“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a authoritative commentary on the gender roles that were prevalent in the nineteenth century. Charlotte Perkins Gilman employs irony as she attempts to expose the predicaments that befall John’s wife, as she struggles to break free from confinement and get back to her world. For a period of three weeks, she is confined to the precincts of a rented colonial mansion in order to recuperate from her mental condition. Her Husband John, a physician, has prescribed this mode of treatment from his concern and love for her. The narrator’s creativity is being repressed probably as a reminder that her realm should remain domestic. Her attempts to persuade John to take her home do not bear fruit and the only relief she gets in the entire period is after the discovery of a yellow wall paper which intrigues her and offers her creative mind an opportunity to flourish, despite her ailment.
Another twist in the narrators situation is seen in the contrast between what John thinks is right for her and what she thinks about her well-being. John, drawing from his professional background, has actually cautioned her against writing saying that with her imaginative power and habit of writing stories will lead to what he calls ‘excited fancies’ (Gilman 2). But it turns out that she finds solace in writing and engages in some of it behind John’s back despite her waning strength. It becomes difficult to repress her creativity. Even after her writing opportunity is hampered, she engages her creative mind in unearthing details from the yellow wall paper. First, she identifies ‘two bulbous eyes that stare’ then unravels the pattern further when she perceives a figure of a woman who is ‘stooping down and creeping about behind the pattern’ (3). Patterson evaluated the struggles of the protagonist and observed that she asserted her wish to engage her creative mind (121). It turns out that the woman is struggling for freedom like her. It is a powerful statement of her resentment for suppression of her creativity. She tears the paper off the wall symbolically emancipating herself from her prison.
Despite John’s reputation as a physician of high standards, he seems to be wrong in his choice of solitary confinement for his patient and wife, since it obviously worsens her condition. John has diagnosed her with what he calls temporary nervous depression and thinks he is right but the narrator lets the reader know that she thinks John is not aware of how much suffering she is going through. At the prospect of receiving treatment from Weir Mitchell, the narrator is categorical that he is the same as John, if not worse, with respect to giving a proper prescription for her. It appears that a moment for reawakening for those in the medical profession has come. They seem to be out of touch with the reality. Patterson identifies the rational approach of John and physicians of his days as the reason behind the narrator’s deterioration (122).
The essence of dominance of the male figure is further seen when John continues to patronize his wife whom he calls his comfort and darling. He believes that he exercises total control over her. The narrator is cognizant of John’s desire and has accepted to take care of herself and says that she will do it ‘for his sake’. Her statement is laden with irony. It is clear now that she is not going through the ordeal to get better but to serve the interests of her husband. John does not want it to appear as if his control is explicit. He actually urges her to exercise self-control. The narrator finds it difficult to do so since her husband ‘hardly lets her stir without special attention’. It is perhaps why John will not let her touch her baby or visit Julia and Henry, his cousin In her article, Jullian pointed out that Gilman was making an attempt at exposing the societal norms, dominant at the time, where women were confined to the domestic domain (A5). Her desire to be a writer goes against her society’s expectations of an ideal wife and therefore she has to suffer the consequences.
It can be concluded that without such rich verbal, situational and dramatic irony, “The Yellow Wallpaper” would have had less impact on readers than it has. Charlotte Perkins Gilman has succeeded immensely to tell a simple story in a very moving manner. It marks a point of departure in the male-dominated world. The female figure has made a statement about her desire for emancipation. Even if the protagonist is in total delirium in the end, she has managed to liberate her mind. John might send her to a lunatic asylum or to Weir Mitchell after regaining his consciousness but her point has been made.
Works cited
Gilman, Charlotte P. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories. Ed. Dover. New York: Dover Publications. 1997. 1-8.
Jullian, Malladi. “Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”: The Woman’s voice.” Daily Star [Cape Town] 3 March 2012: A5.
Patterson, Raul G. Towards Emancipation of the Female Figure. Delhi: Longhorn, 2003.
