the yellow wallpaper essay thesis

The Yellow Wallpaper - Essay Samples And Topic Ideas For Free

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a seminal piece of feminist literature, explores themes of mental illness, patriarchal oppression, and female autonomy. Essays could delve into the narrative structure, the symbolism of the wallpaper, and the psychological descent of the protagonist. They might also discuss the historical context of women’s mental health during the late 19th century, and how Gilman’s personal experiences influenced her work. Discussions could extend to the story’s influence on feminist literary criticism, its relevance in contemporary discussions on mental health and gender, and how “The Yellow Wallpaper” resonates with or challenges modern readers in understanding the historical and ongoing struggles for women’s autonomy and well-being. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of The Yellow Wallpaper you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Symbolism in the Yellow Wallpaper

In Charlotte Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," the storyteller is found at the highest point of an old home in a room decorated in a yellow wallpaper. The lady depicted had recently given birth to a child but is presently experiencing what she describes as a "nervous condition.As the lady stays in the room, she becomes fixated on the yellow wallpaper of her room. Inside the strict components of the story are images that demonstrate the hidden message of […]

Jane’s Depression in the Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper is written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This story is about a young woman by the name of Jane who is a wife, trapped in a room. Jane suffers from depression following the birth of her child. Her husband, John, diagnoses her behavior as melancholia. He prescribes her rest and leases a house in the country for her rehabilitation. John is a respected physician, so Jane initially needs his advice. He does not let her write, which is […]

Irony and Symbols: the Way of Gilman and Poe

If Edgar Allan Poe had lived to see the days that Charlotte Perkins Gilman was alive and writing, he would have commended her for her excellent taste in literary devices. It may be true that the father of dark romanticism and this social reformist have little in common, between their life stories and the messages they aimed to portray in their works. However, Gilman and Poe both utilized a combination of literary devices, specifically symbolism and irony, to solidify the […]

Feminism in the Yellow Wallpaper and the Story of an Hour

Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, the protagonist is described as a woman of the 1800’s facing oppression by male dominance. In comparison, the protagonist from Kate Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour”, experiences the same oppression. Both protagonists are dealing with some type of loss over the course of their short story, but in contrast the effectiveness of their loss differs on opposite ends of the spectrum. Ultimately both protagonists are portrayed as women who experience […]

Feminist Criticism in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”

In the 1890 's women were not allowed to have a voice for themselves, their husbands were the ones that were allowed to make all the decisions in the house. Charlotte Perkins-Gilman had a feminist approach to this story, due to the protagonists' struggles against male thinking and society norms. The story tells of the close-mindedness of how postpartum depression was treated and dealt with by society. It tells of a woman who is the narrator, who is going through […]

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Position of Women

"In "Their Eyes Were Watching God", women are confined as objects of desire to men. In the novel, Janie’s first husband, Logan, believes that having a wife is to make his life easier so he would not be constantly working. Logan insists that Janie helps him with his stuff when he says, “You ain’t got no particular place. It’s wherever Ah need yuh. Git uh move on yuh, and dat quick” (Hurston 30). It is obvious that Janie is seen […]

The Yellow Wallpaper Character Analysis

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a feminist short story by Charlotte Perkins- Gilman. The meaning of the story is beyond belief as it see the sights into the basic issues of a woman's place in society, and women's rights in the 19th century. Charlotte Perkins-Gilman's theme behind the short story was an awareness approach and a feminist approach. The main character in the story struggles against the masculine ways of thinking and society norms or standards. She also struggles with mental […]

About Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s the Yellow Wall-Paper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wall-Paper is a short story that is told in entries of a secret diary. The story starts when Jane, the narrator and her husband, John, move into an estate that they will be spending three months in. When they first move in, the narrator asks for the room on the very first floor with roses that surround the window. Her husband, however, had other ideas and bluntly refuses, saying the room is extremely small as […]

The Yellow Wallpaper Feminism

Any literary work intends to evoke some profound feelings and impressions that readers link to their personal experience and reality around. Charlotte Perkins Gilman presents a feminist gothic story “The Yellow Wallpaper” that discloses the issues of female suffering and lack of freedom in the patriarchal society that limits women’s choices and desires. The protagonist faces discrimination and neglect that result in her physical and psychological breakdown, broken illusions about self-identity, and madness as a response to inside and outside […]

About Postpartum Depression in the Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper does not, in my opinion, reflect contemporary concerns of women. Gilman's short story focuses on the idea that men control the lives of women in essentially every aspect. The narrator's husband tells her not to do anything to stimulate her brain. He asks her not to write, think about her condition, or to talk to anyone in a stimulating fashion. Her whole life at this point is decided by her husband and brother, who […]

