"The Yellow Wall-Paper": The Ambivalence of Changing Discourses
Author(s): Jürgen Wolter
Source: Amerikastudien / American Studies, Vol. 54, No. 2 (2009), pp. 195-210
Published by: Universitätsverlag WINTER Gmbh
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41158426 .
Accessed: 09/04/2013 23:05
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
.
Universitätsverlag WINTER Gmbh is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Amerikastudien / American Studies.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
"The YellowWall-Paper":
The Ambivalence
ofChangingDiscourses
JürgenWolter
ABSTRACT
CharlottePerkinsGilman'sstory"The YellowWall-Paper"has generateda plethoraofdifoftencontradictory
ferent,
readings.The text'srichnessresultsnotonlyfromthefactthatithas
been approachedfromvariousperspectives.Rather,the articleargues,the story'scontradictionsand ambiguitiesremainunresolvedbecause Gilman wroteat a timewhenmajorissues
raisedby herstorywereat the centerof changingdiscourses.The articlefocuseson threeof
theseissues:thechangein theuse ofwallpaperin interiordecoration,thedebateaboutthecolor
abouttheeffectsofintellectualactivityon thehealthofwomen.
yellow,and thecontroversy
Introduction
PerkinsGilman's"The YellowWall-Paper"wasreadas
Fordecades,Charlotte
thestoryand republished
a Gothichorrortale,untilElaine Hedgesrediscovered
itintheFeminist
Pressin 1973.Sincethen,thestoryhasbeenreadpredominantly
as a feminist
text,buthas also been approachedfromvariousotherperspectives,
readerresponse,genrestudies"
from
ranging
"biographical,
[...] deconstructive,
andculturalstudies"(Weinnew
to "discoursetheory,
psychoanalytic, historicist,
readstock4).1Hardlyanyotherstoryhas provokedso many(partlyconflicting)
comthat
neither
which
result
from
the
fact
"Gilman
an
ambivalence
might
ings,
Allan
H.
Pasco
has
this
tale
in
a
as
nor
vacuum,"
onlyrecently
posed
published
reminded
us (88).Bywayofa résumé,thisarticlepositionsitselfattheintersection
debates
thestoryin thelate-nineteenth-century
ofvariousstudiesandre-situates
efaboutwallpapers,
thecoloryellow,
and,lastbutnotleast,women'sintellectual
as today'sreadingsofGilman'sstory.
forts.
Thesediscourseswereas controversial
ofthelatenineteenth
within
thecontext
Gilman'sstory
then,
century,
Approaching
ifcontradictory,
studies.
mightexplainwhyithaslentitselftoso manyinsightful,
Wallpaper:To Have or Notto Have
Walls,withtheshapeoftheirdoorsandwindowsandwiththecolorandpattern
ofa room.Theyalso reflect
oftheirpapering,definethecharacterand function
1 In theintroduction
to their1993editionofthestory,Erskineand Richardsgivea detailed
discussionof the variouscriticalperspectivesfromwhich"The Yellow Wall-Paper"has been
analyzedsincethe1970s.A veryusefuloverviewis also givenbyElaine Hedges in "Out at Last"
ShawnSt. Jean('"Anotherthing'")preand byGolden in "One HundredYears." Additionally,
sentsa Derrideanreadingofthestory,whileSuess approachesitfroma Lacanian perspective.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
196
Wolter
Jürgen
thenatureand statusofitsinhabitantstheirtaste,wealth,and socialpositionLois
and influence
theirmood.In theirPracticalBook ofAmericanWallpaper,
and WilliamKatzenbachrecommend
a verycarefulchoiceofwallpaperbecause
orenrich,itsflowers
andfoliagecan smother
ordelight,
"[i]tstextures
impoverish
or
elate"
or
and
its
colors
itsnarratives
fascinate,
(125). Indeed,
depress
fatigue
the
between
interior
decoration
the
end
of
the
nineteenth
connection
by
century
andpathology
hadbecomecommonknowledge
Gordon
Oscar
Wilde,for
(see
93).
thewallpaperfashionable
in histimeforbeing"so bad thata
instance,criticized
couldallegeitas a justification
forturning
to a
boybrought
up underitsinfluence
lifeofcrime"(Ellmann193).He is said to haveexclaimedon hisdeathbed:"My
a duelto thedeath.One or theotherofus has to go"
wallpaperand I are fighting
(qtd.in Ellmann581). A 1904 articleassertedthat"in hundredsand hundreds
whichthey
ofcases thesufferings
ofthesickare aggravated
bythesurroundings
haveunwittingly
chosenforthealtogether
themselves
oppositepurposeofdecoration"(Vallance225). In 1883,RobertW.Edis foundthe"endlessmultiplication
torture
and monotony
of strongly-marked
patterns"to be "a sourceof infinite
(qtd.in Lutz230). MartyRothquotes
[...] in timesofsicknessand sleeplessness"
Susan Carter,whoin 1893declaredthatwallpaper,"to manya nervousinvalid
as he countsand combinesoverand overagain
[,]rendershishoursintolerable,
themeaningless
recurrence
ofa markedangleor curve,or theever-repeated
[.. .]
out
that
the
critics
of
tiresomeconvolvulus"
(149).Moreover,
wallpaperpointed
colorsofthedesignscouldalso affectthementalhealthofpeople;accordingto
interior
JanJennings,
designerCandace Wheelersuggestedthat"[...] iftotally
an elementofunor
dealtwith,[color]is ableto introduce
disregarded ignorantly
to
nerves
and
overtasked
to
refuse
to
tired
rest,
energies, stirup angerand
healing
ofweaknessandfatigue"
maliceandall unseenenemiesthatlie inwaitforvictims
in
the
narrator
Gilman's
(256). Similarly,
storycomplainsthattheyellowwallpaIt
in
the
room
"is
torturing.
[...] slapsyouin theface,knocksyoudown,and
per
lastbutnotleast,tastemakers
And,
arguedagainstthe
tramples
uponyou"(25).2
also quotestheeditorofHarper's
use ofwallpaperon moralgrounds:Jennings
that"Indianadivorcelawsmaybe perhapsdirectly
Bazar,whoin 1876suggested
in wall-paper"(241).
inharmoniousness
tracedto somefrightful
atthe
decoration
reflect
a drasticchangeininterior
Thesereactions
towallpaper
andwallswere
endofthenineteenth
century.3
Wallpaperbecamelessfashionable,
"effaced"ratherthandecorated(Ackerman129).If wallpaperswereused,their
andeitherof"pallidcolors"and"deadgloss"or
surfaces
wereplainandpatternless
134devoidofcolor;theyseemtohavebeenlostin"a dirtyyellowfog"(Ackerman
i.
e.
or
no-colors"
Decorators
"dirty
(Lynn429), "grayed" "muddy"
36).
preferred
sees thisnew
colorsand "blurredeffects"
(Ackerman137,140).PhyllisAckerman
thewallswith"gross
tothemid-Victorian
fashionofoverloading
trendas a reaction
2
Althoughmostcriticsuse Elaine R. Hedges's editionof "The Yellow Wallpaper"(New
York: FeministP, 1973),I here use Hedges's revisededitionof 1996. For a discussionof the
to Dock, ed., Charlotte
severaleditionsofthestoryand themajorvariantssee theintroduction
PerkinsGilman's"The YellowWall-Paper";Dock et al., "'But One ExpectsThat'"; and Shawn
St.Jean,"The YellowWall-Paper."
