The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman The Yellow Wallpaper was first published in 1899 in America, this was the time when the feminists were gaining great momentum and the womens rightts were being addressed. his story is wrote in journal or diary form this makes it easier to relate and conect with the main caractor.
The story can be seen as a narrative of Gilmans own mental health problems, it focuses on the wallpaer in her room which seams to ebe used as a symbol for her emotional illness and her ability to discuss and progress through the iusses she is faced with .
From the outset you can sense the low self worth of the nariator , the opening sentence ‘’....that mere ordinary people like John and myself’ potrays her low selfworth ,also her husband is named before her in the sentence , giving the impression that he is more important than her .
The narrator comes across as a helpless women the repeated use of rhetorical questions such as ‘’But what is one todo?’’ and statments ‘am absolutely forbiden’ adds to this caraictist.
The theme of the woman being inferior to her husband, John is developed through his discription it is stated that he is a physician of high standing and her thourfhgt such as ‘’i ment to be such help to john .... and here i am a comparative burdan already!’’ .
John also comes across as very controlling he tells her ‘that she needs to stay in bed, suppress her imagination, and most importantly to discontinue her writing . this is quiet ironic as he is a doctor who should be compatent in treating her but she states ‘personaly , i believe that ...work .....,would do me good’ .
She also disscusses her treamtment sayin ‘So i take phosphates or phosphites- whichever it is,’ and ‘i have a schedule prescription....:he takes all care from me’ this shows that her husband is in control over her and she has little say in her life. she also repeats phrases such as ‘john says" as if to remind herself what her husband says is best eventhough she is aware that she has a few onwhat is best for her, at the start these ideas are idssmissed by john but as the story develops so does her caractor and her self confidence.
In this first section of the story the sentence structors long and there a lot of commers and hyphones, this sets the pace as fast as if the lady is in a rush to unberden her thourghts. the paragraphes are short which also helps set the pace.
The aurthoer can be quiet irronic , as shown in the dictation ‘haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity ‘ . she also uses good imagery when discriping the’ lovely shaded, winding road, ‘and metophores such as ‘delicious garden ‘ to emphasis how wonderful the world is outside the room.

After the inital discription of the lady ,her illnes and her husband the story then develops to mainly focus on the wallpaper . the narrotor describes the wallpaer as ‘’…dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate ....follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide-plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves ...’ this could also be seen as how the woman feels about herself and her suitation with her husbands as in she is dull enough to believe and follow him but aware enough of the situation for it to cause her mental anguish and that she needs to be carefull for if she carrys on following she will end up destroying herself.

The woman then begin personafy the wallpaper stating that it looks like ‘a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you’ and describes ‘unblinking eyes everywere’ this could also relate to the way she feels towards the people around her and her writing. when discribing the wallpaper she says it goes “round and round and round—round and round and round –it makes me dizzy!” This reportition of the word round envsises how never ending it feels and could be linked to the confussion she feels also the

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Yellow Wallpaper