Psychological and Physical Well-being of Women in the XIX Century

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story by American author Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 at the New England press. It is considered as an important first study of American feminist writing, because of its example of the attitudes towards psychological and physical well-being of women in the nineteenth century. Narrated in the first person, this story is a collection of diary entries written by a woman whose physician partner (John) has rented the ancient house for […]

The Yellow Wallpaper: the Symbolism between the Mental Conditions and the Wallpaper

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, there is a connection between the narrator's mental structure and the wallpaper itself. As the woman works to gain back her sanity, she rips the paper down to free herself from that confinement, as she watches her mental state deteriorate day by day. Niko Kazantzakis, a Greek novelist, states “A person needs a little madness or else they never dare cut the rope and be free”. On a larger scale, […]

The Yellow Wallpaper Victorian Era Gender Roles

The Civil War had just recently come to a close bringing about many changes in American culture. The archaic class system had been shaken, leaving the wealthy and middle class void of social standards and in search of a new identity. In an act of desperation, Americans adopted European culture, a culture tyrannized by men, as their own. In the 1890s short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells the story of a woman who is diagnosed with hysteria […]

Analysis of the Yellow Wallpaper

The yellow wallpaper ends with the narrator and her husband are subsequently leaving soon, and employees pack up the furniture. John desires to remain round the nearby area, and the narrator is aware this is her last probability to free the lady in the wallpaper. Jennie wishes to set down with the narrator; in any case, the narrator uncovers to her that she will relaxation better besides any different individual. Right when the moon turns out, the woman in the […]

“Dragos Tenter” Fiction Paper

The Oscars, the Emmys and the Tonys are awards given to the best of the arts. Literature is an inspiration for TV programs and Broadway plays. There are four nominees for the Best American short story of all time. The nominees are “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The winner is “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman […]

The Story the Yellow Wallpaper

The story starts with the narrator suffering from postpartum depression after childbirth. On the old days, this was known as woman hysterics. Due to people who were supposed to rent the house were wealthy people who lost their money, the house was rented for a low price. The narrator expresses the hate she has for the room she is locked in because of the ugly wallpaper, so ugly it drives her crazy. John is the husband of the narrator, who […]

Symbolizing the Control of Women in the Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story in which Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author, symbolizes the control of women and their subjugation in society around that era. The narrator, Perkin's main character in the story, suffers from postpartum depression and was prescribed by her husband, John, a physician, bed rest. Later, the narrator is placed in a room with a yellow wallpaper. The narrator believes that behind the wallpaper she can visualize a woman. Her obsession grows, finds clues towards […]

The Narrator of the Yellow Wallpaper

In the beginning of the story, the narrator explained the house as being a beautiful, silent, far away from the village, gated, and a haunted house. She already described the home as something devil-like possessed and wondered why else the house went on sale for so cheap and why it was abandoned for so long. Has strict rules by her husband to stay in the house all day with some exercise outside in the gated garden. While being indoors all […]

“One Hour Story” by Kate Chopin and “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Stetson

In the late 1800’s, the roles of women placed them in conditions which much less power and opportunity than is available in the modern era. The Story of An Hour, by Kate Chopin and The Yellow Wall-Paper, by Charlotte Perkins Stetson are both short stories written by women in the late 1800’s and the tone displayed by the authors is that of oppression. Both stories bear similar themes. The following paper will compare and contrast the message’s in both stories […]

The Yellow Wallpaper Time Setting Analysis

The Yellow Wallpaper was allegory gothic literature by charlotte Gerkins Gilman written in 19th century a period of social change and the beginning of industrial revolution a time where man dominated everything including, social, economic and domestic issues, although it was a time of abolition of slavery, social injustice against women was prevalence where woman symbolises assets to acquire just like furniture or an object of bearing children for the family. The woman at that time lack locus standing and […]

Viewpoint of a Newly Wedded Mother in the Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a story told through the viewpoint of a newly wedded mother, who is suffering from post partum depression. Her husband, John, is also a physician/neurologist of high standing and gives her a rest cure that requires strict bed rest to reprieve any form of mental stimulation. As a result of her husbands controlling treatment, the narrator develops an obsessive attachment to the details of the wallpaper on her bedroom wall. From the […]

The Role of the Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" showcases the female narrator's seclusion from society while attempting to come to terms with her rather horrifying dementia. It takes the form of a horrific tale, detailing the hidden internal struggles of domestic abuse. What's more, it is a flat-out rejection of the role Gilman believes women are forcibly pushed into isolation at the hands of patriarchal abuse. Her psychological pain is diagnosed as a sort of nervous disorder by none other […]

