Story of "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Gilman

Running head: THE YELLOW WALLPAPER BY CHARLOTTE GILMAN
THE YELLOW WALLPAPER BY CHARLOTTE GILMAN
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Author Note

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THE YELLOW WALLPAPER BY CHARLOTTE GILMAN
The short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, was penned by renowned feminist writer of
19th century, Charlotte Perkins Gilman; it was first published in the year 1892, in “The New
Zealand England Magazine”. The Yellow Wallpaper is considered a notable work contributing in
American Feminist Literature, where in the story she acts a protagonist, dealing with immense
mental instability due to postpartum depression after the birth of her first child. It is a story,
which even replicates the patterns of Gothic literature, presenting themes of madness and
weakness of women, the work contributes in portraying a spooky effect, which makes it
interesting for readers, demonstrating the factor for its popularization. The thesis of the study
will be based on the concept of feminism, presenting the situation of the protagonist, who
defined the 19th century gender dynamics through her story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. As many
feminist critic as portrayal of times considered the work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, in “The
Yellow Wallpaper”, when male control over woman was dominant (Annandale, Ellen).
The writer starts her narration by explaining the marvelous interior of the house, her
husband has taken her for summer holidays, she further explains the reason her husband bringing
in such as massive build house. The house was considered an ancestral property that reflects
aristocracy but still lacks the charm, for which the protagonist state it to be spooky and queer. A
quotation from the book, “A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house,
and reach the height of romantic felicity—but that would be asking too much of fate”, makes it
quite clear that the writer considers to be a romantic gesture by her husband, but stills feels
uncomfortable because of its colossal structure (Nelms, Amber). In depicting her relation with
her husband, she mentions her helplessness, that even when her husband is a doctor he belittles
her condition as hysterical in front of people. She was unable to make him understand about the

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THE YELLOW WALLPAPER BY CHARLOTTE GILMAN
seriousness of the illness, which makes her feel neglected and continuously thwarted. She even
uses satire to present his hypocrisy by explaining that as he is a doctor by profession, he only
thinks rationally unable to understand her feelings and concern. Her husband, being a demanding
doctor, used to spend most of his days addressing serious medical cases leaving her alone in the
big house where she was confined in an upper nursery of that colonial mansion. She was even
devoid of writing, as her writing was the reason imposing unnecessary mental pressure on her
according to her husband. As she was confined in the house for several hours alone, see started
imagining things, especially about the yellow wallpaper, torn in several parts; she could visualize
the various bodily figures behind the yellow wallpaper. She even tried to explain to her husband,
about the spookiness of the wallpaper and that it makes her feel uncomfortable, which was
ridiculed and thought to be part of her overthinking and hysterical behavior. Her husband motive
for bringing her in this house was for her to rest and get some fresh air, which will gradually help
her develop her mental health. For this, he gave strict rules for not indulge in writing, in other
case, which the protagonist thought would be the actual cure for her health.
Nevertheless, she started making journal of her summer vacation in the ancestral house,
completely hiding it for her husband, but despising the fact that she had to hide things from her
husband, the very things she liked. Her journals includes the description of the house, and the
things she found uncanny like, “rings and things” in her bedroom walls. Further explaining the
wallpaper, and strange, revolting, spooky material, which disturbed her. Later in her description,
she telltales her growing obsessed with the yellow wallpaper and considered that her feelings
were dominated by the revolting wallpaper.
Even through frequent interruptions by her husband, she became successful in hiding the
journal. As days passed, she started making assumptions regarding the wallpaper, and imagined