3 For an outlineofthis
change,see also Thomas 189-96.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The AmbivalenceofChangingDiscourses
197
scrollsandleavesinviolent
contorted
chemicaldyes"andwith"monstrous
patterns,
convolutions
ofjig-sawmoldings"
(Ackerman135).CatherineLynndescribesthe
of
the
1840-1870
overelaborated"
and unduly
wallpapers
periodas "disastrously
burdened
with"generous
curvesinintricate
scrollwork
(316-17).Shealso
patterns"
mentions
an interesting
"'truth'
in
about
and
controversy
'falsity'" wallpaperdesign
in thesecondhalfofthenineteenth
ofWilliam
century(Lynn394) reminiscent
Dean Howells'scampaignforrealisminfiction
at thesametime.Criticsstartedto
findfaultwiththe"eye-fooling
concoctions"in thetraditional
wallpapersofthe
Frenchdesign,their"fakery"
thatwould"deceiveevena practicedeye";andthese
criticswouldincreasingly
demandhonestyand simplicity
(Lynn330). It was only
thattheFrench"floralextravagancies"
however,
gradually,
(Lynn338),thegenerscrollwork
werereplacedinAmericanhomes
ous,bulgycurves,and theluxuriant
two-dimensional
bymorestylizedand abstracted
patterns.
Wallpaperdesignsat
theend of thenineteenth
createdan unobtrusive
century
patternwhich,though
wouldnonetheless
and curiosity
ofthe
hardlynaturalistic,
captivatetheattention
observer.
WilliamMorris,poet,reformer,
and mouthpiece
of
wallpaperdesigner,
theArtsand CraftMovement,
whomGilmanmetin England,pridedhimselfon
ofhispatterns
masking"theconstruction
enoughtoprevent
peoplefromcounting
therepeats,whilewe lulltheircuriosity
to traceitout"(qtd.inLynn383).Forthis
reason,Howellsultimately
objectedtothem(see Thomas193).
The narrator's
atticbedroomhad apparently
beenwallpaperedin thedecades
whenarabesquedesignsandFrenchfigurai
werestilltherage.Hence,the
patterns
roomis slightly
old-fashioned
forthelastdecadeofthe
wallpaperinthenarrator's
nineteenth
as
is
the
"frieze"
as
Vallance
around
remarks,
century,
(20),for, Aymer
theturnofthecentury
thethreefold
walldecoration(frieze,dado,andfilling)
was
abandoned
in
favor
of
the
with
continuous
gradually
"papering wall-space
pieces
fromtopto bottom"(226).The bedroomin Gilman'sstoryresembles
Vandover's
old-fashioned
inFrankNorris'sVandover
andtheBrute,which"atsome
apartment
almost
had
been
covered
witha yellowish
long-forgotten, prehistoric
period
paper,
with
a
of
flowers
that
looked
like
the
flora
ofa carboniferous
stamped
hugepattern
wherever
theeyeturned"(318).In Gilman's
strata,a patternrepeatedto infinity
the
narrator's
the
to
old-fashioned
however,
story,
objection
wallpapershouldnot
be readas indicating
thathertasteis,inanyway,modern,
i.e. thatsheisa lateVictorian'new'womanwhosepredilections
foreshadow
thewidespread
abandonment
of
theuseofpaperhangings
intheearlytwentieth
more
and,
century
generally
speakOn thecontrary,
shedeemsa
ing,modernism's
rejectionofelaboratedecoration.
"colonialmansion"or a hauntedhouse"theheightof romantic
felicity"
(9) and
wouldprefer
the"pretty
old-fashioned
chintzhangings"
ofa roomdownstairs
(12).
theroomhadsupposedly
beenusedas a nursery,
itisnotpaperedlike
Although
thestandardnursery
ofthelate nineteenth
whichwouldtypically
have
century,
been decoratedin thematic,
the barred
pictorial,or figuraipatterns.Similarly,
theringsin thewall,and thenailed-downbed suggesta prisoncell or
windows,
a torturechamberratherthana playroomforminors.4
Perhapsherhusbandeu4 The narrator
a playroom,and a gymnasium
suggeststhatthe roomhas been a nursery,
(12); itis used in exactlythesethreefunctions
byher.First,itis theplace whereshe,likea child,
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
198
Wolter
Jürgen
in linewithhisattempts
to belittleher-he
namedit"thenursery,"
phemistically
or
his
"little
calls
her
"a
blessed
little
girl"(23)- because
demeaningly
goose"(15)
he wantedherto occupyan appropriate
room;andsheacceptsthisdenomination
themaleinfantilization
ofwomen(justas sheaccepts
becauseshehasinternalized
histermsforherillness).5HeatherKirkThomasalso suspectsthatthehusband
theroomtohiswifeandevensuggests
thatitmayactuallyhavebeen
misrepresents
used"tohouseherhusband'soranotherdoctor'sfemalepatients"
(197).6
inpatterned
The "eclipseofinterest
(Lynn
wallpaper"attheendofthecentury
a reactionto thepreviously
457) was certainly
popularelaborateFrenchdesigns,
consideredby manyto be psychologically
pathogenic.Anotherreasonforthis
discussedin thoseyears,was thatmedicalreeclipse,and evenmoregenerally
searchhad foundwallpaperhazardousto physicalhealth,partlybecauseitcould
forinstance,
notbe cleaned(see Lynn445,456).7EdithWharton,
objectedtowallpaper"onsanitary
grounds"andbecause"medicalsciencedeclareditselfagainst
in thenineteenth
theuse ofwall-papers"(44). Furthermore,
century
manydyes
containedpoisonouschemicals.8
Yellow,forinstance,oftenwas chromeyellow
and containedarsenic.The EncyclopediaBritannicaof 1910reportsthat"copforwallperarsenic(orScheele'sgreen)used to be muchemployedas a pigment
from
their
use"
and
effects
have
resulted
("Arsenic").
papersand fabrics, toxic
betweentheexposureofthehumanbodyto chemicals
Gilmansawa connection
a draftofthestory
and physicalorpsychicillnesses;onlytwodaysafterfinishing
shewroteinherdiary:"overdoseofacidphosphategivesterror"
(qtd.inHill 186).
a
of
as
One wouldsuspectthenarrator's
husband, physician "highstanding"
ofwallpaper
withthiscurrent
debateabouttheeffects
(Gilman10),tobe familiar
the"nursery"
to use theroomonlyrarely.He saysthathe prefers
and therefore
becausethereis anotherroomnextdoorforhisuse (12). Some criticsevensuspectthathe spendsthenightsin townwithanotherwoman(see,e.g.,Delashmit
in a roomwitha
210;Veeder59). Whydoes he insiston his wife'sconfinement
of
its
is
not
old-fashioned
because
that
and,
pathopsychically
only
wallpaper
to
fora sickroomor bedroom,butevendetrimental
geniceffects,
inappropriate
thepatient'shealth,and whydoes he objectto theremovalofsucha hazardous
withthetoxic
noticeshiswife'sphysicalstruggle
wallpaper?Thoughhe obviously
is takencare of;thenshe startsto playwiththepatternof thewallpaper,followingit in all directions("up and down,""diagonally,""horizontally"[20]), whichis "as good as gymnastics"
withthepaper:"I pulledand she shook,
she turnsto physicalexercisebywrestling
(19); finally,
I shookand she pulled [...]" (32). These threestepsfreeherfromherthreefoldoppressionas
woman,as wife,and as patient.