The Yellow Wallpaper Theme

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman is a short story of a young woman’s journal entries, who is seemingly mentally unstable. She shows symptoms of anxiety, depression, and “hysteria”. The narrator’s name is not definitive but is alluded to being Jane and for the sake of clarity in this essay, she will be mentioned as such. John, her husband, is a physician and believes she just needs to rest to be cured; he rents a mansion for 3 months in […]

Comparative Study on the Yellow Wallpaper and Young Goodman Brown

The book "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a man (Goodman Brown) who leaves home to attend an unholy meeting at the heart of a forest, only to find that most of his pious friends are actually ardent devil worshippers. He remains wary of them when he goes back home till his dying moments. The author is an American novelist and short story writer. Most of his literary works revolve in and around England, most of which features […]

The Feminist Views on the Yellow Wallpaper

In the short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a story about feminist literature and what it was like for women in the nineteenth century. Women in that century faced several obstacles that nobody would ever understand. This woman was placed in a room and that was all she knew was being in that room. She was placed in there by her husband which also was her physician who thinks she is suffering from a temporary […]

Critical Evaluation the Yellow Wallpaper

In the story of The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator, Jane, is diagnosed with nervous depression. This condition is brought up multiple times throughout the story in many parts but in different forms. This is what ultimately leads her to go insane staring at the yellow wallpaper. The narrator puts enormous emphasis on this condition in subtle ways. Her choice of wording in the above text has more than one meaning, it is an extremely important choice of words for the […]

The Examination of Literary Devices in “The Yellow Wallpaper”

During the nineteenth century, women were seen as property rather than human beings with rights. Because of this ordeal, women became active feminists and social reformists in order to change their social rank in society, known as the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Among these women was Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who wrote many works pertaining to the discrimination and minority of women during these times to change how people viewed women in society. This progressive movement had a heavy impact on Gilman’s […]

Gender Oppression in “The Yellow Wallpaper”

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator is suffering from post-partum depression; however, her husband who happens to be a physician, ignores her and just assumes she needs rest. In doing so, the narrator’s illness progressed and eventually lead to her insanity. During the 1800’s men were superior to women and were expected to be a dutiful housewife and obey their husband. However, in the narrator’s case obeying her husband was detrimental to her sanity. Gender […]

The Historical Context in Charlotte Gilman’s the Yellow Wallpaper: Women’s March

The views of current society, along with past generations, have shown women have been relatively domesticated, only having a purpose when it comes time to bear children and take charge of all household affairs. The men, on the other hand, have tendencies to go out in the world and provide for their families by doing the “harder” labor. For too long, this has been seen as the status quo. Women are heads of the household only and are inferior in […]

Compare and Contrast Essay the Yellow Wallpaper

The great obsession with the afterlife, disorder, and despondency has raised from across the nation. Gothic literature, composed to express that there is nothing in this world for those in dark moments, those who find themselves in deep holes of depression. Literature meant to terrify people in most pleasurable way. Gothic stories like “The Yellow Wallpaper” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, both writers of fictional short stories made with similar structures but […]

Essays on The Yellow Wallpaper

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper": Mental Illness

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Female Insanity in The Yellow Wallpaper

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Jane's Postpartum Depression in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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Analysis of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Point of View on Women Oppression in The Yellow Wallpaper

Feminism and freedom in the yellow wallpaper and the story of an hour, analytical on the symbolism in the "yellow wallpaper", depression as one of the main themes in the yellow wallpaper by charlotte perkins gilman, the historical context of the yellow wallpaper by charlotte gilman, marxist theory of alienation in gilman's 'the yellow wallpaper', perception versus reality in the yellow wallpaper, the use of symbols to describe the persecution of women in the yellow wallpaper, mood comparison in "the tell-tale heart" and "the yellow wallpaper", the effects of women's role and mental illnesses in "the yellow wallpaper", a theme of depression in the yellow wallpaper by charlotte perkins gilman, feminism in the yellow wallpaper: road to women’s freedom in the 19th century, depiction of women treatment in society in the yellow wallpaper.

1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Short story; Psychological fiction, Gothic literature

The Woman in the Wallpaper, John, Mary, Narrator, Jennie

Based on the theme of madness and being powerless. According to an article in Forerunner magazine’s publication in 1913, The Yellow Wallpaper has been loosely based on the author's own mental illness that she has been going through because of postpartum depression.

Feminism, madness, loneliness, isolation, mental illness , fear, postpartum depression.

It has been influenced by early feminism and gender relations in late 19th-century America. It also deals with the mental breakdown and the postpartum depression, loneliness, and isolation. The Yellow Wallpaper became a symbol of a mental disease and the covering of female loneliness and lack of help after becoming a mother.

