Insanity and Feminism in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte...

Insanity and Feminism in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman reflects the intense struggle with of a woman during the late 1800’s. However, as the story unfolds, we realize the reasons for this insanity and the connections of this breakdown to the main character’s husband, John. What we discover is the way women were treated during the late 1800’s and the significance of this treatment on their lives. The story clearly expresses the pain, opposition, and depression experienced by women at that time and provides a backdrop for the initial stages of the feminist movement. As the story begins, the author decribes in detail her painful†¦show more content†¦When she states â€Å"You see he does not believe I am sick!† it is evident that she feels very repressed and that no matter what she says that she needs her husband, he does not have the capacity to understand or to respond to those needs. He is emotionally unavailable. Her frustration grows and contributes to her insanity and pain as the story progresses. The house in this story represents the main character and the opposition she faces related to her husband. â€Å"It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of English places they you read about, for there are the hedges and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people.† The way she describes how the house stands back from the road and the hedges, walls, and gates that lock are symbolic of how she sees herself. She feels very alone. The main character states â€Å"I am afraid, but I don’t care-there is something strange about the house-I can feel it.† This explains how she feels about herself, that something is wrong, she can feel it. These feelings are directly connected to oppositional nature of her husband. The rest of the story conveys in great detail the symbolism of the yellow wallpaper, it’s contribution to her depression. The wallpaper seems to represent the main character’s husband. â€Å"The wallpaper, as I said before, is torn off in spots, andShow MoreRelatedCharlotte Perkins Gilm Domestic Insanity And Feminism1072 Words   |  5 PagesMelanie Bottini ENGL 222 TTh 11:30 AM Chris Ruiz-Velasco 10 February 2014 Charlotte Perkins Gilman – Domestic Insanity and Feminism Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an author who lived from 1860 to 1935 who represents the movement of American women towards intellectual freedom and empowerment during the turn of the century. Gilman was a great lecturer who used her fame to spread her ideas across the country, speaking at various organizations at cities from coast to coast. She was also a poet, novelistRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman846 Words   |  4 PagesThe dignified journey of the admirable story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† created by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, gave the thought whether or not the outcome was influenced by female oppression and feminism. Female oppression and feminist encouraged a series of women to have the freedom to oppose for their equal rights. Signified events in the story â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† resulted of inequality justice for women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman gave the reader different literary analysis to join the unjustifiableRead More The Cult Of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1371 Words   |  6 PagesMichael Zhao K. Keogh AP Lit. Period 3 22 January 2015 The Cult of Domesticity â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts a young woman’s gradual descent into insanity due to her entrapment, both mentally and physically, in the restrictive cult of domesticity. 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By the turn of the century,Read More Freedom for Women in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin1202 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom for Women in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin are two feminist works in which liberation is the overlying theme. Both of the main characters achieve freedom from their husbands oppression in these short stories; however, freedom is only achieved through insanity in The Yellow Wallpaper and death in The Story of an Hour. The womenRead Moreâ€Å"The labor of women in the house, certainly, enables men to produce more wealth than they otherwise1300 Words   |  6 Pages But so are horses.† Stated by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She compared the labor of women to a horse because just as a horse has no say neither did women. She states that men could be wealthier if women were to work instead of doing only house work but they are entitled to keep up the house and that is there economic function in society. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a huge feminist in her time and influenced women through her literature such as The Yellow Wallpaper whic h displayed the struggles ofRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper Short Story Essay810 Words   |  4 Pages2017 Short Story Essay â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a 6,000 word short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This story first appeared in The New England Magazine in January 1892 and became a classic in the realm of gothic literature. Although this story does provide information regarding feminism, the ghostly horror prevails itself throughout this story. Gilman’s story depicts elements that definitely link it to the Gothic genre. Not only does â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† contain haunting features inRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman764 Words   |  4 PagesMarch 2016 The Yellow Wallpaper In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short piece, The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator faces many adversities as a woman such as: mental health, and living in a time period when they are not treated equal to men. Gilman’s personal life is reflected through this story because she dealt with similar challenges the narrator herself has to overcome. â€Å"Her lectures, novels, short stories, magazine articles (including her best known work, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†), and nonfictionRead MoreOppression In The Yellow Wallpaper1422 Words   |  6 PagesIn â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a woman who is a wife and mother is forced into a confined, isolated house to help with her mental illness. The woman is told by her husband, a physician, that the confinement is the best cure for her. The short story shows how the woman slowly succumbs to insanity as she spends her days in her room locked away from society. The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilma n, was known as a prominent feminist and social thinker during the late eighteenth century