The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
According to Gail Marshall, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is powerful because it cannot be reduced to one interpretation (Cited by Hughes ). Her statement is true because this book is deep and makes one ask so many questions; for example, did the narrator free herself from the situation? What does the wall represent? These questions leaders to different interpretations by different people. Although this book was written more than 100 years ago, it remains relevant because the writer achieved her goal of writing about the plight of women in the hands of men and the problems that come along with mental illness. Charlotte manages to make this book effective by using realism, writing in the first person, and using different characters in the text to show that the narrator is trapped.
First, the house is one of the characters used in this story to show how lonely and trapped the narrator is feeling. “The house is quite alone, standing well back from the road.”(Gilman 648). She has to stay in that house for three months, and the worse part is that; she does not want that; it is her husband’s idea that it will make her better. The second thing her husband is always away all day long(Gilman 649); this makes her lonely that sometimes she cannot eat well when her husband is not around. The wallpaper is also used as a character, for the narrator to take a keen interest on the wall means she lacks things to do to keep her busy,
it shows how idle she is at the moment. Apart from being idle, the narrator is mentally disturbed; that is why she can hallucinate about the wall. It also is one of the main characters because the writer keeps referring to it. The narrator is also trapped in the house. She cannot sleep in the room that she wants downstairs because her husband is not for the idea. It is John’s idea for her to sleep and not do anything a situation that makes her bored.
Realism is a crucial element in this story, and this is because of Charlotte writing her tale of a nervous breakdown. This condition was a disease associated with women by doctors in the 19th Century, and they claimed it was caused by the mental and physical effects of giving birth(Marland ). It could have been why she was sick; the narrator talks of a baby who was being taken care of by Mary(Gilman 649). Using her own story, Charlotte delivers the real feelings that she was feeling either intentionally or unintentionally. This technique makes the book effective because the reader can move with the author through her troubles. It is the same style that helps Charlotte to be able to use first-person effectively, and this makes the reader feel like they are the ones in the problem that the narrator is going through. The style is also powerful because it made it easy for the author to express herself freely without holding back.
“But what is one to do?, this statement shows that she is trapped in her situation and very helpless(Gilman 648). The irony of the matter is whenever she tells her husband that she is okay and needs to leave; John does not believe her; the narrator’s brother is also in support for her to rest.
The only person who listens to her is John’s sister; she is ready to give her some time alone when the narrator needs it. This fact shows the real plight of women as caused by the men in their lives, as the narrator has to live how the brother and husband support. Although the rest cure was working because she was looking better and her appetite was also much better, she decided to make her own decisions. Hilary Marland explains that men saw women as docile people during that time, which is why a resting cure was advised to restore them to their submissive nature.
Charlotte uses the above technique to represent a disturbed and suffering woman who has no choice but to follow some rules to get better. She achieves her aim of showing how mental unfitness can make one’s life a living hell. The author uses her own story, which makes the book very powerful; this gives her the power to pour her heart out to the audience. The use of characters is also well done as Charlotte uses the house as one of the characters. From her explanation, it is evident that she is lonely and disturbed; another character, which is the wall, helps show the audience her struggle. This book remains relevant because it touches on mental health, which is an issue in this century.
Work Cited
Marland Hilary “The Yellow Wallpaper: a 19th-Century Short Story of Nervous Exhaustion and the Perils of Women’s ‘Rest Cures’.” The Conversation, 20 July 2020, theconversation.com/the-yellow-wallpaper-a-19th-century-short-story-of-nervous-exhaustion-and-the-perils-of-womens-rest-cures-92302.
Hughes, Kathryn. “House of Horror: the Poisonous Power of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Feb. 2020, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/feb/07/charlotte-perkins-gilman-yellow-wallpaper-strangeness-classic-short-story-exhibition.