It tells a story about a woman who is obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in her room, which is a symbol of falling into psychosis as a result of depression. As the protagonist is placed on a special "cure" at the rented summer estate with her family, she becomes isolated and slowly becomes insane. The Yellow Wallpaper plot shows the structure of domestic life through the lens of madness and the early feminism outlook.

The book has been written by Gilman to persuade her physician that his ways have been wrong. The "Yellow Wallpaper" has been a helping grace for many other women to escape insanity. Some publishers believed that this story was too depressing and rejected to publish it. It is one of the earliest feminism-related stories ever published. Hysteria was among the most frequent diagnoses that was common for women in the 19th century. Gilman has never been paid for her initial publication of the story. Gilman has testified before Congress in favor of woman suffrage at the 1896 Hearing of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

“But I MUST say what I feel and think in some way — it is such a relief! But the effort is getting to be greater than the relief.” “I never saw a worse paper in my life. One of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin.” “You think you have mastered it, but just as you get well underway in following, it turns a back-somersault and there you are. It slaps you in the face, knocks you down, and tramples upon you. It is like a bad dream.” “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” “I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.”

The culmination of this short story is so-called "rest-cure" of the Victorian times that has been meant to cure hysteria, loneliness, sadness, or any nervous condition in women living in those times.

It is an important work of art that brings up the issue of a mental breakdown that has been ignored in the 19th century. It also speaks of gender relations and the postpartum depression treatment where the men do not see any problem and choose to ignore it. As the story with the relative feminism and the use of symbols, it is a poignant story that is both disturbing and sincere to explain that the problem of depression and a mental breakdown does exist. As the essay topic, it is used to explain the gender relations and the domestic life of women.

1. Gilman, C. P. (2011). Why I Wrote the Yellow Wallpaper?. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/advances-in-psychiatric-treatment/article/why-i-wrote-the-yellow-wallpaper/9F0803493F9D522712BB4B31BA5CCDC2 Advances in psychiatric treatment, 17(4), 265-265. 2. Lanser, S. S. (1989). Feminist criticism," The Yellow Wallpaper," and the politics of color in America. Feminist Studies, 15(3), 415-441. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3177938) 3. Shumaker, C. (1985). Too terribly good to be printed": Charlotte Gilman's" The Yellow Wallpaper. American Literature, 57(4), 588-599. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2926354) 4. Davison, C. M. (2004). Haunted House/Haunted Heroine: Female Gothic Closets in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Women's Studies, 33(1), 47-75. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00497870490267197) 5. Oakley, A. (1997). Beyond the yellow wallpaper. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0968808097900835 Reproductive Health Matters, 5(10), 29-39. 6. Hume, B. A. (1991). Gilman's" interminable grotesque": The Narrator of" The Yellow Wallpaper". Studies in Short Fiction, 28(4), 477. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/03ec7eec8bbc6db59ba8fa48aff47def/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1820858) 7. Hume, B. A. (2002). Managing Madness in Gilman's" The Yellow Wall-Paper". Studies in American Fiction, 30(1), 3-20. (https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/439664/summary) 8. Johnson, G. (1989). Gilman's Gothic Allegory: Rage and Redemption in The Yellow Wallpaper. Studies in Short Fiction, 26(4), 521. (https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/facpubs/1938/) 9. Bak, J. S. (1994). Escaping the jaundiced eye: Foucauldian Panopticism in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's" The Yellow Wallpaper.". Studies in Short Fiction, 31(1), 39-47. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA15356232&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00393789&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E2783693e)

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61 The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Topics & Examples

Looking for The Yellow Wallpaper essay topics? The most famous short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in definitely worth writing about!

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In your essay on The Yellow Wallpaper , you might want to make a character or theme analysis. The key themes of the story are freedom of expression, gender roles and feminism, and mental illness. Another idea is to write an argumentative essay on the story’s historical context.

Find here all you might need to write a paper on Gilman’s short story. The Yellow Wallpaper essay prompts, titles, writing tips, and Yellow Wallpaper essay examples.

