The Yellow Wallpaper and Feminism

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER AND FEMINISM 1
As opined by Jing, the concept of feminism has emerged as one of the most important
ones in the contemporary times and is being widely used by the different authors for the
narration of different stories. In this regard, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins
Gilman is an important one since the short story is redolent with the theme of feminism. The
short story represents the silencing as well as oppression of women particular the ones who
suffered from mental illnesses in the 19th century.
The major conflict which the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” tries to portray is
the condition of women in the 19th century. As opined by Brooks, the women of the 19th
century enjoyed limited amount of freedom not only within the framework of the society but
also within their family as well. More importantly, they had to face oppression as well as
various acts of silencing within their own family by the male members. The condition was far
worse for the women who were suffering from mental and emotional problems (Donadey
335). It is this conflict that the author Charlotte Perkins Gilman tries to highlight in the short
story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The struggle or the conflict that Gilman tries to depict in this
story not only takes place between her and the masochistic society of the 19th century but also
takes place within her as well. The inner conflict gets manifested in her struggle with
depression whereas the external conflict gets manifested in her struggle to gain freedom and
independence from the masochistic society (Jing 471).
The lines “It is the same woman, I know, for she is always creeping, and most women
do not creep by daylight” of the short story give an adequate description of the opinion that
men held about women in the 19th century (Gilman 54). It is pertinent to note that the major
conflict Gilman had to face as the story unravels is the oppression as well as suppression that
she had to endure at the hands of her husband within the institution of marriage (Donadey
335). More importantly, along with her gender, her mental and emotional problems directly

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER AND FEMINISM 2
contribute towards the treatment that she receives from her husband. The net result of this is
that she not only feels depression but at the same time various other kinds of mental and
emotional problems as well. In this regard, the lines of the story “But John says if I feel so I
shall neglect proper self-control; so I take pains to control myself-before him, at least, and
that makes me very tired. I don’t like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs.....” are
important to note (Gilman 59).
The major protagonist of the short story is Gilman herself and the story showcases the
emotional as well as mental problems that she herself experienced herself (Jing 471). The
story does not represent a human antagonist rather the antagonist in the short story is the
masochistic society itself. The story thus represents all the male members of this society as
the antagonists and in this regard the lines “John is a physician, and perhaps...that is one
reason I do not get well faster. You see, he does not believe I am sick!” (Gilman 65). These
lines clearly indicate the disregard of John towards the illness faced by Gilman.
The most important character attribute of the protagonist is the resilience with which
she bears with the inhumanity of John (Brooks 18). For example, rather than showing her
anger and frustration towards the male dominated society or her husband she directs her
entire frustration towards the wallpaper. In this regard, the lines “Instead of confronting John
for his inhumanity, the patient channels anger at the monstrous wallpaper....” are important
to note (Gilman 61). This resilience and patience are the two most important character traits
of her personality. The need to follow the traditional job roles set for them is the fact that
motivates the protagonist to act in the manner in which she acts in the story.
The major minor character in the story is John, the husband of the protagonist (Brooks
18). He is infact one of the major contributors towards the mental and psychological
problems faced by Gilman in the story under discussion here. The character of the protagonist