Social and Feminist Analysis of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Essay Example

There are many processes through which people may lose their sanity. As it can be seen in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, Gilman Charlotte Perkins adopts an approach which is stealthy and acts in advance using the approach as a medium to present her arguments on the roots of feminism. In the story, the author immerses herself into the psyche of a mother and a wife which no one understands and are powerless in their own dangers. A clear picture of the place of women in the year 1911 is portrayed by Gilman. The author, Gilman also shares her experiences in that era when she was dealing with neurasthenia. When we look at the story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ from the perspective of a Feminist and Sociological view, the author shows a report of the social structures which are scathing and dates back to her era when she had her own failed prescription as well as personal criticism.

The setting of the story The Yellow Wallpaper is done in such a way which hides the internal attitudes and feelings that are shown in the whole tale. The house is explained as alone and quiet standing three miles back from the road to the close village. Basically, it is a location which is isolated and separated from the road. Therefore, this argument itself shows that it is segregated from society.  The description of the house itself restricts and binds oneself. Comparing the narrator’s setting on a position which is emotional, which is restricted and isolated, it is clearly evident that position of women rightly mirrors that of the physical conditions described of the house  (Bak 327).

It is a story written by Gilman with the intention of using the women oppression symbol that is paternalistic. For example, in this story we can only get to find the name of the husband of narrator (John), but not the women. Her identity is anonymous and she is just portrayed as wife of John. This imbalance is expanded further when we see the domination of John in other relationship areas in manner that is patronizing. The nature of John is portrayed as strong masculine and is the skeptical of her feminine disorder which is weak (neurasthenia). He later prescribes the cure for her illness when it is diagnosed. John asks the women to have self-control exercise over the anger she had of him, the impact is ironic in the way that he controls everything regarding her and there is a feeling on ungratefulness for the wife for his help undervaluing (Dyer 281).

The control function of John over her, just as that of the control of Mitchell over Gilman is proved in her from his inhibiting from the writing passion which she feels would aid her in recovering. In the meanwhile, John thinks that for nothing writing takes her strength. Her own intellect and creativity is stifled by him as she portrays in writing and he even forces her to a powerless mere domesticated wife. Her writing decision to hide was solely synonymous when John was around to that of the elite women in the 19^th and 18^th centuries when this story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ was written. This had their own literary work always from their families. Austen Jane is renowned example for showing all her novels written while having to stow periodically the manuscripts aware from her room of family’ single living (Oakley 432). These women families would only celebrate of their women the success not seeing them to it.

The processes shown to diagnose and treating women in this tale are different and questionable from those that were used on men. The tale shows the description of the narrator of the wall paper similar to that of the Panoptic on in which one can hardly tell if the patients are being observed or watched and who cannot find out that they are being observed by them (Bak 194). The surveillance counter lack in the system of medication of the creation of time some of the entrapment are sensed inside of the patient which leads to distress mentally. The tale questions in some way these isolation methods effectiveness of the medical and patients’ research system used formerly. It can be concluded easily that the system of medical sued in the past was discriminatory and lead to the demise mentally at accelerated pace to the narrator. It was vivid whether she was ill really. The description is given by the author that any treatment that requires complete inactivity is detrimental to the women that suffers from a disorder of mere anxiety. The opinion given personally of the patient was not taken into account.

The women of the story is unable to exercise control and is imprisoned typically in her own mind. The house structure and the environment bring this out, the walls and hedges presence, separate houses and gates from people around and many gardeners. She had never seen such as garden apparently which was shad and large and filled with small paths box bordered. Everything look like divided and separate, locked like closed in a box as it was a prison. This house itself was designed seemingly for men. In literature, we can see that the houses and mansion which are larger than life are the masculine signs normally portraying their competitive and aggression. The historical segment of the tale combines with the theme of feminism in the place where there was state of hereditary reminding the readers that is was the one probably through which the leadership was passed down in the family to men (Dyer 432).

It was greatly admired by the narrator and notably in a more stereotypical way of the room of feminine, one that is explained as ‘piazza opened on it’ with ‘all over the window there are roses and chintz handing which are pretty antique!’ (Dyer 432). In spite of the obvious airiness which is seemingly shared with her husband John, the walls are barred and windows also which symbolizes room imprisonment.  It was also indicated that the room may have more important in our context as it was a former nursery; this is an indicatory which the narrator is forced in being in an infantile and helpless position with the caretaker John.

In emphasizing the control and oppression in the tale, Gilman finds further that there is something peculiar in the evening moonlit. Generally, in literature the night is viewed as an escape from the common conscious day’s order. The human mind subconscious is filled with many wild dream at night. There is a frequent symbolism of the moon showing sensitivity of the female and intuition. There is a domination of sunshine during the day time, just like her husband John revolves and dominates around her during day. He gave her prescriptions and schedules for every hour in the day. There is an association of sunshine with masculine oppression and order whereas the night and moon seems to liberate the women in some form (Ford 333).

The Yellow paper is equated as the ‘Sunshine’ which is clearly faded away because of sunlight. The ‘tint of sickly Sulphur’ in the wallpaper is linked with that of illness. The tale further shows that the illness (the wallpaper) will grow significant as tipped by Gilman that the issue of the pattern of wall paper will someday have to do with the story. We can assume that the issues with the disordered mind of the narrator have got some relationships. She is sane so fat but her style of storytelling explains that pattern of wallpaper which plunges off at outrageous angles destroying in contradictions themselves (Ford 432). It is noteworthy that the wallpaper signified has been into two rooms separate and stripped off, a fact that suggests simply the internal conflict and struggle someone has in and perhaps she is trying hard to get free and break it.

Lastly, there is no need to forget this tale as it was written and developed in the 19^th century final year which places the story in a very significant and specific moment of history (Martin 213). This importance is in relation to that of the women in the society and their perceived authority and abilities. Only the madness of the wallpaper ends the tale, the narrator’s book would have been in the year of publication typical. The writer of the story believes in much innovation without restraints and limits. Most of the time, the symbol of wide is used as a metaphor which confines the life martial which requires a women to perform only chores of house. In the end of the tale, the writer says that the women manages which through this can make the base critical for a discussion. John also accepted the nature which was real of his wife and not struggling to change to his rationality her creativity (Stiles 243).

Works Citied

Bak, John S. “Escaping the Jaundiced Eye: Foucauldian Panopticism in Charlotte Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” Studies in Short Fiction 31.1 (1994): 39-46. Literary Reference Center. Web. 3 Apr. 2015.

Dyer, Darby. “Mental Illness in Literature: Case Studies of Sylvia Plath and Charlotte Perkins Gillman.” The Eagle Feather. N.p. 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. http://eaglefeather.honors.unt.edu/2010/article/54#VSrkM_nF98F.

Ford, Karen. “The Yellow Wallpaper’ and Women’s Discourse.“ Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 4.2 (1985): 309-14. JSTOR. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.

Martin, Diana. “The Rest Cure Revisited.” American Journal of Psychiatry 164.5 (2007): 737-38. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.

Oakley, Ann. “Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper.” Reproductive Health Matters 5.10. The International Women’s Health Movement (1997): 29-39. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.

Stiles, Anne. “The Rest Cure, 1873-1925.” BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. 8 Apr 2015.