🟡 The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Questions

Is the Narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper reliable? The narrator of the story has mental health issues. Her slide into madness happens in the middle of the story and speed up at the end. Examine her reliability in the very beginning of the story.
Why doesn’t the main character have a name? Through the anonymity, the author might have wanted to show the readers that this is not an isolated event. Anyone who lived in the Victorian era could be the narrator and her husband.
How is the Victorian-era medicine represented in The Yellow Wallpaper ? To answer this question, you should research how patients were treated in the Victorian era. As it was already mentioned above, anyone could be in the narrator and her husband’s place.
How does The Yellow Wallpaper promote self-expression? Being unable to do the things you love is a frustrating thing. The narrator states a few times how much she enjoys writing but isn’t allowed to do that. Inability to express herself led to her isolation and her madness. In your essay, examine why is self-expression is vital to everyone. You can also investigate whether the narrator uses the wallpaper as a “paper” to write on. Can it be some self-expression? Think about it when you will write your thesis statement.
How are gender roles represented in The Yellow Wallpaper ? You can find a lot of examples to support The Yellow Wallpaper essay thesis on subordination. Here are some of them: the narrator stays in the room with the yellow wallpaper, although, she doesn’t want to stay there. Her husband does not allow her to stay in one of the others. He sets plenty of rules she must follow.
How do madness and creativity influence each other? You can use the idea that the inability to realize creative needs will lead to madness. You can compare and contrast the lives of many famous artists and writers’ destiny whose lives ended tragically when they were unable to express their ideas through creativity. Are all genius people mad?

🏆 The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Examples & Titles

Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper & Trifles The two texts; the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins and the play ‘Trifles’ by Susan Glaspell strategically illustrate this claim since they both aim at attracting the reader’s attention to the poor […]
Symbolism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Main Points of The Yellow Wallpaper The basic aim of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is to reflect the oppression of women in the 19th century.
Role of Women in Society: Charlotte P. Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” From the very beginning, it becomes evident that the protagonist of the short story is oppressed and the oppression is depicted symbolically.
Solitude as a Theme in The Yellow Wallpaper & A Rose for Emily She is an embodiment of a great breakthrough in the fact that she rediscovers her new energy and point of view.
Women’s Role in The Yellow Wallpaper, The Awakening, & The Revolt of Mother Sarah then decides to drop the matter because she knows that it is not her place to go against the wishes of her husband.
Narrator’s Changing Character in “The Yellow Wallpaper” The story thus portrays the transformative reading potential in that had the narrator failed to realize that the reading has the potential to transform her. The yellow paper helped to transform the narrator in that […]
Feminist Criticism in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” This is because she is the only one who knew the suffering she was undergoing in that marriage and that she did not always love her husband.
The Yellow Wallpaper Throughout the story, the narrator, together with the rest of the women trapped in the wallpaper, is desperately trying to break loose from the function that the society has assigned for them.
Women Struggling From Their Fate She gets upset by the sad news of the death of a loved one but when she comes out of the room she seem to have already accepted the situation and adapting to the new […]
Comparing ‘The Story of an Hour’ and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ Essay The first similarity between the ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘The story of an Hour is that the main characters in the stories are looking for freedom in vain.
Marriage in The Yellow Wallpaper She has failed to recognize that she is the driver of her own life, and blame should not be put on man. Therefore, she is not able to work her creativity and ends up drawing […]
Visions of Henry Adams and Charlotte Perkins Gilman At the end of the 19th century the American society was involved in the process of changing the social principles, breaking stereotypes, and creating new revolutionary visions of the peculiarities of the social development.
Gender Roles in the 19th Century Society: Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper However, the narrator’s developing madness can also act as the symbolical depiction of the effects of the men’s dominance on women and the female suppression in the 19th-century society.”The Yellow Wallpaper” was first published in […]
Loneliness in The Yellow Wallpaper She is beginning to personify the wallpaper in her musings. To nearly the end, she is lucid about people’s roles in her life.
Feminism in The Yellow Wallpaper In an attempt to free her, she rips apart the wallpaper and locks herself in the bedroom. The husband locks her wife in a room because of his beliefs that she needed a rest break.