5 He
literallytreatsherlike a child:he makeshertakenaps and readsto herat bedtime.
6 The bed,
wallpaper,and floorlook as ifthewholeroom"had been throughthewars (Gilbeen used toconfineviolent
man17),whichmightindeedindicatethattheroom"has apparently
mentalcases" (Shumaker594). As a matteroffact,theentireestateseemsto havebeen used as
a retreatforpathologicalcases, eventhegarden,subdividedby "hedgesand walls,"is secured
by "gatesthatlock" (Gilman 11). For the analysisof thenurseryas a Gothictorturechamber,
see Davison 58-64.
7 Roth
oflaziness
ofthoseyearswhoopposedwallpaperas "'theinvention
quotesreformers
and filth,'
concealingdirt"and because "ittendedto harbourvermin"(148).
8 See also
255-56.
Jennings
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The AmbivalenceofChangingDiscourses
199
he does notinterfere,
buttakestheriskthatshemightpoisonherself.
wallpaper,
Childrenwereknowntohavedied"scratching
at piecesofwallpaper"(Lutz230).
Does Johnwantto kill his wifein a slow (and insidious)manner?Such a plot
wouldbe in linewiththeconnotation
ofthecolor,whichI willexplainlater.The
of
the
then
would
be
the
plot
story
wilyhusband'splan to getridof hiswifeby
her
mad
forced
driving
through
exposureto thepaper'spatternand chemicals
also
Delashmit
(see
88).
Anotherreasonforthedeclininguse ofwallpaperwas thatitwas short-lived,
sinceitwas easilydamagedand itscolorsfadedquickly.Hence,it neededto be
and was therefore
often
replacedfrequently
relatively
expensive.Consequently,
and well-to-do
werewillingto bear thecostofdecoonlythemorefashionable
ratingthesurfacesof theirhomes(and lives).Theirsocial statusseemedto demandthattheycoverup thecracksintheirhousesandintheirfamilies,
whichare
as Poe's "The Fall oftheHouse ofUsher"makesclear.
metaphorical
synonyms,
thewallpaperin Gilman'sstoryis a metaphor
forcoveringup,forhidSimilarly,
Johnrefuses
ingcracksinthenarrator's
marriageandintheirpatriarchal
society.9
to changetheancient,blurred,"unclean"wallpaper(13),sinceit is an objective
correlative
ofhis(equallyantiquatedand decadent)patriarchal
worldview.It enhanceshisself-definition
andsecureshissocialpositionagainsthiswife'sstilldormantantagonism.
thenarrator
startsto "see through
him"(32) and
Nevertheless,
thesurfacepatternoftheirlives,justas she imaginatively
through
beginsto see
thepaperas patriarchal
She beginstodecodethepattern(ofher
through
strategy.
husbandand hisworld),destroys
a readingand a worldofher
it,and constructs
own.Finally,sheripsitoffand beginsa lifesplitbetweenoutercomplianceand
innerrebellion,
a worldofpretensesetagainsttheworldofliesshesuspectsJohn
ofhavingconstructed
aroundher.She physically
removestheoriginalwallpaper
and writesa newtexton thewall.The removalofwallpaperin Americanhomes
at thattime(andin Gilman'sstory)reflects
thedesireto showtherealsubstance,
eventhecracks,thefaultyconstruction.
It is thishonestyof Gilman'snarrative
andnarrator
thatwasso appealingtoHowells,who,inhis"defenceofthegrossest
materialhonestly
treated,"declaredthat"itis onlythefalsein artwhichis ugly,
anditis onlythefalsewhichis immoral.The truthmaybe indecent,
butitcannot
be vicious,itcan nevercorruptor deprave"(216).10
In thisway,thewallpaperas thedominantsymbolofthestoryis a mirror
not
butalso oftheVictorianartofdecorating
onlyoftheprotagonist's
deprivation,
women'sdomesticprisons.11
It is irritating
and confusing,
committing
"everyartisticsin"(13) and defying
everyknownlaw (20,25); itsmanifoldcontradictions
are notresolvedor explained,butglossedoverbymale authority.
It symbolizes
" is "nointiess"
thesvstemofVictorianoatriarchv
which,scrutinized
"bvdaviight
9 Gilbertand Gubardefinethe
wallpaperas "thefaçadeofthepatriarchaltext"(90); Heilmanncalls wallpapers"male coverings"(186).
10Forthe
betweenHowellsand Gilmansee Karpinski,"WhentheMaruneasyrelationship
riage."
11
Delashmitsees the patternof the wallpaper"as symbolicof the paternalistic
Similarly,
male logicthatentrapsthe narrator"or "as symbolicof the nineteenth-century
societywhich
imprisonedwomenin theirhomesand keptthemfromdevelopingfullself-identity"
(148,174).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
200
Wolter
Jürgen
(19),resistslogicalanalysis,and cannotbe understood
by"a normalmind"(25),
is powerful
to
a
butwhichnonetheless
enough prescribe woman'sbehavior"each
is a productof this
hourof theday" (12) and to defineherbeing.The narrator
as
I
"I
if
all
come
out
of
the
wonder
society:
they
wall-paper did" (35,emphasis
when
the
she
Thus,
added).12
investigates patternof thepaper,she sees eyes/I's
ofPoe's "The
hereis reminiscent
at
her
use
(Gilman's ofthehomophones
staring
ofthe(husband's)patterninturn"cultivates
Tell-TaleHeart").The deceitfulness
deceit"in her(26); she finallyfindsusurpationof knowledgeto be thebasis of
thatnobodyshall
patriarchal
powerand she beginsto use it:"I am determined
finditoutbutmyself"
(27).
eitherthenarrator
Feministreadingshaveseenthewallpaperas representing
unconscious
andthedependenceofwomeningeneral)orherhus(herindividual
contextofwalldecoraband(anda societythatvictimizes
women).The historical
tionsuggeststhatthewallpaperis a muchmoremultivalent
symbol.It represents
and femaleprotestbebothhusbandand wife,powerand victim,and patriarchy
a metaphor
fora discoursethatwaschanging.
cause itis predominantly
Yellow:Decadence or Liberation
rolein Gilman'slife:she attendedtheRhode IsColorplayedan important
landSchoolofDesign(1878-80),marriedthepainterCharlesWalterStetson,and
tutoredgirlsin painting(Blanchard151).In herwriting,
too,she used colorsfor
thecolorof
inthestory"The GirlinthePinkHat,"forinstance,
theirsymbolism:
thehatmarksthegirlwhocan hardlydefendherwhiteinnocenceagainstthered
sinofherabductor.
WhenGilmandecidedtouse yellowwallpaperforthesymbol
Candace
shewas certainly
ofVictorianpatriarchy,
aware,likehercontemporary
ofthehome"(qtd.
mentalinfluence
Wheeler,that"[color]is themostpowerful
inBlanchard124).Furthermore,
shemusthavetakenintoaccountthemanyconofthecoloryellow,especiallysinceshewrotethe
notations
and silentreferences
storyin a periodwhichcameto be knownas The YellowDecade.'13
In the1890s,"yellowbecamethecolourofthehour,thesymbolofthetimespirit.It was associatedwithall thatwas bizarreand queerin artand life,with
modern"(Jackson46). In his "ProseFancies"of 1896,
all thatwas outrageously
12I do not see
any symbolicreferencesto femalesexualityas some criticsdo. Fleenor
ofthewallpaper"implysomething
("GothicPrism"),forinstance,suggeststhatthedescriptions
and aboutfestrangeand terribleabout birthand deathconjoined,about femaleprocreation,
male physiology.
