Analyzing Central Thematic Issue in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’

The Yellow Wallpaper is one of charlotte Perkins' short stories that uncover the state of women within the condition or institution of marriage when subordination of women in various marriages was being witnessed. The short fiction was treated as an important early work of literature which ultimately exposed the concept of attitude towards the mental and physical of female gender in the mid-nineteenth century. The author uses different devices of literature in support of various themes portrayed in her short fiction. The main theme or author’s idea in “The Yellow Wallpaper” revolves around the subordination of women in marriage, as it can be traced from the setting of the story and character development. Perhaps, through this story, the author also reflects on other aspects or ideas such as the importance of self-expression apart from feminism that prevailed in society during the 19th century. Besides, this discussion focuses on how fiction elements, such as characters, setting, and plot, contribute to the author’s message of feminism and subordination of women in the marriage institution.

First, the theme of feminism and women's subordination is developed by setting the story and character consideration. From the beginning of the story, mental illness and lack of self-expression all contribute to the suffering of women in marriage. The story's setting demonstrates the hardships that prevailed in an isolated home where Jane is seen suffering from depression (Gilman 10). The mood bestowed in the rented summer home in a country estate where the narrator is said to be obsessed with the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom clarifies the aspect of depression due to mental illness in an environment that is pre-occupied by bizarre features.  The narrator talks about the yellow wallpaper because it is what she sees every day in her bedroom.  Through the character of Jane in this story, the idea of women's subordination is brought out. The story's title is deduced from the overall structure of domestic life that Jane was trapped when his husband John is working and interacting freely. Being lonely in the rented house has kept the protagonist in this fiction depressed due to mental illness. The narrator exposes how she learns of her oppression gradually upon suffering from mental illness. For instance, when she says, “I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good, but what is one to do? (Gilman 14). From this idea, it is evident that the narrator is desperate about her condition, and she desires the excitement and change that her husband has deprived her of.

Furthermore, John, the narrator’s husband, who is involved in daily duties as a physician, does not even learn about the negative influence he has on his wife’s life. It is John's idea for his wife to stay at home committed to domestic duties, which makes her act as a traditional wife and a mother. At the beginning of this story, the main character does not understand any connection to the outer world; she only imagines it through the suffering and oppression she is put in during her daily predicaments (Gilman 25). The object she interacts with in her bedroom that tends to be oppressive unleashes a sense of inner impulses, making her wish for a lifestyle change. The story exposes the narrator as imaginative and very expressive while remaining dominated by her external condition. Even though her emotions and feeling resist the oppressive lifestyle and treatment, the narrator takes more time to reignite her desires for life as a woman.

Additionally, as the protagonist gets into her dire personal fascination with the yellow wallpaper, she turns out to be frequently dissociated from her daily life until she decides to learn into a world of fantasy where the reality of her situation is uncovered. Perhaps, the author of the short story indirectly portrays the narrator's division of consciousness through the use of symbols. It is only when the narrator realizes that she is like the woman trapped in the yellow wallpaper that she is able to understand the general outrage of the situation that women were being subjected to in a society full of male dominance. Perhaps, the controversy that is unturned through this story relates to losing oneself to fully understand your personality as portrayed by the narrator (Gilman 265).  The end of the story reveals through the concept of paradox how the narrator saves herself from the oppressive pattern of life by losing herself and through self-sacrifice.

The story's setting is directly related to the author’s main message of women's subordination and oppression in marriage institutions as witnessed in America in the mid-nineteenth century. The characters involved in this fiction have been influenced by the setting of the story. The narrator explains how she has been forced to hide her feelings from John, her husband, all along. She even wonders how they were able to occupy and afford their rented estate despite the fact that the house has remained empty for long. The character of John is portrayed as somehow oppressive given that he prefers to make decisions for her wife all the time, thinking that all what he decides helps, but it is all done at the expense of the narrator’s feelings and emotions for her life (Gilman 4). The image of a struggling woman portrayed by Jane is never known to John despite being the doctor for treatment of his wife's mental illness; at the end of the fiction, he is shocked by the narrator’s insane actions, which force him to go unrecognized.  A feeling of women's subordination dominates the story setting's overall environment, hindering them from realizing and pursuing their destiny, as is the case with the narrator. The last part of this fiction's plot exposes the true sense of self-expression through the character of the narrator, who is forced to act insanely to pursue her intended lifestyle.

Most of the fiction quotes directly unveil and support the central theme of the story hence providing evidence through the incorporation of character and setting for the overall work of literature.  For instance, when the narrator speaks her mind by saying, “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus, but John says the worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad” (Gilman 34). The truth about the narrator’s thoughts is that she is living a life that she does not desire, and she wishes to cure her depression by opting out. Her sensitivity to the kind of treatment John accords her is growing unusual, and she claims that she gets angry with John most times due to her nervous condition.

In general, John and the narrator's character development, story setting, and plot play a crucial role in exposing the thematic message of women's subordination in marriage institutions in a male-dominated society, as the author portrays. The story unveils how the narrator is trapped in a condition that makes her suffer depression. The author employs different devices to expose the main idea of female oppression in marriage, reflecting male-dominated American society during the mid-nineteenth century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Gilman, C. P. (2011). Why I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper?. Advances in psychiatric treatment, 17(4), 265-265.

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. ”The Yellow Wall-paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Dual-text Critical Edition. Ohio University Press, 2006.pp.1-38