📒 The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Prompts

A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wallpaper: Compare & Contrast That is one of the main dangers that people should be aware of. This is one of the main points that can be made.
Depression due to Repression in The Yellow Wallpaper By the end of the same century, the patriarchal view of women as ‘natural born housewives’ and the objects of men’s sexual desire, had lost the remains of its former validity.
The Need for Change in Ragged Dick and The Yellow Wallpaper However, the two authors articulate the importance of such changes that are vital for the development of the personality and the entire society.
Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper: Themes & Symbols The fact that the patient is the physician’s wife ought to portray a picture of mutual agreements and understandings rather than subjecting one’s decision to the other with a reason for care and protection.
Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’: Point of View Through the means of it, the readers empathize with the Narrator as they follow the progression of the story. The Narrator’s point of view gives the reader a mental picture of the setting for the […]
Prosperity and Social Justice The short story was also the subject of debate when it was first written because it failed to fit in any particular genre at the time.”The Yellow Wallpaper” was mostly considered a horror story when […]
Mental Illness as a Theme of The Yellow Wallpaper As it appears from the novel, the reason why the narrator and her husband John decided to spend their summer vacation in a secluded mansion is that this proved beneficial to the narrator’s mental condition.
Woman’s Mental Breakdown: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman I tried to explain her that she got tired with her own thoughts and her melancholic mood is not a disease, but one of the peculiarities of her temperament and worldview.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Literature Analysis The same way as the woman behind the wall comes out, she also comes out of her slavery, and this shows that women can obtain freedom from social oppression they are undergoing as depicted in […]
“The Yellow Wallpaper” a Novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Thus, the imagery, particularly the woman behind the wallpaper, is a metonymic representation of social boundaries that most women had to face at the time, and a very powerful one at that Gilman clearly knew […]
Male Chauvinism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman As it appears from the novel, the reason why the narrator and her husband John decided to spend their summer vacation in a secluded mansion is that this was assumed to prove beneficial to the […]
“The Yellow Wallpaper” Story by Charlotte Gilman Temporary nervous depression, as termed by the husband, is a factor that makes the husband prohibits her from roaming in the rest of the house but only upstairs.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” a Story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman She tries to convince her husband John and one of her minders Jennie, to see the patterns she notices in the wallpaper of her upstairs room, which they, of course, cannot see: the narrator has […]
Stetson’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Criticism Since the woman who narrates is alienated from the community and not allowed to work or be engaged in any other activity, she describes her inner thoughts and feelings, and that makes the whole story […]
Postpartum Depression Analysis in “Yellow Wallpaper” In reality, postpartum depression is the disease that has to be treated with the help of specific medications and therapies that are appropriate for a patient.

👍 The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Topics

Unreliable Narrator in Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper In addition, the narration talks about a “yellow wallpaper,” yet the narrator takes long before making an introduction to the subject of the story, hence bringing an element of confusion on what the subject is […]
“The Yellow Wallpaper” and The Laugh of the Medusa The topic of a woman’s voice being silenced by society and becoming heard in writing appears to be among the similar themes of the critical essay “The Laugh of the Medusa” by Cixous and the […]
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman uses horror and suspense in the cautionary tale to demonstrate the effect of the supposed arest cures’ on the mental state of a patient.
Psychology in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” The reading of Gilman story’s few initial lines suggests that the reason why the narrator and her husband John decided to spend the summer in a secluded mansion is that this was supposed to help […]
Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” as a Gothic Horror Tale She does not, however, trust her own judgment, since, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter…what is one to do?
Female Mental Health in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” The main role of a 19th-century woman was a loving nurturer, serving the needs of her family and obedient to her husband/father.
Gender and Illness in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Additionally, the main form of psychological imprisonment was the character’s obedience to her husband who did not believe in her sickness and did not allow her to think that it was something more than a […]
Feminist Perspective on “The Yellow Wallpaper” From the interaction between John and Jane, the husband is a typical illustration of a spouse who has mastered the art of absolute control.
Families in ”A Rose for Emily” and ”Yellow Wallpaper” In prison with nothing to do, she eventually lost her mind and imagined that she was trapped in the yellow wallpaper.
Symbols in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by C. P. Gilman Gilman uses such important details as the smell of the wallpaper and shades of color to depict her feelings: “the only thing I can think of that it is like is the color of the […]
Depression in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gillman The paper provides a discussion of the short story and analyses the theme of emotion and depression that the main character Stetson Gilman undergoes and her advent into insanity caused by the wrong treatment given […]
”The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin & ”The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman: Comparing The characters of Louise Mallard in “The Story of an Hour” and the storyteller for “The Yellow Wallpaper” are representative of what the authors want to express about themselves and their current situation.
The Insanity of Reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gliman John laughed at her about the wallpaper and initially meant to repaper the room but later changed his mind, believing that she was letting it get the better of heer.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” Short Story by Gilman In Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the unnamed female protagonist is instructed to rest in isolation and stillness in the large upper room of a remote country house that has bars on the windows […]
Charlotte Gilman’s Short Story “The Yellow Wallpaper” The room’s wallpaper is yellow and this woman becomes obsessed by the color and the patterns of the wallpaper ‘the color is dull and confuses the eyes, provoke studies and when watched closely can lead […]

