The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that is written from the first person perspective as a collection of diary notes. It was created in the 19th century and is one of the first examples of American feminist literature. As feminism continues to transform our society...for the better, its mission is far from complete. That's why it is so important to know the story of this phenomenon and its depiction in literature. If you’ve been given an assignment of writing an essay about this book, consider revising the samples of scientific papers on feminism. Various services provide excellent essays on relevant topics and history. To make a clear outline, pay attention to the structure of other works, particularly to the introduction and conclusion.
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The Woman in the Wallpaper, John, Mary, Narrator, Jennie
Based on
Based on the theme of madness and being powerless. According to an article in Forerunner magazine’s publication in 1913, it has been loosely based on the author's own mental illness that she has been going through because of 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.
Plot
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. It shows the structure of domestic life through the lens of madness and the early feminism outlook.
Interesting facts
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.
Quotes
“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.”
Why is this topic important
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.
Why should this topic be used
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.
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