[.. .] The paperstainsthehouse in a waythatsuggeststheeffectofafterbirth"
(234). For DeKoven the wallpaperis "a figure[...] of the narrator'srepressed[...] sexuality"
colorto "angerand sexuality"(214) and sees in thepattern
(213); she relatestheyellow-orange
feuncontrolled
withterrifyingly
"an imagethatcombinesbothphallicand vaginalsuggestions
cundity";she evenspeaksof"[t]heyellowsmellofthenarrator'ssexualdisgust"(217). For some
oftheshape oftheovary.
thecurved,cyclicalpatternofthewallpaperis reminiscent
13In "Stowe'sHouse and Home Papers,"Hochmannsuggestsa "derivationfroman 1865
and has the
seriesbyHarrietBeecherStowewhereGilman'sgreatauntcelebratesdomesticity
modelwifewishfora wallpaper"thatproduceswarmyellowishreflections"
(85).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The AmbivalenceofChangingDiscourses
201
"Boom in Yellow."
RichardLe Galliennedescribedthelate-nineteenth-century
He statesthat"[y]ellowis becomingmoreand moredominantin decoration-in
andflowers"
(80),andhe inviteshisreadersto "dreamofthis:a maid
wall-papers,
withyellowhair,clad in a yellowgown,seatedin a yellowroom,at thewindowa
on herknee
yellowsunset,inthegratea yellowfire,at hersidea yellowlamplight,
a YellowBook" (87). However,he also mentionsmany"yellowdisagreeables,"
suchas yellowfever(88).
in the publicand aesthetic
Yellowand decadencewerealmostsynonymous
The mostconspicuous
discourseat theturnofthecentury(Heilmann177-78).14
were
of decadence,of course,was Oscar Wilde,whosetrademarks
incarnation
most
sunflowers
and
handkerchiefsthe
outrageousliteryellow
period's
yellow
novel.
In
the
was
the
French
yellowback
England, periodwas called
aryproduct
was givingway
the 'Yellow Nineties';it was "a decade in whichVictorianism
foryellowwas
andFrenchinfluences;
to Regencyattitudes
amongthefashionable
butalso
anddandified
notonlythedécorofthenotorious
Regency,
pre-Victorian
oftheallegedlywickedand decadentFrenchnovel"(Weintraub
99). The Yellow
inApril1894,wasthesymbolofdecawhichstartedpublication
Book,a quarterly
dencein the1890s(Callowayand Colvin88). Beardsleyhad suggestedthename
notonlybecauseofthedenseyellowfogthatcoveredLondonin thenightwhen
he and theotherfounders
ofthequarterly
met,butalso becauseofthereference
to theyellowwrappersofthecheapeditionsofFrenchnovelswhichhad thedisofthescandalous(Sturgis170;see also Mix 68). In the1890s,yellowwas
tinction
associatedwithThe YellowBook andwithaestheticism
and homosexuality
(Barof
tothenativism
loon6; Heilmann181).SusanLansersees inthecolorreferences
In
racist
which
warned
the
"Yellow
Peril."
this
thelatenineteenth
century
against
contextyellowalso connoted"inferiority,
strangeness,
[...] ugliness"and was associatedwith"disease,[...] uncleanliness,
and decay"(Lanser238).
Gilman's"unclean"yellowwallpaperwitha "sicklysulphurtint"(13) at some
discourseof theYelplaceshas to be seen in thecontextof thiscontemporary
lowDecade. "[H]ideous,""unreliable"(25), and "foul"(28),itconnotesthedecafor
denceofthehusband'sworldand mayevensuggesta homosexualmotivation
hisdesertionofhiswifeduringso manynightswhenhe prefers
to stayin town.
tohomosexuality
rather
Thus,thecolorcouldbe readas a verycautiousreference
14
Huang (in Knightand Davis 73) pointsout that"beforetheItalian Renaissance[...] yellowrepresented
gloryand power"(see also Katzenbach102). Delashmitmentionsthenegative
connotations
ofyellowin Renaissancepaintingswhereitsuggested"infernallight,degradation,
jealousy,treason,and deceit" (205-06). Later,at least untilthe beginningof the nineteenth
century,
yellowagain had positiveconnotationsand was associatedwithsunlightand warmth.
Goethe,in his theoryof colors,recommendedyellowfordresses,curtains,and wallpaper,but
he also stressesthatonlypureyellowhas somethingclear,cheerful,and noble,whilean impure
Hill
yellow,likethatofsulphur,is unpleasant(249). Horace Walpole,in his houseat Strawberry
in 1753,used yellowwallpaperin hisbedroom(Greysmith
63). Accordingto Cirtot'sDictionary
ofSymbols"greenishyellow"is symbolicofdeath(58). Schlacks,inhercommenton thenameof
Daisy in Fitzgerald'sThe GreatGatsby,sees theyellowcenterofa daisy,in relationto thewhite
petals,as a suggestionof"corruption"(132).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
202
Wolter
Jürgen
ora woman'speriod.15
Yetthe"yellow"odor,as pervasive
thantofemalesexuality
as theLondonfogthathelpednameThe YellowBook, and theobtrusive
yellow
malewallpapermightalso suggestthedecadenceand decayoftheconventional
whose
clothes
dominatedmarriageand theculturalcodes represented
John,
by
are also ruinedby"yellowsmooches"(27). The yellowsmell,then,is thatofthe
itsymbolizes.
rotting
wallpaperand ofthesystem
most
and
yellow,in thelastquarterofthenineFinally, perhaps
importantly,
movement.
It derivedfromthe
teenthcentury,
also was thecolorofthefeminist
and womenused yellowroses,yellowribbons,or yellowumbrellasto
sunflower,
cause (Kramarae101).Thus,theyellowwallpaperalso
symbolizetheirsuffrage
ofher(mental)journey
Atthebeginning
furtive
rebellion.
connotesthenarrator's
outofherhusband'sworld,sherepeatedly
emphasizes(and reassuresherselfof)
itssymbol,
herprotestis stillsuppressedin hersubconscious,
John'sauthority;
the
stillrepellentto her.Gradually,however,
theyellowwallpaper,is therefore
rebellionand theyellowpaperbecomepartofherbeingand thinking
("mywalland behindcloseddoors.However,as so
paper"[27]),albeitonlyclandestinely
in Kate
forinstanceEdna Pontellier
contemporaries,
manyofthewife'sfictional
world
offers
mental
or
new
had
to
find
this
out,
only
Chopin'sTheAwakening,
Victorian
male's
of
"the
The
deconstruction
death.
condescending
pose
physical
of infalliblecorrectness"
(Delashmitand Long 32) is onlypossiblethroughthe
deliberateself-destruction
suicide)ofthedeconstructionist.
