Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s the Yellow Wallpaper, Essay Example

Introduction

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is fairly regarded as one of the most talented short story examples in modern literature. Written and told by an unnamed narrator, the story is actually a reflection of the narrator’s inner fight for happiness. This happiness for the narrator is integrally associated with the meaning of individuality, independence, self-realization, and self-confidence. These are the features, which Gilman’s narrator seeks to acquire and use in the process of individual and moral evolution. That this evolution is difficult and painful is an obvious reality: the narrator has but to lose her past individuality for the sake of acquiring a new, more self-sufficient one. In the context of Gilman’s short story, the narrator’s dependence on her husband, the lack of self-realization and continuous suppression of her own individuality, as well as her unique imagination and the search for freedom significantly contribute to the readers’ understanding of her character and create a whole picture of a woman’s fight for spiritual and moral liberation.

The narrator’s dependence on her husband and the conflict between her and her husband’s vision of life set the stage for understanding and exploring the narrator’s personality. This conflict, on the one hand, makes it easier for readers to evaluate the narrator’s inner world and, on the other hand, creates opportunities necessary for the female narrator to realize the need for a profound spiritual change. But before this change occurs, the whole narrator’s life is about trying to balance her inner strivings with the limitations imposed on her by her husband, and the frequent use of the word “but” in the first half of the story aggravates these conflicting moods and impressions in readers: “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society stimulus – but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition […] I even said so to John one moonlight evening but he said what I felt was a draught, and shut the window […] I think it is due to this nervous condition. But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self-control” (Gilman). The word “but” in Gilman’s short story is critical for understanding how the female narrator fights for but fails to protect her own individuality and right for having her own opinion. These are, probably, the starting points in her gradual movement to change.

The vision of conflict between the narrator and her husband is further supplemented by lack of self-realization and self-expression: not only does the narrator have to reconcile with her husband’s opinions about her and her health condition, but she is also forbidden to use her writing and imagination to feel better. “I always fancy I see people walking in these numerous paths and arbors, but John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency […] There comes John’s sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me! I must not let her find me writing” (Gilman).  Here, the narrator is not simply a woman who is suppressed in her talents but also a woman, who is inherently lonely in her sufferings – the loneliness that adds to her self-realization problems and can be directly responsible for her health condition. The narrator does not have anyone to judge her writings; nor is her husband willing to recognize the spiritual and moral tortures, through which she is going. As a creative personality, the narrator can hardly restrain her creative urges, and imagination in Gilman’s story is probably central to understanding of the narrator’s character.

The narrator’s imagination plays the central role in understanding her character. It is the narrator’s imagination that leads the woman to release herself from her husband’s moral pressure. Imagination is the narrator’s best and most reliable companion: the lack of the writing opportunities readily turns the wallpaper into the first and the primary object of her creative analysis: “I never saw so much expression in an inanimate thing before, and we all know how much expression they have! I used to lie awake as a child and get more entertainment and terror out of blank walls and plain furniture than most children could find in a toy-store” (Gilman). The narrator does not have a chance to openly express her feelings and hidden emotions – her husband is too pragmatic of a person to ever accept them seriously; and when writing cannot compensate for the lack of emotions and self-expression, only imagination can save the narrator from the inevitable spiritual loneliness.

Imagination is necessary for the understanding of the narrator’s character not only because it serves a good tool of the narrator’s self-analysis, but because it also becomes the major driver on the narrator’s way to self-liberation. “I have locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path. I don’t want to go out, and I don’t want to have anybody come in, till John comes. I want to astonish him. I’ve hot a rope up here that even Jennie did not find. If that woman does get out, and tries to get away, I can tie her!” (Gilman). Decisiveness, the unwillingness to tolerate her husband’s pressure, the desire to work and write, and to rebel against the conditions of her marriage signify the turning point and the culmination of the story, as well as the transformation of the narrator’s character. The wallpaper activates her hidden forces and desires, and she no longer wants to see herself as the meek reflection of her husband’s shadow.

Conclusion

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is fairly regarded as one of the prominent examples of modern short story. Written from the viewpoint of a female narrator, the whole story is about a woman’s striving to release herself from emotional pressures and her way to moral self-liberation. The lack of self-realization, emotional expression, and imagination are the most important elements in understanding the narrator’s character; they create a full picture of the story and signify the young woman’s emotional and moral liberation.

Works Cited

Gilman, S.P. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1899. College of Staten Island Library. 23 February 2010 http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/