Introduction
The short fictional story narrated in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman forever remains an important literary work in the feminism movement. The story originally published in 1892, begins as secretive journal entries that are written by a woman who should be in a recovery period. Her husband and also her physician recommended that for her nervous depressive condition that she refrains from writing or working completely. The horror story depicts the events that take place as the narrator slowly descends into madness an outcome that may alternatively be considered as her freedom. The story incorporates various literary devices to convince the reader of the hurtful experiences that the narrator encounters while illuminating the pain she suffers and ultimately uses to achieve her freedom. Through the use principles that appeal to the character of the rhetor or audience, emotions that get in touch with what they value, and the truth of the matter or rational appeal, the narrator is able to present the case.
Ethos: Infantilization to Better Health
From the onset of the short story, it is evident that the narrator wishes to appeal to other women who may be encountering a similar form of suffering, belittlement by their male counterparts (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). The narrator’s husband going by the name John, does not seem to take her seriously and even does not believe that her illness is as serious as she asserts. It is for this reason that John prescribes a “rest cure” whereby the protagonist is relieved of all duties and confined to her bedroom (Gilman, 1892). Although she loves writing from time to time, John asks that she refrains from that, believing that it will make her go mad (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). The narrator is of the opinion that a little “excitement and change” would be good for her health hence the reason she decides to write in secret (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). John’s actions towards her are likened to an adult towards a child as he refers to her as “little girl” and “blessed little goose” (Gilman, 1892). He makes decisions for her as she notes on her journal how he, “hardly let’s me stir without special direction” (Gilman, 1892). The diminutive treatment and names are part of the suffering that the narrator has to endure and the target audience may be able to relate with the same.
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Pathos: Lack of Emotional Empathy
John is able to justify his actions as concern and love towards his wife that he wishes to would get better. However, it becomes apparent that he is using his professional status to dismiss all her fears and emotional appeal to achieve recovery (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). To begin with, the bedroom where the narrator is confined in appears to have previously been used as a nursery as the windows were “barred for little children” (Gilman, 1892). The narrator is aware that majority of her audience would be women who would relate with the desire to change up a room to fit their individual desires. However, when she points out that the wallpaper of her bedroom disturbs her, John quickly dismisses as irrational and refuses to have it removed (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). She even attempts to talk with her husband on her situation, but the moment she is reduced to tears, he misinterprets the whole ordeal (Gilman, 1892). John believes that her emotional behavior is an indicator that she cannot be trusted to make her own decisions hence the reason he treats her like a child. As the narrator discusses similar incidences of her emotional and mental health, she is able to appeal to the audience who can relate with individual situations where almost no person can understand the experience that one is going through (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). It is evident that similar to the protagonist, members of the community may receive blame for their perception of life for having poor mental and emotional health.
Logos: Becoming the “Creeping”Woman on the Wallpaper
In an effort to illuminate the nature of her experience while confined to that nursery, she slowly begins describing the pattern of the wallpaper. The narrator believes that by giving a vivid description of the room from the color to the shapes it makes during different times of the day, maybe someone might understand the horror she has to endure (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). The color of the wallpaper is “repellent” in an almost “revolting” way and has a “subpattern in a different shade” (Gilman, 1892). The description highlights the importance of the environment in the recovery process of a patient suffering from mental and emotional distress. In this case, it is essential as she spends majority of her time in the room. A second pattern that she begins to discern is of a woman creeping furtively behind the first one. It becomes clear that the wallpaper is a symbolic representation of the societal oppression of women (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). The narrator’s recovery is based on how cheerfully she will resume her duties as a wife and mother. However, engaging in anything else including intellectual discussions or writing is believed to be a cause of interference (Marston & Rockwell, 1991). The narrator is able to embrace the eerie wallpaper and works towards pulling off the wallpaper, an action that is seen as overcoming the troubling system that causes madness.
Conclusion
The end of the short story makes it all clear that it was not simply a story of how a woman struggles with concerns of mental health rather an indicator a system in society that is set in place to enhance and create madness among women in particular. The narrator appeals to the audience’s character by demonstrating how the superior stance taken by men in society is at the heart of creating this system of madness. She then provides a description of how emotional empathy towards the suffering that women encounter may rarely be noted by the men. Her final appeal is to the rational aspect of the reader where there are two possible outcomes. On the one hand, she and other women who are in similar situations may embrace the madness, get lost in the system, and probably die without making an effort. On the other hand, they can recognize how the system works and take drastic measures to pull it off their environment achieving a successful escape.
References
Gilman, C. P. (1892) The Yellow Wallpaper .
Marston, P. J., & Rockwell, B. (1991). Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper”: Rhetorical Subversion in Feminist Literature. Women's Studies in Communication, 14 (2), 58-72.
