This story about the yellow wallpaper by “Charlotte Perkins Stetson” and is a form of semi-autobiography. This story revolves around a woman, who is under treatment of a nervous disorder by Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, a renowned physician.
This woman represents a childlike and submissive behavior, and obedience towards male due to a prevailed dominance of male society at the start of 20th century. The woman in this story has no apparent name, but she is a protagonist, who is helpless to show her needs. Her husband is John; he took her to a country house for the better condition of her.
In the new house, 3rd room was for to her; it was a nursery before their arrival. It is worth to say that this room was like a prison, it contained yellow wallpaper and she thinks of it was like a restricted place where she had to stay, and she is away from any literary and reading or writing practices.
She kept a secret diary, but when John came to know about it, he destroyed it and treated her with cruelty. John was a lecturer and used to go to other cities this is why she had to feel alone and suffer killing loneliness, and also she found no one who can support her emotionally.
John used to dismiss her concerns and consider them due to nervous condition and her dismal state and think her patronizing. She was in a firm belief that she is getting better day by day, but John found no time to sit and analyze the condition of her wife and talk to her about her state. He was unaware that she is going down day by day. On the other side, Jennie is the sister of John, also presents the restricted kind of woman who has to stay at home to manage households.
Idea Of The Yellow Wallpaper
This story depicts the powerful impact of the yellow wallpaper present in the room of a woman, a depressed patient with a nervous disorder, ruled by a rigid husband. The wallpaper describes a bar like a pattern which the author says is compatible with her situation like a helpless person who has a word of loneliness.
This story depicts the feelings of a woman, who is feeling weak and captivated in prison and want someone to set it free. There is a mixed presence of different aspects such as male authority and its impact on the society, feelings, captivity, rigidness and ironical statements.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892. It is considered a classic of feminist literature and a significant piece of early American feminist literature. The story is written in the form of a journal and follows the descent into madness of a woman who is prescribed the “rest cure” for her supposed nervous condition. As she spends more time in a room with yellow wallpaper, she becomes obsessed with it and starts hallucinating, ultimately leading to her mental breakdown. “The Yellow Wallpaper” explores themes of gender roles, female oppression, and the limitations imposed on women’s autonomy during the time it was written.
On the other hand, “The Girl” is a more generic title used by various authors for different works. Without further context, it’s difficult to pinpoint which specific work you’re referring to. There are numerous literary works titled “The Girl” by different authors in various genres and time periods. If you could provide more information about the author or any additional details, I would be better able to assist you.
Female subservience to male is clear by the author that state the condition of a female and involve readers to think critically about women servitude by men.
Yellow Wallpaper is Secure
The story describes the plight of a female, who is the narrator of the story and discussing her condition about her sickness. This is not the only sickness that made her bound to live in prison like the room, but also have a depressed state by the behavior of her husband who considers her a person with a mental health condition.
The author presents her feelings and stressful situations that how she had to live with a yellow wallpaper that is more like her state and that she used to obey her husband in every matter. In the deprived condition she felt very uncomfortable in the room and bored to stay there. Also, she could not keep a secret diary and write or read something.
In that new room, she is completely obsessed by that yellow wallpaper and the pattern appears in that is much like a pattern of bars in a prison that made her fixed and captured. She desperately wants to get free from it. She started tracing that paper, and with the much influence of that, she found her trapped in it.
This situation went deep down that before leaving that house; she thought to get free that woman who is captivated in the bars. This thing becomes more interesting when her husband comes to home and she talked to him that she has made a woman free who was captivated in the bars of yellow wallpaper.
The house is large, airy and beautiful. It has the garden and strange environment. The author wrote about her life because this was the only thing she had in her mind and that she is obsessed with that.
There were only two people who came to see her, her husband and the nurse. This situation made her feel secure that this room is like a prison where no one comes to see her. She had a newly born kid, but she was not in contact with that and not even with her friends. Such situation makes a person sick, feels alone and depressed.
This all scenario has compelled the writer to write about her life and describe the events she experienced and the home took a sinister tone.
The author’s feelings were due to her deteriorated mental condition, her anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Since she found no writing and reading activities, she made the yellow paper as a canvas that was like her life, captivated and captured where there was no chance of fresh air.
The creeping and stooping down an image of the wallpaper was in her mind getting more place with each passing day. It is like a woman who caught behind the prison bar and trying to set her free.
Broad Themes
- Female oppression and societal constraints: The story highlights the restrictive roles and expectations placed on women during the late 19th century. The protagonist’s confinement to the room with the yellow wallpaper symbolizes her confinement within the confines of society.
- Patriarchy and power dynamics: The story examines the power dynamics between men and women, particularly within marriage. The protagonist’s husband, John, assumes a paternalistic role, controlling her actions and dismissing her concerns.
- Sanity and madness: “The Yellow Wallpaper” delves into the theme of mental health and the fine line between sanity and madness. The protagonist’s descent into madness is exacerbated by her isolation, lack of stimulation, and oppressive environment.
- Escapism and imagination: As the protagonist becomes increasingly obsessed with the yellow wallpaper, she retreats into her own imagination, seeking a form of escape from her reality. The wallpaper becomes a symbol of her desire for freedom and self-expression.
- Self-expression and creativity: The story explores the suppression of the protagonist’s creativity and her yearning for self-expression. The act of writing in her secret journal becomes an outlet for her thoughts and emotions.
As for “The Girl,” since it refers to various works, it’s challenging to identify specific themes without additional information. If you can provide more context or details about the specific work you’re referring to, I can help you further with its themes.
