The Yellow Wallpaper Response

The short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper," written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, relates to the roles of women in the nineteenth century. The unnamed narrator is suffering from postpartum depression. Her husband, John, suggests that he, the narrator, their new born baby, and his sister rent a summer home. The summer home was meant for the narrator to try and recover from her sickness. Her husband is a physician. John strongly advises his wife to rest and avoid all types of mental stimulation, such as writing and reading. The narrator however, disagrees and believes writing will heal her. The narrator is forbidden from seeing her new baby, and can barely leave her room. The room where she is resting is covered in hideous yellow wallpaper. As weeks go by, the narrator becomes more and more intrigued by this wallpaper. The wallpaper begins to peel from the walls, and the narrator begins to see different patterns on the walls. She believes that there is a woman trapped behind the wallpaper and she wants to set her free. The narrator writes in a journal when her sister-in-law and husband are not around. She is forbidden to write but her observations of this wall paper cause her to start noting the patterns that she sees. As the narrator begins to improve health wise, she becomes much more obsessed with the wallpaper. When John is on a business trip one day, the narrator locks all of the doors to the house and is determined the set this "woman figure" behind the wallpaper free. She feels liberated as she tears down the yellow color from the walls.

After reading this story at first I was unable to connect the story to roles of women in the nineteenth story. I re-read the story and began making connections to the symbols that stood out throughout the story. The yellow wallpaper, being the title of the short story, was a symbol that connected to the feminist views of Charlotte Perkin Gilman. The narrator reveals she saw, "strange, provoking, formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design" (134). This quote is explaining the way that women were viewed during the nineteenth century. The wallpaper is described to be dull, useless, and irritating. As the narrator continues to examine the wall, she begins to see the formation of a woman trapped behind the wallpaper. In another sense, the wallpaper could be a symbol of the way women are viewed in the narrators eyes. She wants to set this "woman" figure free. She is determined. This may reflect back to how the narrator feels about her own life. She feels trapped and useless because her husband makes decisions for her and she ultimately has not say in what she does.

Another aspect of this book is the demonstration of society roles of men and women. John treats his wife as if she was less than he is. He refers to her as a "little girl" at one part of the short story. The lack of respect women receive is shown throughout the short story. The narrator is not allowed to express her feelings by writing in a journal. She has to secretly write when her husband and sister-in-law are not around her. The narrator seems to have no power in her marriage, which proves that women in this time period were treated less than men.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Essential Feminist Reader. Ed. Estelle B. Freedman. New York, 2007. 128-144. Print.