(physical/mental
and Reading:A TextofOne's Own
Writing
debateaboutthe effectsof writingand readingon
The nineteenth-century
ofyears.In a journalentryon
womenhadbythattimebeenaroundforhundreds
Mrs.Hopkins's"lossofher
for
attributed
John
instance,
13,
1645,
Winthrop,
April
"her
herself
and
reason"
to
whollyto readingand writing"
giving
understanding
AnneBradstreet,
inprotest.
their
voice
American
women
raised
(225).Veryearly,
tomalehubrisand
inherprologueto TheTenthMuse(1650),respondedderisively
faulted"eachcarpingtongue/Whosaysmyhanda needlebetterfits"(16).Basicalin "A
ofthetwentieth
hadnotchangedbythebeginning
century:
ly,thesituation
as CausativeFactorsofInsanity"in
Discussionon Occupationand Environment
TheBritishMedicalJournalof1905,Theo. B. Hyslopvehemently
arguedagainst
to thatofmental
"theremovalofwomanfromhernaturalsphereofdomesticity
education"on womenis futileand "onlytoo frequently
labour"because"forcing
andsexuallyincompetent"
renders
themneurotic
(942).GeorgeSavage,inhis1884
ofhis
follows
the
and
Allied
of
Neuroses,
widelyacceptedtheory
analysis Insanity
of
education"
to
the
increase
.
is
due
timethat"theincreaseininsanity
(22-23),
[. .]
ofinsanandhe explainsthe"excessoffemalelunatics"andthe"greater
tendency
nervousinstability"
(24).
ity[.. .] inwomen"bytheir"greater
15For Delashmitand othersthe
yellowsmellsuggeststhe "smellof sexuality"(206). For
or sexualemissions"("I willfollow"43); forVeeder
Karpinskiitconnotes"infantiledefecations
"urine"and "thesaturateddiaperofchildhood"(48).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The AmbivalenceofChangingDiscourses
203
Withheralmostmetafictional
story,Gilmanraiseshervoicein thisongoing
with
debate.16
Her
diarist
works
twopapers-the"dead" paperofherjourpublic
nal and the"living"paperon thewall-, she readsthewallpaperwithherown
stories:one in herdiary,theotherone on
code and writestwohighlysubversive
thewall as a palimpsest.ShawnSt. Jean'sdual-texteditionof thestory(2006)
makesitveryclearthatGilmanconceivedofthewomanas a writerratherthan
in Gilman'smanuscript
thewomanwrites:"I will[...] writeaboutthe
a narrator:
house,"whereastheNewEnglandMagazinechangedthisto "I will[...] talkabout
textinto
thehouse"(see Jean,"'Anotherthing'"107).This turnedthe'writerly'
a 'speakerly'
one,withtheconsequencethattheNewEnglandMagazinewording
in contrast,
putsthestoryintotheRomanticcontextof Poe's insanenarrators;
debateaboutwomen
themanuscript
versionevokesthelate-nineteenth-century
writing.
withthewallpaperand itssuffoOn theone hand,thediaristis confronted
textVictoriansocating,strangling
patternof signs,i.e. withtheconventional
At
cietywroteon herprisonwall and whichherhusbandrefusedto remove.17
confuses
thebeginning,
shereadsit"as enemy"(Fetterley
162)becauseitutterly
she learnsto acceptit as a systemofmeaningful
her.Gradually,
however,
signiand to decode itwithherownalphato investitwithpersonalsignificance,
fiers,
bet.The wallpaperbecomesthenarrator's
yellowbook whereshereadsherown
She learnsto see thepaperas a surfaceused by herhusbandand by
(hi)story.
she knowsthatduringthenight,whenJohn
Therefore,
societyforconcealment.
"I shallhaveto getbackbehindthe
liesnextto her,shemusthideherresistance:
she is
that
is
hard"
when
it
comes
and
(35). At theend,however,
night,
pattern
self
behind
to
conform
and
hide
her
own
to
decide
whether
enough
independent
role.Onlythencan shetriumph:
thepaperortostepoutofherconventional
"you
can'tputmeback!"(36).
the paperand developsa strongsense of possession
She even appropriates
text(and meaning):"no persontouchesthispaperbut
towardshernewly-found
me,- notaliveV(33).18The womanmanagesto re-visionthepatriarchal
enemyas
an imageofherself("mywall-paper"[27]);sheturnsherreadingoftheotherinto
a knowledge
ofherself,a knowledgethatgivespower:"Thereare thingsin that
thatnothat
nobodyknowsbutme,or everwill"(22); "I am determined
paper
but
"I
have
found
out
another
shall
find
it
out
but
funny
thing,
myself!"
(27);
body
forJohn'smedical
I shan'ttellitthistime!"(31).Thus,shefindsa counterweight
thepaper
knowledge("I am a doctor,dear,and I know"[23-24]).By destroying
shescribblesa smear
anderasingthetextofherhusband'sworld(palimpsest-like,
The rejectionand extincoverit),shewritesherstoryofsuffering
and liberation.
restores
lifeto heras a (female)readerwho
tionoftheforeign
(male)code system
16In
Images, Golden givesa historicaloverviewof the "polar ideologiesthatfueledthe
readingdebate"(42) in thenineteenth
centuryin Britainand America(17-47).
17As the
of
interior
decoration
shows,the patternof the yellowwallpaperis very
history
text"(14).
traditionaland not,as Golden maintainsin Images,"an untraditional
18Hochmann,in "The
ReadingHabit,"sees heras an "avid" and "obsessive"readerofthe
was boundto
century,
prejudiceof thenineteenth
wallpaperwho,accordingto the anti-fiction
lose hergripon reality(90).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
204
Wolter
Jürgen
ofherowntext.This(ultimately
thencan becomea writer
paradoxical)playwith
of
the
in
the
final
lifeand deathis perfectly
story:thesupposedly
image
captured
'weak'woman,
the
the
of
man
faints
and
obstructs
traditionally
progress
'strong'
whohas to stepoverhim.Whenherhusbandreadsthetexthiswifewrotewith
V. Delashmitcallsthesmoochhersignature
herbody- Margaret
(121)-, he loses
Thisfinalreversalofrolesis forecontrolnotonlyofhiswife,butalso ofhimself.
fora momenttreatsherhusbandlikea child,counshadowedwhenthenarrator
him"youngman"(35). Whenhe willnotlistento
his
diminutives
by
calling
tering
heraboutwheretofindthekeyto herroom,she"saiditagain,severaltimes,very
andsaiditso oftenthathe hadtogo andsee [.. .]" (36). Here,she
andslowly,
gently
female,
appearsto be therational(male) one,whileJohn,likethestereotypical
faints.Whenhe gainsconsciousness,
and finally
shouts,showssignsofhysteria,
JohnmightagreewithBasil RansominHenryJames'sTheBostonians:"thepositionofwomenis to makefoolsofmen"(22).
On the otherhand,thereis the "dead paper" of thejournal.Whereasshe
seemsto lose controlof hersanitywhenshe writeshertexton thewall,she is
verymuchin controlof herselfand herstorywhenshe writestheconfessional
to
diary:"I mustsaywhatI feeland thinkin someway"(21); herdetermination
not
allow
her
to
or
does
her
is
either
not
interested
that
husband
writeimplies
in,
in
In
his
she
comes
and
emotions.
her
most
intimate
worldview,
thoughts
express,
third:"I begofyou,formysake and forourchild'ssake,as wellas foryourown
shecan
forherthatinherownnarrative
important
[...]" (24).Thus,itis extremely
ofher
more
and
more
the
as
the
herself
at
center;indeed,
storyprogresses,
put
sentences
startwith"I."
and othershave arguedthatthereis a shiftin thestory
JennyWeatherford
to
to herattempts
fromwriting
to reading,"fromthenarrator's
journalwriting
a
turns
into
This
of
the
the
however,
reading
wallpaper,
decipher wallpaper"(67).
and leadsherfromthequiterationaltexton dead paper(the
newformofwriting
on theliving
recordofherdiary)to theemotionally
chargedpalimpsestwriting
a
as
a
record
of
her
smooch
subconscious),
signifyingchangefrom
wallpaper(the
can raisehervoiceandmakeherpoint(orrather,
maletofemalevoice.Shefinally
she
a femaleformofintellectual
herline),butsincepatriarchy
activity,
prohibited
text.So
thepatriarchal
forresisting
has neverlearnedthelanguageappropriate
isjusta smooch,which,evenifitdoesnotelabothisinitialformoffemalewriting
erasesit.
text,nonetheless
ratelyargueagainstthepatriarchal
Each ofthesetwoformsofwriting
(thesmoochandherjournal)followsa difshowsthatthe
MonikaFludernik
ferent
sidewithinthewoman'ssplitpersonality.
incontrolof
much
but
is
be
narrator
imbalanced,
intellectually
very
may mentally
and
coherent
"the
lucid
D.
even
that
Denise
hernarrative
Knight
argues
(88-89).19
the
theeventsthattranspire"
tochronicle
mannerinwhichshecontinues
suggests
in
thaninsane"("I amgetting
narrator
is "angry,
rather
However,
angry"81-82).20
theworldofherhusband,andaccordingtothediscourseon women'sintellectual19Golden sees a similar
but
dualityin thenarrator'sbehavior:"she writesmoreforcefully
actsmoremadly"("The Writing"197).
20 Pasco also sees "textualreasonto believein a healthyfuture"ofGilman'sheroine(95).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The AmbivalenceofChangingDiscourses
205
ity,sheis onlyallowedto showheremotionalside;shehas to hidehertexts:when
inherdishewriteson thewallpaper,
shealwayslocksthedoor(31);afterwriting
"I
this
she
becomes
a version
she
tells
herself:
must
away"(13).Therefore,
ary,
put
to
ofherhusband:"manipulative,
she
learns
secretive,
dishonest;
lie,obscure,and
the
her
to
have.21
distort"(Fetterley
husband
used
She may
164),assuming power
be an unreliablenarrator,
as Fludernikargues(91),butherstoryis notless relitextofherhusband'ssociety.
able thanthepatriarchal
WhoseRest?WhoseCure?
heals by 'talk therapy,'
'Doctor John'prescribesa
Whereaspsychoanalysis
kindofsilencing
cure,one thatputsto restnotonlythebody,butalso themind.22
is silencedand put
failsdramatically;
it is he whoultimately
John'sprescription
to rest,whilehiswifebecomesmoreactivethanever:she wagesa quixoticwar
"a roomofherown"uncontrolled
constructs
byJohn,and
againstthewallpaper,
writesa textofherownunreadbyhim.Johnwantsherto sleepas muchas posat theendJohnis theone ina sleepsible,perhapseventorestinpeace.However,
each winsa
ingposition.Thereseemsto be no winnerin thismaritaltug-of-war;
ifat all.
Pyrrhic
victory,
forcopingwithhersituation
turnsfromchildlikeobediThe woman'sstrategy
to open confrontation.
This is so unheardof,so preposence and dissimulation
terousin theeyesofthehusbandthathisnervoussystemcollapsesand he faints
Denise D. Knightsees thewoman'sbe(whichused to be a femaleprerogative).
haviorattheendnotas a descentintoinsanity
butas a verydeliberate"expression
ofthetremendous
she
feels
toward
her
anddeliberate
husband,"as "a defiant
rage
statement"
am
("I
getting
angry"73,76).
in Poe's houseofUsherturnsoutto be themadman,23
Justas therationalist
so does thehusbandat theend of Gilman'sstoryact likea mad child;he rants,
and
poundsat thedoor,criesforan axe,relentsonlyafterspokento soothingly,
who
and
the
also
he
is
the
one
Thus,
cries;
(re)actsirrationally emotionally.
story
of sanityin John'sworld.The collapse of his rational
questionsthe definition
worldin the wife'sroomis signified
by the finalscenario:she climbsoverthe
of
and
her
husband.
The
wallpaperhad trampled
uponher(25),
scraps wallpaper
him
it.
nowshetramples
and
upon
However,she behaveslikethechildherhusbandhas alwaysseen in her:she
crawlsaroundlikean infant,
controlled
firmly
byan umbilicalcordthatkeepsher
in herplace.This mayshowthatshe had onlyimaginedthatshe could liberate
21 Golden also sees "a reversalofthepowerdynamicsofgender"("The Writing"198).
22 Blackie
arguesthatJohn'scure forhis wife'sillnessshouldnotbe confusedwithDr. S.
Mitchell'sregimen.He shows
WeirMitchell'sRest Cure,i.e. thatGilman'sstorymisrepresents
that"Gilman'sdepictionof therestcure [...] bears littleresemblanceto thehundredsofcases
describedby Mitchell"(72) and "discreditsthe reliefhis cure broughtto countlesspatients"
outlets
(60). Accordingto Blackie,Mitchelleven"encouragedwomen[...] to pursueimaginative
whichincludednovel-reading
and a formofwriting"(74).
" ror
comparativestudiesoroilman ana roe, see uavison; retteriey;Hume; ana Kippl.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
206
Wolter
Jürgen
and empowerherself.
Nowthathe is confronted
withhiscreation,
withhisideal
cometrue,he cannotstandtheshock;he sees thathe hasmadea Frankensteinian
female.Jeanette
Kingand Pam Morrisalso readtheendingas "an imagenotof
butofthevictory
ofthesocialideal" whenthewomanactswith"lawliberation
inthecourseofthe
lessconformity"
There
is
onedecisivedifference,
(31).
though:
she
has
learned
to
write
about
it.
story,
The woman'sprogress
(from"Johnsays"to "I want")is notonlyobstructed
by
herunconscioushusbandand thescrapsofpaper,butalso bytheimmobilebed,
whichsymbolizesherfixedsexuality.
She calls it "my,"not "our" bed (12). He
fortworeasons:thereis roomfortwobeds,and thereis
has chosenthenursery
nevermenanotherroomnextdoorforhisoccasionaluse. The diarist,however,
tionsa secondbed inthenursery,
so theyuse theone bed theyfoundintheroom.