🖋️ The Yellow Wallpaper Research Paper Topics

The Inner Struggles in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins The main element of the story is the gradual lowering of the protagonist into virtual insanity, punctuated with bouts of desperation and desire to be free and independent.
Family Relationships in Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper Being the brain and the intellectual reason of the family, the husband wisely guides the ship of his matrimonial unit through all the possible mishaps and traps and takes the necessary precautions in order to […]
Conflict in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by C. Perkins Gilman The topic chosen from the story for analyzing is ‘To what extent is the protagonist of the story you have chosen responsible for the conflict or predicament he or she faces’.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman The way she describes the wallpaper is symbolic of the evolution of her psychological problem: she gets to see herself through the wallpaper.
Bradbury’s The Veldt & Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper At the beginning of the story we immediately know that something is wrong with the nursery, and we find out about the African Veldt and how it seems to be stuck in a rather wild […]
Analysis of the Gilman’s “Yellow Wallpaper” From the way she describes and interacts with the room, one can notice that she has a dislike and immense hatred towards the room she is confined in.
Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and Walker’s “Everyday Use” It is remarkable that the language of The Story of An Hour speaks for the feelings of protagonist and the plot uncovering.
“Yellow Wallpaper” – A Creepy Shade of Yellow A simultaneously heavy and light-hearted style of the writing is a significant part of the narrative, which demonstrates the sharp contrast between the perception of the main heroine and the rest of the characters.
Interpreting “The Yellow Wallpaper” The theme and problem of woman’s rights looming over the society of that day is demonstrated as the main issue at the core of the story.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman The value of the composition lies in the progressive moral it brought to the world of literature as well as social views, redirecting the social mind from the old patriarchal foundations to the recognition of […]
Narrator’s Experience: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman The narrator is devastated by the fact that she is not allowed to write, as she is sure it would “relieve the press of ideas and rest” her.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman and “My Last Duchess” by Browning The narrator soon found herself observing the patterns of the yellow wallpaper of the room she stayed in. Eventually, the narrator began to perform the same behavior she observed from the women in the wallpaper.
Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Story Analysis The magic of the story arises from the innovative transfer of the experience of insanity in the first-person storytelling, showing the evolution of the image of the wallpaper and indicating their symbolic significance and ending, […]
Madness in “The Yellow Wallpaper” Story by Gilman The source of the conflict and the main cause of the woman’s unfortunate fate is not so much the mental illness itself but, rather, the refusal to recognize it as such.
Charlotte Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” The main feature of this style is a sense of doom and often exaggeration to show the problems of ordinary people.
Chekhov’s “The Lady With the Little Dog” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Malcolm’s magazine article named “The Kernel of Truth” supports the opinion that the explicit and intimate characters’ life description is the most interesting and significant part of the story.

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The yellow wallpaper-essay

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: An Essay " Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked "-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. " The Yellow Wallpaper " is, on its surface, about a woman driven insane by post-partum depression and a dangerous treatment. However, an examination of the narrator's characterization reveals that the story is all about her identity. The narrator's projection of an imaginary woman — which at first is merely her shadow — against the bars of the wallpaper's pattern explains her identity, internalizing the conflict she experiences and eventually leading to the complete breakdown of the boundaries of her identity and that of her projected shadow. What causes her insanity over nervous depression is when she was forbidden by her husband, whom she believes the reason why she is not getting well faster, to do such things as congenial works with excitement and change. The nursery room at the top of the house which John took was like a prison to her. Even the pattern on the wallpaper (which at first was completely random) " at night in any kind of light, twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all moonlight, becomes bars " as if she is caged. Both times here she refers to aspects of her room as bars. As she begins to feel imprisoned she projects her feelings onto the wallpaper, but the idea of the room being her prison goes from figurative to more literal as the isolation deepens her need for an escape. Not just the wallpaper, but everything about her bedroom sets the stage for the protagonist's insanity. When her husband John says: " bless her little heart; she shall be as sick as she pleases " we catch glimpses of his childlike treatment of her. The use of the word " little " to describe her heart gives the image of a small body to go along with it, like that of an infant. The fact that he says she is " as sick as she pleases " reflects the way a child conjures up illnesses to escape certain chores they do not wish to do. This would make sense because he also diagnosis her with " temporary nervous depression; " which is what was said about women who suspected of trying to escape housework and sexual duties (as seen in the text). This childlike treatment of her, and his misdiagnosis, is the cause of her segregation; which is the root cause of her eventual insanity. There is a single part of the story that reflects the breakdown of her identity all in its own, and that is when she writes: " I've got out at last, in spite of you and Jane! And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back! " This part of the story gave me the deepest understanding along reading the story. This line also indicates that she was never healed by what her husband did of her, instead she have had an insane beliefs towards her husband. One might assume that " The Yellow Wallpaper " is simply about a woman driven insane by post-partum depression and constant isolation, but it is so much more than

Related Papers

The Sick Heroine in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The yellow Wallpaper

This study attempts to put Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The yellow wallpaper in the context of contemporary theory of Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar's psycho-feminist scholarship The Madwoman in the Attic: The Women Writers and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination (2000). The two critics focus on the image of the imprisoned mad women in the attic like Bertha Mason, the mentally ill wife of Mr. Edward Rochester, in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847). The image of the sick woman forced into domestic confinement of colors, shapes and wallpapers in an entire seclusion continued right into the twentieth century into the literary product of some of the women writers. According to Gilbert and Gubar, some of those women Victorian writers tried to give voice to those women descending into sickness and mental diseases throughout their endeavor to oppress their awareness of the inner creative power which comes as a part of their desire to accept the limited social role they are trapped in.

