Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the husband in "The Yellow Wallpaper" contributes to his wife's descent into madness simply by being himself and treating her as most men of those times treated their wives. The author points out that the story was written in 1892 when the majority of men believed strongly that women were weak, inferior, and needed care and guidance from their husbands. The paper details the skillful construction of the "The Yellow Wallpaper" to show, as the story progresses, every line makes it more evident that the capacities of the wife are disparaged by males, especially the husband.

From the Paper:

"In the first lines of the story, Gilman describes the house she and her husband are currently inhabiting as "haunted," "queer" and long "untenanted" (1). This word usage invokes a sense of the supernatural calling to mind an Edgar Allan Poe horror story. The wife narrator makes it quickly known that both her husband and her brother are physicians of "high standing" (1) and that she faces "opposition" from both in her desire to write, thus it seems from the beginning, as if the husband, indeed all males, are purposely encouraging the development of the wife's mental illness." Later she mentions "Weir Mitchell," a doctor to whom her husband threatens to send her if she doesn't improve. The wife has heard from a friend that this physician is just like her husband and brother, only "more so" (5)."

More papers on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper":

• Analytical Essay # 50409 : "Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"
• Analytical Essay # 127732 : "Jane's Insanity in "The Yellow Wallpaper"
• Book Review # 95766 : "The Yellow Wallpaper"
• Book Review # 94713 : "Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: