Yellow Wall Paper And Women Role Essay

, Research Paper

In the nineteenth century, women in literature were often portrayed as

submissive to men. Literature of the period often characterized women as

oppressed by society, as well as by the male influences in their lives. The

Yellow Wallpaper presents the tragic story of a woman’s descent into depression

and madness. Gilman once wrote "Women’s subordination will only end when

women lead the struggle for their own autonomy, thereby freeing man as well as

themselves, because man suffers from the distortions that come from dominance,

just as women are scarred by the subjugation imposed upon them" (Lane 5).

The Yellow Wallpaper brilliantly illustrates this philosophy. The narrator’s

declining mental health is reflected through the characteristics of the house

she is trapped in and her husband, while trying to protect her, is actually

destroying her. The narrator of the story goes with her doctor/husband to stay

in a colonial mansion for the summer. The house is supposed to be a place where

she can recover from severe postpartum depression. She loves her baby, but knows

she is not able to take care of him. "It is fortunate Mary is so good with

the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so

nervous" (Gilman 642). The symbolism utilized by Gilman is somewhat askew

from the conventional. A house usually symbolizes security. In this story the

opposite is true. The protagonist, whose name we never learn, feels trapped by

the walls of the house, just as she is trapped by her mental illness. The

windows of her room, which normally would symbolize a sense of freedom, are

barred, holding her in. (Biedermann 179, 382). From the outset the reader is

given a sense of the domineering tendencies of the narrator’s husband, John. The

narrator tells us: "John is a physician, and perhaps . (I would not say

it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my

mind) . perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster" (Gilman

640). It is painfully obvious that she feels trapped and unable to express her

fears to her husband. "You see, he does not believe I am sick. And what can

one do. If a physician of high standing and one’s own husband assures friends

and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary

nervous depression . a slight hysterical tendency . what is one to do."

Her husband is not the only male figure who dominates and oppresses her. Her

brother, also a doctor, "says the same thing" (Gilman 640-641).

Because the story is written in diary format, we feel especially close to this

woman. We are in touch with her innermost thoughts. The dominance of her

husband, and her reaction to it, is reflected throughout the story. The narrator

is continually submissive, bowing to her husband’s wishes, even though she is

unhappy and depressed. Her husband has adopted the idea that she must have

complete rest if she is to recover. This is a direct parallel to Gilman’s life,

wherein during her illness she was treated by a doctor who introduced her to the

"rest cure." She was instructed to live a domestic life, only engage

in intellectual activities two hours a day, and "never to touch pen, brush,

or pencil again" as long as she lived (Gilman 640). In this story, the

narrator’s husband, John, does not want her to work. "So I . . . am

absolutely forbidden to .work’ until I am well again"(Gilman 641). John

does not even want her to write. "There comes John, and I must put this

away . he hates to have me write a word"(Gilman 642). It is also a direct

allusion to Gilman’s personal experience that the narrator is experiencing

severe postpartum depression. Gilman suffered from the same malady after the

birth of her own daughter (Gilman 639). It is interesting that the room her

husband chooses for them, the room the narrator hates, is the nursery. The

narrator describes the nursery as having barred windows and being

"atrocious" (Gilman 641-642). The narrator’s response to the room is a

further example of her submissive behavior. "I don’t like our room a bit. I

wanted one downstairs that opened onto the piazza and had roses all over the

window, and such pretty old fashioned chintz hangings! But John would not hear

of it" (Gilman 641). Although she is practically a prisoner in the room,

she is given no voice in choosing or decorating it. She attempts to justify

John’s treatment of her. "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me

stir without special direction. I have a schedule . . . I feel basely ungrateful

not to value it more"(Gilman 641). Even though she knows that writing and

socializing would help her recover faster, she still allows the male figures in

her life to dominate and control her treat

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