The Yellow Wallpaper Literary Analysis

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper is a commentary on the male oppression of women in a patriarchal society. However, the story itself presents an interesting look at one woman's struggle to deal with both physical and mental confinement. This theme is particularly thought-provoking when read in today's context where individual freedom is one of our most cherished rights. Gen Caruso states “The Yellow Wallpaper was based on Gilman's personal experience with postpartum depression and treatment received by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, pioneer of the Rest Cure.” (4)
The Yellow Wallpaper begins with the narrator's description of the physically confining elements surrounding her. The story is cast in an isolated estate, set back from the
The narrator complains "John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him." John's contempt for his wife's ideas is blatant; he refers to her as a "little girl," and when she requests that she be moved to a different room downstairs, he "took her in his arms and called her a blessed little goose, and said he would go down to the cellar, if she wished, and have it whitewashed into the bargain." That he is only willing to move her into the basement, instead of allowing her a room of her choice, epitomizes his domineering
The narrator also can represent any woman and the struggle that woman went through to get closer to achieving equality. John’s sister, Jennie, comes to help take care of the narrator. Jennie is the epitome of a woman who falls into the conventional female role: “She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession,” (18). The narrator attempts to keep her writing a secret from Jennie, so that her one outlet will not be taken away. At some times, it seems as though the narrator pities Jennie and feels sorry for Jennie’s pathetic views. As the narrator descends into madness, her views on society change and become more modern. She is emancipating herself from the docile role that a woman should play. Gilman uses the narrator and the symbolism in The Yellow Wall-Paper, to show society’s views on women. The narrator eventually goes against common culture and becomes a feminist. Men thought the feminist movement was weak and useless, while comparatively, men like John thought their wives were weak and useless outside the home. At the story’s conclusion, the narrator was directing her own footsteps and in reality, women are doing the