The Yellow Paper was a short story authored by Charlotte Gilman in 1892. The story focused on the married life of a depressive housewife who also turned out to be the narrator. It was written in first person and so the main character’s thoughts and emotions can basically be interpreted as that of the author as well. What makes the story distinct from other short stories written in first person during that time is that it was written in a journal form (which makes its being written in first person more sensible). The protagonist’s husband was a physician named John. She saw John as a supportive but unreasonable and often misunderstanding man. A case in point would be the events that actually transpired in the story.
Shortly after the main character gave birth to their child, she was diagnosed with a mild form of depression, a nervous type of depression to be precise. Because John was a physician, he recommended that she go for a rest cure or a period of mental and physical inactivity. Dubious about the idea at first, she eventually agreed. In order to reinforce the idea, John decided that they spend their entire summer in a colonial mansion that they purchased while they were both taking a break. In the main character’s words, there was “something queer about it”, referring to the ambiance of the house that they just afforded . In her room was a Yellow Wallpaper that she grew so wary and curious about. The main objective of this paper is to point out that the story was basically a reflection of the disadvantages and often grave consequences of unreasonable subordination of women in marriage.
Although female subordination among married couple has been set as a standard or a norm in most western countries, especially at the time of the short story’s writing, Gilman made her work focus on its disadvantages. She basically used the conventions of psychological horror to critique the almost always inferior role that women plays within the institution of marriage. This can be evidenced by the fact that there were numerous points in the story were the narrator was thinking whether the things and interventions that John were suggesting would really be good for her and her condition in the long run and whether everything was indeed done with her best interests in John’s mind or otherwise.
She was dubious about John’s every recommendation because she was thinking and probably realizing that she did not really have a choice but to follow John’s advice. Aside from the fact that John was her husband and that she was expected to be submissive, he also was a physician and what she was dealing with at that time was a mild form of nervous depression, something which was not well understood at that time unlike today.
This gender division-based interpretation of the short story, in fact, was non-existent until the 20th century, when the role of women in society became more complex and active. When The Yellow Wallpaper was first released in the New England Magazine in 1892, the story was viewed as an entertaining piece about marriage and the different possibilities that may arise from excessive subordination within its institution. It should be recalled that prior to the 20th century, women, even those who were in the more respectable or upper classes, were expected to have domestic roles (e.g. taking care of the children, being left to manage the house, among others) while men were expected to have a more active or bread-winning role, something which exists even today although to a much less extent . Women were practically second class citizens.
It was this false belief about women and their abilities that led to a society where women were kept in a state of childish ignorance and mental and emotional underdevelopment. This was highly evident in The Yellow Wallpaper. Much of the decision making was made by John even though it was his wife’s health, wellness, and future that were being talked about.
It has to be noted, however, that John loved his wife. She wanted so bad to help her; for her to get well. However, his false belief about the limited role that his wife should play in their marriage tainted his clean intentions with forced male dominance. Being the male and a physician, he misjudged his wife’s condition. He was under the belief that the things that the thought was right and helpful are the only ones that are and not the ones that his wife was thinking or actually wants.
For John, anything less than submission to his thoughts and deductions was equal to being disloyal and unreasonable. This can be evidenced by the fact that in numerous parts of the story, the narrator was so secretive to her husband. She got so obsessed with The Yellow Wallpaper hanging in her room, specifically with its pattern. She kept this obsession a secret fearing that her husband might think that her mental health was not progressing and returning back to normal as he predicted and thought it should be; and that as a result, she may be subjected to a much higher level of isolationism and solidarity-because after all, her husband thought that the rest cure was the best intervention to combat the progression of nervous depression, something which clearly and evidently was wrong.
The narrator also hid the fact that she was writing a journal containing her thoughts and feelings during her stay in their summer colonial house. This may have been due to her thoughts that her husband might not like the things that she were thinking; that she did not really like his decision to confine her in a quiet and depressing colonial house or inside a room where The Yellow Wallpaper was hanging; or be stopped from living a normal life, getting along with other people, among other physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally stimulating things that a normal person or a woman should and can do—because these may be viewed as a form of insubordination, disloyalty, or being unreasonable.
This was the same interpretation that Aig had about the actions and intentions of the main character saying that “the wallpaper in the narrator’s room represents imprisonment and this is made clear when the narrator says “the faint figure behind seemed to share the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out”.
In conclusion, it is clear that one of the central themes that was discussed in The Yellow Wallpaper was society’s perception on how subordinate and submissive women must (and are expected to) be to their husbands (especially at the time of the short story’s writing). This thesis statement was true and was proven by the numerous evidences that the author of this paper has presented—evidences that came from selected parts of the short story itself and other people’s literary analysis and critique of it.
Works Cited
Aig. "Literary Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper." Teen Ink (2012): http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/311704/Literary-Analysis-of-The-Yellow-Wallpaper/. 01. Web.
Gilman, C. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The New England Magazine (1892): 01-10. Print.
Sabrina. "Gender Roles in the Late 1800s and Early 1900s." Island of Written Words (2013): http://www.islandofwrittenwords.com/2013/06/gender-roles-in-late-1800s-and-early.html. 01. Web.
