In “The Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses diverse literary applications to develop her message to the readership. Her narration becomes memorable because of the level of involvement she makes with her readers. For example, she uses such literary elements as character, plot and style to deliver her message.
Gillman’s story is extremely insightful in its narration of patriarchal societies. The story tells about a woman who suffers from depression after the birth of her child. Her husband then secludes her in a summerhouse. The house is rented but has pathetic conditions that further worsen the treatment of the protagonist. These conditions are evident from the journal that the female protagonist in the narration keeps (Gilman ,34).
This story also seems to question the role of science in patriarchal societies. Gilman suggests that these patriarchal societies go to extreme levels to abuse women. For example, the creation of this therapy for the protagonist does not favor women. Gillman refers to the therapy as rest medication. Women are the only ones subjected to this therapy because of the assumption that they have the weakest minds (Troll, 46).
The author in this narration makes her society to appreciate women. This is because she creates a female protagonist who suffers throughout the narration. At the end, it is fascinating that the woman triumphs over a man who has denied her access to the outside world. This is a symbolic win because it represents the belief that women are powerful. It does not matter what patriarchal societies do them, they will win the respective fights against patriarchy (Gilman, 45).
Gillman’s use of figurative language is exemplary because of the effectiveness it displays in delivering the message against patriarchy. She uses intense rhetoric that seems to be sensible because of the psychological conditions of the protagonist. The protagonist asks several rhetorical questions that readers find answers to at the end of Gillman’s narration. This style ensures that readers identify the voice of the protagonist. For example, readers understand that the protagonist is stable in their emotions because of the information in her journal. Her ability to hide the journal from her husband proves that the protagonist is sensible even in the seclusion (Gilman, 38).
Gilman’s experience in writing allows her to create her narration using the first person point of view. She combines this style with the journal motif and in turn excels in her defense of the rights of women across the world. All the facts that her readership get are from the sick woman who is isolated in the summerhouse. The sick woman seems to convince the readership that she is in fact not sick. Her condition is a normal motherhood occurrence that does not require such seclusions. The protagonist also convinces the readers that modern medical innovations do not favor women. This is because the sick mother appreciates that her husband secludes her because he loves her. Readers then question medication that makes patients (female) to experience the nasty seclusion.
There are different levels of irony that Gilman presents in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The chef irony is the faulty medication for women. People seek diverse medications because they trust their respective medical cares. In this narration, it is ironical that a patient suffers instead of undergoing perfect medication. The phenomenon of rest cure that is designed for new mothers is an irony of sorts. This is because the medication attempts to protect a fragile mind of the woman in the narration. At the end of the narration, readers realize that the mind of women is not faulty after all. It has the ability to keep a significant journal (Gilman, 78).
The journal that the sick woman in the narration keeps is significant because it also disapproves the notion that the woman was sick. Such questions how she managed to keep the diary that entire time are a revelation of the sanity of the protagonist. Gillman’s entire plot is full of suspense, a style that maintains the concentration levels of her respective readers. Chief suspense in the narration occurs at the end of the narration when readers wonder why the freed woman goes. They are also in suspense because Gillman does not reveal where or how the protagonists later uses the journal that she keeps while in seclusion (Hollows 48).
Gilman succeeds in choosing a perfect set of characters for her narration. First, she chooses a fragile woman to take the reading ole in this narration. This is effective because the woman disapproves all the men in the narration at the end of the story. The character of John (husband to the protagonist) develops the narration in a fascinating manner. This is because John is in a compromised position of a husband and a man in a patriarchal society. He is a professional physician, a fact that makes people judge all his decisions harshly. For example, why would he let her wife undertake the seclusion if he loved her? (Hollows, 48)
Work Cited
Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories. Minneapolis, Minn.: Filiquarian Pub., LLC, 2007. Print.
Hollows, Joanne. Feminism, Femininity, and Popular Culture. New York: Manchester University Press, 2009. Print.
Troll, Yvonne. Writing Oneself into Existence: the Yellow Wallpaper and the Question of Female Self-Definition. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH, 2009. Internet resource.
