An in-depth review of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” indicates that it can be classified as Naturalist literature based on a wide array of aspects that can be seen from the story. The American Literature Association defines naturalist literature as a type of writing that seeks to expose or define the darkness of life, which may include issues such as poverty, racism, and inequality among others all of which seek to highlight suffering. In the case of Gilman’s story, the fact that the woman, who is the main character, finds herself in an environment where her husband, John, misunderstands leading to her descent into madness serves as a clear reflection of its classification as a Naturalist literature. That serves as a clear reflection of the fact that the woman is facing key issues in dealing with her relationship with her husband attributed to the negative views that can be supported by her husband’s reaction to her condition.
Gilman introduces her readers to the life of a young woman, who has been inflicted with a mental illness, which can be viewed based on the manifestation of her obsession focusing on the yellow wallpaper in the room. The story seeks to reflect on the fact that the role of the women in the society had been subdued significantly during that period, which acted as one of the key factors that may have affected her mental wellbeing. From that perspective, it can be argued that the story seeks to build on what would be considered as a negative approach to differing gender roles. The women experienced extreme suffering considering that they were expected to embrace a life that would see them live most of their lives inside the house without the option of going out.
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The protagonist, who is the woman obsessed with the yellow wallpaper, finds herself in a situation where she faces both internal and external forces that hamper her efforts to build on her freedom. Internally, the woman experiences major issues in building what would be considered as a structured approach through which to fight for her role as a woman in the society while considering the standards of men in the social context. In other words, the woman experienced negative biological deterministic forces, which affected her capacity to build on her position within the social context. Ultimately, this meant that the woman did not have the societal authority that would advance her ability for fight for her freedom while considering that her husband, John, served as a standard of the men in the society. That can be considered as a factor that suggests that indeed this story can be categorized as Naturalist literature as part of American literature.
From an external perspective, the protagonist gives readers a clear sense of understanding on the extent to which woman, in the society, suffered in silence while considering the fact that it would be somewhat challenging for them to speak out. As the definition suggests, Naturalist literature builds on the basic understanding that people within a given social context are suffering, which affects their ability to connect to the general understanding of life. In this case, the external perspective given seeks to build on the overall levels of oppression that the women were experiencing, which affected their mental wellbeing significantly. The oppression also created a situation where it would be difficult for the women to build on the possible connection on what to believe with regard to their role in the society.
In the late nineteenth century, it was clear that the society was shaped and responded to social and historical forces, which has been projected clear from Gilman’s story. The society was shaped by social forces, which dictated how individuals were expected to behave within their differentiated social contexts. In other words, this means that the forces sought to define how people were expected to respond while in different social environments. In the story by Gilman, this can be seen from the fact that the protagonist’s role as a woman was shaped by a wide array of social forces that defined gender roles. That meant that it would be somewhat challenging for a woman to take up a different position other than that which is defined by the society, which led to serious cases of oppression against the women.
Regarding the historical forces, the society, during the later 19 th century, can be seen as responding to the historical patterns of behavior occurring within the social context or environment over a given period. That led to a situation where it would be difficult or challenging for the people to change their approaches to what they considered as being the historical understanding of what to expect as a society. Gilman builds on his understanding throughout her story indicating that historically, women were considered as being made to stay at home, which can be seen from the protagonist. That may have affected their mental wellbeing, as it became hard for them to build on their social lives considering that the women were expected to live indoors at all times.
