Readings: Charlotte Perkins Gilman The Yellow Wallpaper

Readings Choose Onegilman Charlotte Perkins The Yellow Wallpaper

Readings (Choose one): Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Purpose: The purpose of an analysis essay is to apply a specific critical or theoretical lens to a character, issue, or theme in a chosen reading. This involves understanding the primary reading, and also understanding topics or discussions within a critical framework (like Feminism) or the application of a particular scholar’s argument to “The Yellow Wallpaper”. For example, we might analyze the narrator’s actions in “The Yellow Wallpaper” using Philip Zimbardo’s application of “power” in his “Stanford Prison Experiment”. We might also apply a theory or concept from outside the discipline of English (e.g. from your own major, or area of academic or professional interest) to a work we’ve read for this class.

How Do I Do This? · Write a 5 page Analysis essay on “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. · Cite specific examples from the chosen primary reading, as well as “outside” sources that you find via your research process to support your claims. · Use MLA style for your essay formatting and citations · Be sure to read your chosen primary and secondary texts several times, and annotate them. You want to be “conversant with the texts.” · Challenge yourself to understand what your chosen authors are arguing, and HOW those arguments are being articulated, so that you can apply a specific theory or idea to your primary text. Be Careful To Avoid: · Summarizing too much. Assume that your readers are familiar with all of the possible texts. · Too general of a discussion—this analysis assignment is a bit more specific in nature than your explication was.

Paper For Above instruction

Readings Choose Onegilman Charlotte Perkins The Yellow Wallpaper

The story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a profound exploration of gender roles, mental health, and female autonomy in the late 19th century. It serves as a critique of the rest cure and the oppressive medical and social practices directed at women. Analyzing this story through a feminist lens reveals not just the personal deterioration of the narrator but also the systemic suppression of women’s agency. This essay applies feminist theory, particularly the ideas of scholars like Laura Mulvey and bell hooks, to interpret how Gilman constructs themes of oppression, resistance, and identity through the narrator’s experiences.

Gilman’s narrative powerfully illustrates the societal expectations that confine women. The narrator’s enforced rest and isolation reflect Victorian ideals of femininity, emphasizing passivity and dependence (Gilman, 1892). Through this lens, her obsession with the wallpaper's chaotic pattern symbolizes her subconscious rebellion against these constraints. Scholar Elaine Showalter’s discussion of the “female voice” emphasizes how women’s mental health was often marginalized, with their expressions of distress dismissed or misunderstood (Showalter, 1985). The narrator’s mental decline exemplifies how these patriarchal medical practices exacerbate women’s trauma rather than alleviate it.

Applying a psychoanalytic framework, such as Sigmund Freud’s theories, can deepen the understanding of the narrator’s descent into madness. The wallpaper becomes a projection of her unconscious conflicts, representing repressed desires and frustrations. The struggle to tear down the wallpaper parallels her quest for autonomy and identity, which society denies her (Freud, 1900). Gilman’s own experiences with postpartum depression and her critique of the medical treatment she received offer additional context for interpreting the narrator’s mental deterioration as a form of resistance against oppressive institutions.

Furthermore, feminist critiques of Gilman’s work interpret the story as a metaphor for the struggle against patriarchal domination. The narrator’s eventual identification with the woman trapped behind the wallpaper symbolizes the awakening of female consciousness, a recognition of her own oppression and a desire for emancipation (Mulvey, 1975). Gilman’s depiction of the narrator’s rebellion aligns with feminist theories advocating for women’s agency and self-expression. The act of ripping down the wallpaper signifies a reclaiming of personal power and the end of submission to societal expectations.

Beyond feminist and psychoanalytic analyses, the story can also be examined through the lens of art and visual culture. The wallpaper’s intricate, suffocating pattern functions as a visual metaphor for patriarchal restrictions, which the narrator attempts to decipher and ultimately dismantle. This interpretation aligns with bell hooks’ assertion that art and storytelling serve as tools of resistance against oppression (hooks, 1994). Consequently, the story becomes a critique of the societal structures that inhibit women’s voices and creativity.

In conclusion, Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” offers a rich site for critical analysis through various theoretical lenses. Feminist theory exposes the gendered mechanisms of control and repression that define the narrator’s experience. Psychoanalytic theory reveals the unconscious depths of her mental deterioration as a form of subconscious resistance. Combined, these frameworks highlight the story’s enduring relevance as a critique of gender inequality and mental health oppression. Gilman’s story not only reveals individual suffering but also advocates for broader societal change, emphasizing the importance of listening to women’s voices and respecting their autonomy.

References

• Freud, S. (1900). The interpretation of dreams. Basic Books.
• Gilman, C. P. (1892). The yellow wallpaper. The New England Magazine.
• hooks, bell. (1994). Outlaw culture: Resisting representations. Routledge.
• Mulvey, L. (1975). Visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Screen, 16(3), 6-18.
• Showalter, E. (1985). The female malady: Women, madness, and medicine. Pantheon Books.