“The Yellow Wallpaper”

1. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

2. Charlotte Perkins Gilman • An American novelist, sociologist, feminist and an advocate of social reform. • “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a semi-autobiographical story. • She suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to her child. She wrote this story to the doctor who tried to cure her through “rest cure”. • She established The Forerunner, a magazine in which she expresses her ideas on feminism & social reform.

3. Analysis • Plot: The story is about Jane, a woman who suffers from depression. She is confined in a room with yellow wallpaper. Eventually, Jane is not cured but is driven insane (open plot). • Characters: Major: Jane, John Minor: Jennie • Setting: • Place: In a yellow wallpaper room with a summer home in USA • Time: 19th century

4. . • Themes: • A call for women’s rights and freedom. • The results of confinement. • The importance of expressing oneself. • Creativity (Jane’s writings) versus rationality (John’s). • Narration: First person narration (the use of “I”). Jane is telling the story.

5. . • Structure: It takes the form of journal entries. Jane is somehow writing letters to herself. Thus, it is an epistolary story. • Style:The writer uses poetic language and difficult vocabulary. • “I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time.” • “I don’t know why I should write this. I don’t want to. I don’t feel able.” • Vocabulary: “impertinent”, “misconstrue” and “conspicuous”. • Tone: Depressed and obsessed: • “Half of the time, I am awfully lazy.” • “I don’t want to leave now until I have found it out [the pattern of the wallpaper].”

6. . • Exposition: Jane introduces the house, her husband and her condition. • Rising action: Jane becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper. She tries hard to understand its pattern. • Climax: She sees a woman enclosed in it; and then becomes that woman, crawling around the room. • Falling action: Her husband discovers her and collapses in shock. • Dénouement: Jane crawls over him and continues to crawl by the wall.

7. . • Conflict: • External (between Jane & her husband about the treatment of her depression.) • Internal: Jane realizes she is weak & powerless, but she tries hard not to admit that to herself. • Foreshadow: The first mention of the word creepy: “I felt creepy”: foreshadows her own creeping (crawling) around the room. • Irony: • Verbal: “Jane laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage.” • Dramatic: Jane thinks Jennie shares her interest in the wallpaper when she is only noticing the source of the yellow stains on her clothing. • Situational: John’s cure worsens Jane’s condition and drives her insane.

8. . • Symbol: • The yellow wallpaper: It represents family, society and tradition (domestic life). • The yellow color symbolizes strength and energy. *The domestic life demanded so much from a woman to an extent that independence was out of the question. • Imagery: • Visual: “I never saw such a garden- large and shady.” (dominates the story) • Auditory: “He does call and pound” • Olfactory: “fog and rain … the smell is here.” • Kinesthetic: “[the moon] creeps so slowly.”

9. Important Quotations • “If a physician of high standing … … until I’m well.” pg. 1 • “I didn’t realize … … it is a woman.” pg. 6 • “Life is very much … … it used to be.” pg. 6 • “I’ve got out … … over him every time.” pg. 9

10. How to Comment on a Quotation • Author’s name & title of story. • Occasion: where does this passage occur in the story? • Significance: why is this passage so important? (theme, irony, symbols, … etc.) • Narration OR style OR tone.

11. Commenting on: “I didn’t realize … it is a woman.” This quotation is taken from “They Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This is when Jane becomes so obsessed with the wallpaper and its pattern. To her, this pattern turns out to be a woman. The wallpaper is a symbol of domestic life and how women are trapped in it. They are only expected to be housewives. This is the beginning of the climax. The narration in this passage is first person narration; and the tone is depressed (“dim”). The style of writing is poetic: “that thing that showed”