Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, has been one of my favorite short stories ever since I first read it (waaaay back in my first year of high school). It’s also the story that first got me interested in women’s issues and feminism, although I didn’t understand the full impact of the story until years later. I’ve read that story at least six times for classes, and at least that many times for my own gratification. It’s an amazing story, and I urge you to check it out, as well as Gilman’s comments on why she wrote it.

(I think that Gilman was a fascinating woman, and an important figure in the fight to end sexism. She was an accomplished author, a largely self-taught academic, and an artist, among other things. She was married, divorced, involved in a Boston Marriage, and remarried… she lived a very interesting life. Her description of post-partum depression and psychosis is interesting, given that postpartum mood disorders weren’t officially recognized in the United States until decades after her death, in the DSM-IV)

My own analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper under the fold:

(a lot of this is pulled from a project I did in college- in case that matters to you, dear reader)

I’ve already mentioned that Gilman was a pretty important stepping stone towards feminism for me. The Yellow Wallpaper(TYW) is a strongly linked to feminism for several reasons, not least of which being that one of the central themes of the piece is that women not only want, but need freedom. Gilman presents the idea that women suffer both emotionally and psychologically when they are forced to live under oppression in a male-dominated society. The narrator of TYW can be seen as a representation of women everywhere- she is the every-woman, and the trials she faces are symbolic of the many faces of oppression that women throughout history have faced. Her narration stands as a criticism of the patriarchical society that oppresses and restricts the healthy growth and development of women.

The narrator of TYW is a young woman who, like Gilman, appears to be suffering from postpartum depression (PPD) at the begining of the story (though it quickly descends into postpartum psychosis (PPP) as the story progresses). PPP, by the way, is a serious psychological disorder that, as off 2002, affected roughly 1 in 500 women in the United States. PPP is a dangerous and dibilitating disorder marked by such things as audio/visual hallucinations, delusions, insomnia, agitation, severe depression, etc. Many women find child-birth an emotionally draining and difficult time even without the added problems of serious PPP or PPD. Adding to the difficulty is the social/cultural expectation that childbirth will be a happy time. Women suffering from any kind of depression post-childbirth can experience very serious guilt and anxiety as a result, which only exacerbates the problem.

The narrator’s own problems appear quite serious- she sees hallucinations of a woman “stooping down and creeping about” behind the pattern of the titular wallpaper. She experiences a sense of paranoia, thinking that her sister-in-law, Jennie, and her husband, John, are being affected by the wallpaper, as well. She begins to feel “a little afraid” of John. She loses her appetite, has trouble sleeping, and repeatedly mentions her growing agitation and animosity towards the wallpaper. By the end of the story, she has been reduced to crawling around on the ground, following the edge of the wall, convinced that she is now the living incarnation of the woman that was once trapped behind the wallpaper.

When I originally read this story, my freshman year of high school, it seemed to be a simple- if heartbreaking- story of a mentally ill woman, or perhaps a disturbing story of ghostly possession, but through discussion and analysis, I’ve realized how much more there is to the story. The narrator is just one example of a woman suffering under the yoke of a husband’s control. John is not specifically evil in the story, but he is typical of his time, and his actions are not intended as unusual or extreme (though they may seem that way now). He sees his wife as little more than a child- incapable of understanding complicated concepts or of making intelligent decisions and choices about her own wellbeing. He treats her like a father might treat his children, or as one might treat a pet. He calls her demeaning/dismissive names like “blessed little goose” and “little girl.” He refuses to let her see or visit her friends or relatives, and prohibits her from writing letters or journal entries, having decided that such things would constitute too much mental stimulation.

Allowing her to do any work is completely out of the question to him, once he has decided that she needs rest. She becomes a prisoner. It’s important to note that not only does John giver her no respect… she expects none. She mentions that women should expect to be laughed at in a marriage. While it’s obvious to the reader that the narrator is suffering from some kind of serious psychological ailment, John thinks she is suffering a simple case of “nerves,” and that “she shall be as sick as she pleases,” as though her sickness is completely within her control.

It is precisely because of the environment that John has placed his wife in that she continues to become more and more ill. John, like many men of his time, refuses to listen to Jane when she complains about her treatment. He is, after all, a doctor, and, just as important, a man. He obviously knows better than she does what is in her best interest. In the begining, she agrees with him. She can’t conceive of his being wrong about anything. As the story progresses, though, she undergoes an Awakening of sorts. She begins to defy his wishes and writes in her journal, despite his commands against it.

The structure of the story and Gilman’s use of language help reveal her feminist agenda and her criticism of the patriarchical nature of our society. The observant reader should notice that the narrator remains nameless through the bulk of the story, showing a lack of personal identity. This is further illustrated by the narrator’s persistent use of the pronoun “one” to describe herself, such as when she says “what is one to do” or “one’s own husband.” On the first page of the story, the narrator uses “one” instead of “I” six times.