Whereashe wantsto enjoytheprerogative
to decidewherehe spendshisnights,
his wife'ssexualityis fixedto the place he chooses.She violently
proteststhis
maritalsituation
bygnawingthebedsteadjustas sheattacksthewallpaper;both
ofherhusband'sauthority.24
objectsare signifiers
If thenarrator
over"thatman"(36) and his
enjoyssomekindoffinalvictory
of three"endings"and
patriarchal
arrogance,it is perhapsin the combination
the
shebeginstocontrol
threeinstancesofcontrol:
First,bytearingup
wallpaper,
herenvironment
and itsdecoration,
i.e. she setsherselffreein herown room.
she drivesherhusbandto hiswits'endso thathe
Second,byheractsofcontrol,
loses controlof himselfand faints(she has constructed
a counter-world
/truth
of
her
texts
which
he
cannot
she
finishes
the
(on the
(in)
'stand').Third,
writing
deadpaperand on thewallthathascomealive);shehas alwaysbeenverymuchin
controlofthesetexts,butshehastohidethemfromthesocietyrepresented
byher
husband.As CatherineGoldenargues,thelanguageofthewoman'stextreflects
and boldness"(57);
herlinguistic
liberation("Teaching"55); it "gainsstrength
increaseduse of nominative-case
Goldentraces"thenarrator's
pronouns(T)"
in the finallines
and findsthat"forceand boldness[...] punctuatethewriting
of theonce timidnarrator"(59). Furthermore,
thefactthatshe writesthelast
is able to regain
sentencesofthestoryin retrospect
mightsuggestthatshefinally
sanityandindependence.
thenarrator
findsa blankwall,whichKaren
Afterripping
downthewallpaper,
freedom.
on hernewfound
One mightargue
Fordsees as a negativecommentary
beforeyoucan
thatthisblanknessat leastgivesthechancefora newbeginning;
construct
be an iconoclastfirst(interestingly
enough,
youhave to deconstruct,
inthestoryis theFourthofJuly).Hersseems
themostimportant
datementioned
ofherliberation
is exto be quitea dubiousvictory,
though,becausethefutility
leaves
the
room
the
of
her
movement
in
the
room.
She
never
pressedby circularity
shehas alwayscontrolled
thekeysto it.She alwaysleavesthedooropen
although
shelockshimout.Johncan only
forherhusbanduntil,at theendofherjourney,
She
confineherto his "nursery"
becauseshe has alwaysacceptedhis authority.
evenlearnstoaccepttheconfinement,
sherejectstheopenspace,andshetiesher24 Hume
forrage,
speaksof"thenarrator's
potentialfordomesticviolence,"her"propensity
ifnotdomesticbattery"(8, 11).
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Discourses
TheAmbivalence
ofChanging
207
selfto thebed: "I am securelyfastenednow[...] youdon'tgetme outin theroad
there!"(35). In hereyes,theropethattiesherto themaritalbed paradoxically
ofdomesticity;
shefeelssecurefromthedangersintheroad.
thetriumph
signifies
turnsout
rebellious
acts
of
she ultimately
her
readingand writing,
Despite
woman
of
the
nineteenthto be thephysically
weak and psychologically
fragile
i.e. hersituationat theendofthestorymaycorrobocentury
genderstereotype,
ratethepatriarchal
Gilmansetoutto disprove.If we takeherlastdiargument
thatshe is notengagedin a melodramatic
entries
at
face
value
and
assume
ary
on herdoctorhusband,thenthe
hoaxturning
thetables(thediagnosisofinsanity)
narrator's
intellectual
activities
haveindeedled to theillnessagainstwhichmost
had cautionedfemalereaders.One might
commentators
late-nineteenth-century
evenarguethatthewoman'sreadinghas drivenherhusbandinsane.Her insanity
is indisputable.
herhusband'scollapse,however,
mightbe pretended;
Conclusion
netand conflicting
In sum,thecoloryellowand thewallpaperevokeramified
as wellas woman's
thepaperconnotesVictorianpatriarchy
worksofreferences:
The diaristidentifies
withthepaper,butat thesame timetriumempowerment.
it.The coloryellowreferences
foulnessand decadence,butalso
phantly
destroys
The ambiguity
ofthecentralmetaphor(theyellowwallliberation
and progress.
Here,
paper)is takenup in thestory'sdiscourseon femalereadingand writing.
no finalconclusion.The woman's
again,thereis no resolutionof the conflicts,
andirrationality,
butalso evinces
recordsa descentintomentalinstability
writing
ofherowntextthrough
her"imaginative
thedeliberateand rationalstructuring
thetextrewinnerorloser,rationality
orinsanity:
power"(15). Defeatorvictory,
and
unresolved
because
mainsextremely
and
its
conflicts
suggestive
ambiguities
itwaswritten
the
of
a
at
a
crossroads.
against backdrop period
Works Cited
Ackerman,
Designand Use.London:Heineman,
Phyllis.Wallpaper:Its History,
1923.
"Arsenic."EncyclopediaBritannica,
llth ed. 1910.
of a Reader-Response
Barloon,Jim."A Rose forHomer?The Limitations
Approachto Faulkner's'A Rose forEmilv.'"TeachingFaulkner19 (2001):5-8.
60.2 (2004):57-85.
Blackie,Michael."ReadingtheRestCure."ArizonaQuarterly
in theGilded
Blanchard,MaryWarner.Oscar Wilde'sAmerica:Counterculture
Age.NewHaven,CT: Yale UP, 1998.
Anne. The WorksofAnneBradstreet.
Ed. JeannineHensley.CamBradstreet,
MA:
1981.
bridge,
Belknap,
Calloway,Stephen,and David Colvin.Oscar Wilde:An ExquisiteLife.London:
Orion,1997.
Cirtot,JuanEduardo.A DictionaryofSymbols.London:Routledge,1971.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
208
Wolter
Jürgen
Davison,Carol Margaret."HauntedHouse/HauntedHeroine:Female Gothic
Closetsin 'The YellowWallpaper.'"Women'sStudies:An Interdisciplinary
Journal33.1(2004):47-75.
DeKoven, Marianne."GenderedDoublenessand the 'Origins'of Modernist
Form."Erskineand Richards209-23.
andWomen:A StudyofCharlotte
Victoria."The Patriarchy
Delashmit,
Margaret
PerkinsGilman'sThe YellowWallpaper.'"Diss. U ofT Knoxville,1990.
Delashmit,MargaretVictoria,andCharlesLong."Gilman'sThe YellowWallpaper.'"TheExplicator50.1(1991):32-33.
PerkinsGilman's"The YellowWall-Paper"and
Dock,JulieBates,ed. Charlotte
theHistoryofIts Publicationand Reception:A CriticalEditionand DocuCasebook.University
Park:Pennsylvania
UP, 1998.
mentary
Dock, JulieBates,et al. "'But One ExpectsThat': CharlottePerkinsGilman's
PMLA 111.1
The YellowWallpaper'and theShifting
LightofScholarship.'
(1996):52-65.
Ellmann,Richard.Oscar Wilde.NewYork:Vintage,1988.
Erskine,ThomasL., and Connie L. Richards,eds. CharlottePerkinsGilmanf
NewBrunswick,
NJ:RutgersUP, 1993.
"TheYellowWallpaper."
'A
ofHerPeers,'The Murdersin
about
Judith.
Fetterley,
"Reading
Reading: Jury
theRue Morgue,'and The YellowWallpaper.'"Genderand Reading:Essays
Ed. ElizabethA. Flynnand PatrocinioP.
on Readers,Texts,and Contexts.
MD:
Johns
Schweickart.
Baltimore,
HopkinsUP, 1986.147-64.
E.
The
Female
Montreal:Eden,1983.
Juliann
Gothic.
Fleenor,
- . "The GothicPrism:CharlottePerkinsGilman'sGothicStoriesand Her AuFleenor,FemaleGothic227-41.
tobiography."
ofThe YellowWallpaper
Monika.
Fludernik,
"Defining(In)Sanity:The Narrator
and theQuestionofUnreliability."
Grenzüberschreitungen:
tanatologie im
Kontext.
Ed. WalterGrünzweig
and AndreasSolbach.Tübingen:Narr,1999.
75-95.
Ford,Karen."The YellowWallpaper'andWomen'sDiscourse."TulsaStudiesin
4.2 (1985):309-14.