Dhianita Kusuma Pertiwi

Wided Laribi Lajili

reveals the unquestionable supremacy of the patriarchal convention at that time. Absence of female identity and the imminent failure of any attempt of female self-assertion were inescapable. However, in her story, Charlotte Perkins Gilman provides an instance of female emancipation and resistance to the dominant male law. The narrator's psycho-mental journey proves to be a process of dismantling the myth of the patriarch through self-liberation even while still confined. To start with, the narrator is a woman who suffers from what we call postpartum depression. As a result, her husband and physician confines her to a rest-estate in which she is forbidden any physical or mental effort, starting from taking care of her newly-born child to writing and socializing. As a matter of fact her husband John, representative of a whole social system, has a complete control over her body and brain. He considers the thoughts of his wife not only as invalid, but also as unnecessary and "laughs at [her]" (Gilman). Hence, he forbids her from thinking. Moreover, he deprives her from the most natural female roles to be a wife and a mother. Likewise, even the confinement to the very restricted and basic function of a female of getting married, giving birth and raising her children, is denied.

Mili Chaima

Lea C Weller BA PGCert

jane thrailkill

badria chawech

Charlotte Perkins Gilman's " The Yellow Wallpaper " is regarded as one of the most important early feminist works in American literature. It illustrates general attitudes towards women in a nineteenth century environment and women's physical and especially mental response towards these attitudes. The short story contains lots of significant concepts that often come as topics of deep discussions. Among the most salient concepts, one could mention the concept of confinement and escape. The unknown narrator loudly speaks about the implicit and explicit ways of confining women as well as the unusual ways used by women to escape. The present paper deals with the diverse features of confinement in parallel with its direct product, escape, in Gilman's " The Yellow Wallpaper ". It is a good place to begin from what the short story accentuates; the nameless narrator starts by disclosing her confinement. By drawing a sinister picture about John, It is obvious that there is something ambiguous about the place they settle in, but as the description of John goes on, it is clear that he represents a walking figure of confinement. He is the embodiment of male view of the world, he does not take her emotional hardships very seriously and restricts her inside the traditional gender roles taking for granted the fact that it is the best way for her to be treated. John, together with the narrator's brother, agrees upon the same method to cure her from her " hysterical tendency " (Gilman). This reveals the first external force of confinement tackled by " The Yellow Wallpaper " which is male dominance resulting in female domesticity. Anne J. Lane in her To Harold and Beyond: The life and Works of Charlotte

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story by an American writer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It was firstly published in January (1892), in The New England Magazine. This short story deals with the matter of a 'sick' woman who has been put into a room by John, her husband. She is claimed by the people around her that she has psychoneurosis problems which is commonly associated with the women. In Studies on Hysteria, Sigmund Freud makes a study of his hysteric women patients. He dives into the depth of their unconsciousness to figure out the main problem. In this respect, this paper aims to analyze the narrator's psyche from the perspective of Freud's deductions related to his former patient Fraulein Anna O. (Breuer and Freud) The Yellow Wallpaper has been analyzed by many critics as regarding feminism, patriarchy, and gender roles in the society. It is decisively interpreted that the narrator is like a bird imprisoned in a cage of men world. Feminist critics say that she is exposed to the orders of her husband rather than her own will. However, I would like to argue a different perspective by relating homosexuality with hysteria.

SMART M O V E S J O U R N A L IJELLH

This paperfocuses on locating Gilman in the nineteenth-century society and discusses largely woman’s condition and their space. Jane in “The Yellow Wallpaper” sufferspatriarchal biases and strives to find her identity and independence.In this paper, my aim is to relate the themes of marriage, independence and feminine ideals to patriarchy, andto tracehow the narrator lacks identity, which she tries to find behind the wallpaper and attempts to rescue herselffrom the male-dominated society. It also underlines to what extent women can actually liberatethemselves and achieve their rights to speak and to express.Furthermore,the paper would also examinethe patriarchal biases of the nineteenth-century medicine which prescribed women to undergo “rest cure” that actually confined them within the societal norms ratherthanto grow out of it

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