The Yellow Wallpaper: Going Crazy
The “Yellow Wallpaper” is a Descent into Madness in the nineteenth century. During this period of Literature, women were often portrayed as submissive to men and often-characterized women as oppressed by society, as well as by the male influences in their lives. The “Yellow Wallpaper” presents the tragic story or a woman’s descend 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 ...
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good with the baby. Such a dear baby! And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous”(Gilman 293). The symbolism utilized by Gilman is somewhat askew from the conventional. A house usually symbolizes security but 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 beginning 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 292). 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 ...
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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 293). 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 treatment. “I sometimes fancy that in my condition, if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus- but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think of my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad”(Gilman 292). The narrator’s husband lovers her very much. He is tender with her and speaks to her loving, ...
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"The Yellow Wallpaper: Going Crazy." Essayworld.com. April 7, 2008. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Yellow-Wallpaper-Going-Crazy/81729.
"The Yellow Wallpaper: Going Crazy." Essayworld.com. April 7, 2008. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Yellow-Wallpaper-Going-Crazy/81729.
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