The Yellow Wallpaper
“Progressive”
American Dream in Lit.
Perception
Abuses of Power
Reality
Strength v. Weakness
Entitlement
Social Class
Segmentation
The American Dream
Connecting to Progressivism and Imperialism
Our Timeline Moving Forward
The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman)
The Awakening (Chopin)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
Hemingway Short Stories
Death of a Salesman (Miller)
The Yellow Wallpaper
~Written in 1890 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
~ First submitted to “The Atlantic Monthly”
and summarily rejected,” Dear Madam: W.
Howells has handed me this story. I could not
forgive myself if I have made others as miserable
as I have made myself. Yours, H.E. Scudder.”
~ Published in 1892 in “The New England
Magazine”
Themes
The Domestic Life as a Prison
Trapped in a “nursery”
What duties are associated with this?
Role of Women in the 19th Century
What is the “illumination” that is occurring?
The “Rest Cure…”
Nothing too strenuous, my dear!
Creativity v. Rationalism
Symbolism
Sunlight v. Moonlight
how does the balance shift between night
and day?
The Woman in the Wallpaper
Imprisonment v. escape
The Yellow Wallpaper
What is the connection between the
narrator’s health and the wallpaper?