The Theme Of Confinement In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

Words: 776

Pages: 4

Open Document

In Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” one of the initial themes that I took notice is the theme of being confined, whether it be physically or mentally portrayed in this story. This sort of physical imprisonment resembles the narrators sort of social confinement that she must be feeling. This is a driving engine in the story that moves the plot forward, as she, the narrator, drives herself mad from being confined, and not being able to have any freedom.
“It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village.” (Gilman 1) It begins with the narrators' description of the setting that is physically confining her. This setting is just one one of the isolations that the narrator points out. The story’s setting is one of the confinement and isolations that the narrator feels. The estate is set back from the road, which the road itself is three miles from town. The isolation and confinement motif continues with the mansion itself.
This is another feeling of confinement that the narrator feels, she mentions about changing the wallpaper and the husband pretty much ignores her request and then she realizes the other things that are closing in on her. “He said that after the wall-paper was changed it would be the …show more content…
“At night in any kind of light, in the twilight, candle light, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be.” (Gilman 8) Everything about this narrator swarms around confinement. In the end, she seems to attempt to take control of her confinement by really confining herself. The narrator sees the others confined as well, creeping around. “Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.” (Gilman

Literary Devices In The Yellow Wallpaper

characterization, theme, style, tone, and figurative language pertain the success of a work of literature. Individuals who evaluate and analyze literary text develop literary criticism regarding their specific point of view on various elements and topics used in a work of literature. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, she illustrates Jane, the narrator, is suffering from a psychological disorder due to her increasing madness of confinement from the yellow wallpaper. The narrator’s…

Words 966 - Pages 4

The Yellow Wallpaper: A Woman's Struggle For Freedom?

Charlotte Perkins Gilman is best known for her crusading journalist and feminist intellectual (Gilbert, para1). She was a passionate writer who also advocated for women's rights. Throughout her life, she was faced with a great deal of pain from her troubled and loveless relationships: with her mother, her father, and her daughter (Gilbert, para1). Eventually her troubled relationships had an immense influence in her life. One of Gilman's incidents in her life sparked one of the greatest pieces…

Words 2384 - Pages 10

Critical Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper

Critical Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is a fictional narrative, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which reflected real life societal themes. The author used her personal dealing with postpartum depression to help convey the biased social attitudes directed towards women. The narrator’s fascination with the multiple shadows can be viewed as a symbol of the meaning of her story, indicating that it extends past that isolated case. Gilman’s narrative criticizes not only…

Words 445 - Pages 2

Yellow Wallpaper Symbolism

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a fictional narrative detailing a woman’s subsequent stay in a house that her husband, John Doe, had rented out for the summer. She is diagnosed with a “temporary nervous depression” by her husband who is introduced to the reader as a physician and does not believe that her condition is legitimate. The narrator’s hysteria worsens as the story progresses in a horrific manner, bringing to life the yellow wallpaper that is layered on the walls of…

Words 1098 - Pages 5

A Rose for Emily & the Yellow Wallpaper

The protagonists in both “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman experience struggles within their society throughout their respective stories. Although the stories are very different, the struggles for each protagonist stem from the perception and expectations of women in society during the time each story was written. The protagonist in “The Yellow Wallpaper” struggles throughout the story due to her controlling husband and a woman’s…

Words 5179 - Pages 21

Essay about English 214 Final Project Submit To Study Site

Indian School Girl, and Sena Jeter Naslund’s novel Four Spirits. Sexism and manipulation of women through socially established gender roles will be demonstrated through the characters created by Henry James in “Daisy Miller: A Study,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper,” and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman’s “The Revolt of Mother.” The effects of capitalism as a maintainer of classist society will be supported through the writings of Anna Petry’s The Street, Michael Gold’s Jews Without Money, and…

Words 3099 - Pages 13