Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper

A literary work can be interpreted in a many different ways, but the author’s personal view of her/his work can provide a deeper insight for the readers. In “ Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper “ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, portray her own perspective which helps to express her argument. In this essay, Gilman portrays the women’s role as a domestic figure in a patriarchal society. Women were expected to follow the societal expectations, where their place was in private domain. The author states that, “... he concluded there was nothing much the matter with me, and sent me home with solemn advice to live as domestic a life as far as possible, to have but two hours’ intellectual life a day, and never to touch pen, brush, or pencil again as long as I lived” (Gilman “Why” 1). One can see that, she was perfectly fine but she was told to be in private domain and live her life as it had been expected by society and her role as a woman. Also she was limited intellectually and was forbidden to write, even though she had been a writer her entire life. The author also states, “ I went home and obeyed …show more content…
The author said, “I went home and obeyed those directions for some three months, and came so near the borderline of utter mental ruin that I could see over” (Gilman “Why” 1). This relates back to the short story “Yellow Wallpaper”, when she says, “Such a peculiar odor, too! I have spent hours in trying to analyze it, to find what it smelled like” (Gilman “Yellow” 247). She also says, “ I am getting angry enough to do something desperate. To jump out of the window would be admirable exercise, but the bars are too strong even to try” (Gilman “Yellow” 250). The first quote from the author portrays how she is losing her sanity bit by bit and the second quote illustrates how she has completely lost her sanity and even considering a suicide as a solution to what she was