Issue of Identity in Charlotte P. Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’
Research Objective
The Yellow Wallpaper is a semi autobiographical short story by Charlotte P. Gilman. It was first published in January 1892 and is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature exploring the role of women in America at the time. The story is about a woman who gradually begins to lose her sanity when she is made to live in isolation and not allowed to engage in any activity other than taking bed rest as a cure for her ‘nervous disorder’. The story is written in first person narrative in the form of journal entries. Each entry in the journal describes her increased disconnect with reality, no longer identifying with the world outside, but instead fixated on the intricate, never-ending design of the wallpaper that she stares at all day. Eventually she starts seeing human faces on the wallpaper and starts thinking of herself as being one of the figures she sees on the yellow wallpaper. The woman’s identity is transformed from one of recovering wife and mother to a shadowy creeping figure embedded in the yellowed design of the wallpaper in the room. The woman loses her sanity and identity completely as a result of being repressed and restricted from doing anything she desires.
The research paper aims to …show more content…
He fails to appreciate the positive aspects of the change and growth that the Victorian society was witnessing. It was an age of expansion which caused its people to struggle. In this sense, Great expectations limits the reader’s perspective on the Victorian society and the reader is forced to look at the society negatively. Dickens is realistic to some extent but his portrayal of the upper class is also highly
Research Objective
The Yellow Wallpaper is a semi autobiographical short story by Charlotte P. Gilman. It was first published in January 1892 and is regarded as an important early work of American feminist literature exploring the role of women in America at the time. The story is about a woman who gradually begins to lose her sanity when she is made to live in isolation and not allowed to engage in any activity other than taking bed rest as a cure for her ‘nervous disorder’. The story is written in first person narrative in the form of journal entries. Each entry in the journal describes her increased disconnect with reality, no longer identifying with the world outside, but instead fixated on the intricate, never-ending design of the wallpaper that she stares at all day. Eventually she starts seeing human faces on the wallpaper and starts thinking of herself as being one of the figures she sees on the yellow wallpaper. The woman’s identity is transformed from one of recovering wife and mother to a shadowy creeping figure embedded in the yellowed design of the wallpaper in the room. The woman loses her sanity and identity completely as a result of being repressed and restricted from doing anything she desires.
The research paper aims to …show more content…
He fails to appreciate the positive aspects of the change and growth that the Victorian society was witnessing. It was an age of expansion which caused its people to struggle. In this sense, Great expectations limits the reader’s perspective on the Victorian society and the reader is forced to look at the society negatively. Dickens is realistic to some extent but his portrayal of the upper class is also highly