The Yellow Wall-Paper (Perkins Gilman, Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1892) is a classical feminist writing that aptly captures feminist subjugation. The story equally asks difficult questions about the place of women in society in light of patriarchal dominance. Written in 892 – twenty-six years before women were allowed to vote – the writing depicts some of the troubles of sadomasochism that pre-modern women were subject. This paper illustrates feminist derision and the woman’s problematic place in marriage, as presented in Gilman’s text.
The story opens with the narrator, an upper-middle-class woman on a “rest-cure” living in a newly-rented summer mansion with her husband, John. The narrator is partially psychotic and lives with Jennie, her husband’s sister, to nurse her alongside John’s baby. The narrator’s non-obliging husband is responsible for her eventual nervous breakdown since she uncontrollably muses with the yellow wallpaper that she imagines of trapping women beneath it, herself included.
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The yellow wallpaper in the story is illustrative of the social entrapping of women in society. The narrator claims that the wallpaper was “heavy bedstead”, illustrating how reluctant John was about acting in her favour (Gilman, 1892, p.649). Ideally, the wallpaper represents the social labyrinth that bars women from actively participating in important affairs. Furthermore, John’s reluctance to react to the narrator’s situation in time illustrates the men’s chauvinism.
Besides, the narrator’s “rest-cure” depicts the stigma around women’s mental health. When John insists, “no one but myself can help me out of it”, he quite intends to hide his wife’s problem from embarrassing him. Undeniably, the narrator’s psychosis stems from post-partum depression, but what the husband cares the least is opening up and seeking tenable medical attention. Instead, he poses as his wife’s caregiver, notwithstanding his nervousness to help her. In effect, Gilman exposes the negative attitude towards women, particularly with reproductive mental health.
Nevertheless, the story highlight’s women’s courageous efforts to overcome social underpinnings. For instance, the narrator’s journal exemplifies an empowered female voice that, despite the patronization, strives to give testimony of the tribulations of the female condition. The narrator also admits that the writing “relieves the press of ideas”, glorifying the woman’s creative nature (p.650). Effectively, Gilman portrays the suffering woman as a hero of her circumstances.
Conclusively, The Yellow Wall-Paper accurately captures the woman’s problematic place in society concerning essential mental health and decision-making issues. Through the narrator, Gilman carves out the woman as resilient, creative, and calculating. The dramatic end – with John fainting and his wife breaking down – equally underscores the need to give voice and reason to issues affecting women.
Reference
Perkins Gilman, C. (1892). The Yellow Wall-Paper. Boston: Small, Maynard & Company.
