her husband when she states, “Personally, I disagree with their ideas…” (Gilman 655). This type of language would not be considered acceptable if she expressed it out loud instead of instead of on the “dead paper” (Gilman 655). John’s behavior however is typical of the Victorian mindset that causes the narrator to rebel against the authoritarian position typical of the time period. This behavior is partially responsible for a build up of anger and rage that could be misconstrued as mental illness as opposed to rebellion. It would be out of character for the narrator to defy her husband in this time period per Gilman in her autobiography titled
The “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman is an interesting commentary on turn of the century women’s issues. This is based on the fact that it is a story written by a woman, about a woman and gives the reader a close insight into the character 's perspective. Gilman explores the patriarchal society that women of the 20th century were forced to endure. She effectively captures the oppression and marginalization of women in her story. The depiction of the men in the story, especially John, her husband, her brother and even Dr. S. Weir Mitchell shows a societal imbalance of power and speaks to patriarchal domination. Gilman’s story has been touted by …show more content…
Rula Quawas discusses some theories about these diagnoses in her essay “A New Women’s Journey into Insanity: Descent and Return in The Yellow Wallpaper”. Quawas contends the narrator’s husband believes she is not getting well by choice. He demonstrates this by saying “she shall be as sick as she pleases!” (661). This attitude causes the narrator to rebel against her husband, brother and Dr. S. Weir Mitchell’s treatment and the infamous rest cure. The narrator appears to comply with her treatment regime in the beginning of story. She is subservient to her husband, as a proper Victorian woman should be, entrusting him in all the practical matters concerning her health and family issues. Gilman demonstrates the narrators acceptance and compliance with this passage “I take the phosphates or phosphite – whichever it is, and the tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise…”(655). The narrator’s struggle with the medication pronunciation confirms her non–technical knowledge appropriate for the time period, level of education and social station. As the story continues to evolve, the narrator starts to act out and develop a different attitude toward her husband and his diagnosis. The narrator speaks differently to her husband saying things like “ I don’t weigh a bit more, I said” (Gilman 661). This change in attitude could be interpreted as the narrator’s …show more content…
Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is rich with patriarchal domination examples beginning in the first paragraphs of the story. The narrator tells us about her husband laughing at her (Gilman 655). This early revelation sets the tone of the story as we see the Victorian male dominated marriage dynamic at work. Denise Knight in her article “I’m getting angry enough to do something desperate: The Question of Female Madness”, explores the theory of internal rage. Knight believes the narrator’s behavior can be linked to her husband’s patronization thus creating rage. Based on the information presented in the article it can be theorized that the narrator’s actions are linked to the domineering nature of her husband. The narrator expresses her displeasure at her husband when she states, “Personally, I disagree with their ideas…” (Gilman 655). This type of language would not be considered acceptable if she expressed it out loud instead of instead of on the “dead paper” (Gilman 655). John’s behavior however is typical of the Victorian mindset that causes the narrator to rebel against the authoritarian position typical of the time period. This behavior is partially responsible for a build up of anger and rage that could be misconstrued as mental illness as opposed to rebellion. It would be out of character for the narrator to defy her husband in this time period per Gilman in her autobiography titled