Just as significant as the author’s refusal to name herself throughout the story is the one place where she chooses to reveal her name. It’s not until the penultimate paragraph that we learn her name is Jane. This is a common, quiet name that is often used to signify women in the abstract, or a woman whose real name is unknown (a “Jane Doe”).

It’s also rather interesting that her husband’s name is “John.” While it might be mere coincidence, John is the male name most commonly used to describe men in the abstract- as in “John Doe” or a “Dear John” letter. Given that Jane is often used as the name for women in general, and John is used to represent men in general, it is unlikely that Gilman chose these names by accident. It strikes me as pretty likely that Gilman intentionally selected these names for the long reaching implications.

Since Jane’s illness stems, in part, from her becoming a mother (a role that women throughout history have been restricted to), and is made worse by John’s treatment of her as a husband (his role as a man) and the other doctors’ treatments (another tradition male role), it’s hardly a stretch to see the story as an example of how men restrict women, and the consequences of that. It is Jane’s refusal or inability to accept her given roles- mother and wife- and John’s attempts to force them on her, that lead to her breakdown and illness.

TYW is also rife with symbolism that suggests feminist leanings. First, there is the wallpaper itself, which is described as putrid and disgusting. Jane describes it as resembling the bars of a cage, within which a woman is trapped. The woman is forced into submission during the daylight hours while the sun is out, but creeps about, attempting to escape her captivity, at night. Sunlight and the day are often associated with masculinity, while the night- and in particular, the moon- is more often associated with femininity (Luna was, for example, an ancient goddess).It’s certainly no coincidence that Jane begins to see hallucinations of a woman trapped behind bars at the exact moment in her own life when she is feeling the most restricted and trapped. The wallpaper, which she disliked right from the start, becomes the focus for her discontentment. It becomes the symbol of her oppression, and comes to represent the shackles and restrictions that are placed, not only upon her, but all women.Jane attempts to break free from her oppression in several ways. First of all, she writes, despite John’s command not to do so. Such passive resistance is not enough to secure her freedom, though, and she is forced to take a more aggressive approach. In a sense, Jane is finally able to become “free” when she manages to tear down the wallpaper. With the wallpaper destroyed, she certainly feels free. She feels as though she has escaped her husband’s (and, thus, patriarchy’s) reach. She has even escaped her own previous inhibitions and self-imposed restrictions, as shown in her final comments towards John at the end of the story: “I’ve got out at last… in spite of you and Jane” (emphasis mine).

That final line- “Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!” is extremely significant as well. This is the narrator’s final triumph, and John’s shocking wake-up call. She has overcome his rules and restrictions at last, and has taken control from him. She has torn down the barriers to her self actualization, and has overcome those who tried to restrict her and limit her progress (even herself). By having the narrator physically climb over her hsuband, Gilman has the narrator become the dominant, powerful member of the relationship. She not only overpowers- climbs over- Joh, but she moves past him as well.

John’s fainting is just as significant. It is his inability to cope with and adjust to a women rising up and taking control of their own lives. Certainly, the narrator’s actions are surprising and shocking (crawling around and edge of the wall), but, then, so were the ideas of a woman wearing pants or voting.

Despite the narrator’s breaking free of her husband’s rather typical oppressive behavior, she does not leave the story unscathed. Gilman was well aware of the severe costs that women would experience and be forced to overcome during the fight for liberation. I don’t believe that Gilman expected women’s equality to come easily or without great personal cost. Empowerment does not come cheap, and the narrator pays a very steep price on her quest for independence and freedom. The narrator is driven completely insane by her quest (or, more accurately, by the resistance to her quest, at the hands of her husband), and is reduced to gnawing on her furniture and crawling along a “smooch” in the wall. This should remind readers of the way in which many women are forced or guided into specifically “feminine” positions, such as nursing. It also functions as an interesting parallel to the modern concept of the glass ceiling.

Certainly, Jane has cast off the restrictions of her society, but she’s also eliminated her place within that society, as well. Society will no longer accept her. In fact, not only is the narrator rejected by society, she is forced to reject society as well. She fears the society that created her in the first place, through the social controls and the structure of power that prevented her from enjoying real freedom. In effect, by overcoming the hold that society once held on her, she has eliminated any chance of surviving within that society. A woman who refuses to play by the rules that a male run society sets for her has no place within that society. This removal is foreshadowed several times within the story by the women that the narrator sees creeping about and hiding in bushes. They’ve “escaped” from the wallpaper, but they exist in constant fear of the society they’ve worked so hard to cast off.

TYP is a powerful piece of literature that lends itself well to a variety of readings. Gilman’s narrator is a tragic example of what many women throughout history have experienced, and struggled to overcome. The fact that women were so belittled- so completely undervalued- is heartbreaking. The fact that there are still women struggling to overcome horrible situations today is even more so.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 15th, 2007 at 3:57 pm and is filed under feminism, literature, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.