Women'sLiterature
Gilbert,SandraM., and SusanGubar.TheMadwomanin theAttic:The Woman
and theNineteenthWriter
CenturyLiteraryImagination.New Haven,CT:
Yale UP, 1979.
Gilman,CharlottePerkins.The YellowWallpaper.1973.Ed. Elaine R. Hedges.
NewYork:FeministP, 1996.
1810.Ed. ManfredWenzel.
Goethe,JohannWolfgangvon. Zur Farbenlehre.
DeutscherKlassiker,1991.
Frankfurt/M.:
Golden,Catherine,ed. The CaptiveImagination:A Casebook on 'The Yellow
Wallpaper:NewYork:FeministP, 1992.
- . Imagesof the WomanReader in VictorianBritishand AmericanFiction.
Gainesville:UP ofFlorida,2003.
- . "One HundredYears ofReadingThe YellowWallpaper.'"Golden,Captive
1-23.
Imagination
- . "TeachingThe YellowWall-Paper'through
theLens ofLanguage."Knight
and Davis 52-60.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
TheAmbivalence
ofChanging
Discourses
209
- . "The Writing
of The YellowWallpaper':A Double Palimpsest."Studiesin
AmericanFictionY12(1989):193-201.
and JoannaZangrando,eds. TheMixedLegacyofCharlotte
Golden,Catherine,
PerkinsGilman.Newark:U ofDelawareP,2000.
DecorationinPoe andGilman."LIT 3 (1991):85-99.
Gordon,Rae Beth."Interior
Brenda.
NewYork:Macmillan,1976.
Greysmith,
Wallpaper.
Elaine
R.
at
Last'?
The YellowWallpaper'afterTwoDecades of
"'Out
Hedges,
FeministCriticism."
319-33.
Golden,CaptiveImagination
Decadence: CharlottePerkinsGilman,Oscar
Heilmann,Ann. "Overwriting
ofArtin The YellowWall-Paper.'"
Goldenand
Wilde,and theFeminization
175-88.
Zangrando
PerkinsGilman:TheMakingofa RadicalFeminist
1860Hill,MaryA. Charlotte
1896.Philadelphia:
TempleUP, 1980.
American
Hochman,Barbara."The ReadingHabitand The YellowWallpaper.'"
Literature
74.1(2002):89-110.
- . "Stowe'sHouse and Home Papers:A NeglectedSource forGilman'sThe
YellowWall-Paper.'"
AmericanLiterary
Realism37.1(2004):83-86.
and Novel-Reading."
SelectedLiterary
Howells,WilliamDean. "Novel-Writing
Criticism:
1898-1920.Vol.3. Bloomington:
IndianaUP, 1993.215-31.
Hume,BeverlyA. "ManagingMadnessin Gilman'sThe YellowWall-Paper.'"
StudiesinAmericanFiction30.1(2002):3-20.
as Causative
Hyslop,Theo. B. "A Discussionon Occupationand Environment
FactorsofInsanity."
TheBritishMedicalJournal(14 Oct. 1905):941-45.
Holbrook.TheEighteen
Nineties:
A ReviewofArtand Ideas attheClose
Jackson,
the
Nineteenth
1913.
London:
of
Century.
Cape, 1927.
The
Bostonians.
James,Henry.
Harmondsworth,
Engl.:Penguin,1966.
Shawn
St.
"'Another
/
else
about the paper...':DeconJean,
thing Something
Texts."
"The
Yellow
Jean,
Wall-Paper"100-15.
structing
- . "The YellowWall-Paper"byCharlotte
PerkinsGilman:A Dual-TextCritical
Edition.Athens:Ohio UP, 2006.
Jan."Controlling
Passion:The Turn-of-the-Century
Jennings,
WallpaperDilemma." Winterthur
31.4
243-64.
Portfolio (1996):
JoanneB. "'I willfollowthatpointlesspattern':
A Formalist
Karpinski,
Approach
to The YellowWall-paper.'"
Weinstock
37-46.
- . "WhentheMarriageofTrueMindsAdmitsImpediments:
CharlottePerkins
Gilman and WilliamDean Howells."CharlottePerkinsGilmanand Her
and Intellectual
Contexts.
Ed. CynthiaJ.Davis and
Contemporaries:
Literary
Denise D. Knight.Tuscaloosa:U ofAlabamaP,2004. 17-31.
Katzenbach,Lois, and WilliamKatzenbach.The PracticalBook of American
1951.
Wallpaper.
Philadelphia:
Lippincott,
and
Pam
Morris.
"On
Not
King,Jeanette,
ReadingbetweentheLines:Modelsof
in
The
Yellow
Studies
inShortFiction26 (1989):23-32.
Reading
Wallpaper.'"
"'I
Denise
D.
am
to
Knight,
getting
angryenough do something
desperate':The
QuestionofFemale'Madness.'"Jean,"The YellowWall-Paper"73-87.
Knight,Denise D., and CynthiaJ.Davis,eds. Approachesto TeachingGilmans
"The YellowWall-Paper"and Herland.NewYork:MLA, 2003.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
210
Wolter
Jürgen
A FeministDictionary.
Boston:PanKramarae,Chéris,and Paula A. Treichler.
doraR 1985.
The YellowWallpaper,'
and thePoliticsof
Lanser,SusanS. "FeministCriticism,
Colorin America."Erskineand Richards225-56.
Le Gallienne,Richard.ProseFancies.London:Lane, 1896.
1903:An AnecdotalHistory.
Lutz,Tom.AmericanNervousness,
Ithaca,NY: CornellUP, 1991.
to WorldWarI.
Lynn,Catherine.WallpaperinAmerica:Fromthe17thCentury
NewYork:Norton,1980.
Mix,KatherineLyon.A Studyin Yellow:The YellowBook and Its Contributors.
Lawrence:U ofKansasP,1960.
and theBrute.London:U ofNebraskaP, 1978.
Norris,Frank.Vandover
and ReliableText."Jean,"The YellowWall-PaPasco,Allan H. "CrazyWriting
per"88-99.
of
Rippl,Gabriele."Wild Semantics:CharlottePerkinsGilman'sFeminization
Edgar Allan Poe's ArabesqueAesthetics."
SoftCanons:AmericanWomen
Writers
and MasculineTradition.
Ed. KarenKilcup.Iowa City:U ofIowa P,
1999.123-40.
Roth,Marty."Gilman'sArabesqueWallpaper."Mosaic34 (2001):145-62.
Savage,GeorgeH. Insanityand Allied Neuroses:Practicaland Clinical.New
York:Cassell,1884.
Schlacks,DeborahDavis.AmericanDream Visions:Chaucer'sSurprising
Influenceon F. ScottFitzgerald.
NewYork:Lang,1994.
Conrad."Too Terribly
Good to Be Printed':CharlotteGilman'sThe
Shumaker,
YellowWallpaper.'"
AmericanLiterature
57 (1985):588-99.
Matthew.
A
London:Harper,1998.
Sturgis,
AubreyBeardsley: Biography.
on theWall:SymbolicOrdersin The Yellow
Suess,BarbaraA. "The Writing's
Women's
Studies:An Interdisciplinary
Journal32.1(2003):79-97.
Wallpaper.'"
Thomas,HeatherKirk."'[A] kindof 'debasedRomanesque'withdeliriumtremens':Late-Victorian
Wall Coveringsand CharlottePerkinsGilman'sThe
YellowWail-Paper.'"
Goldenand Zangrando189-206.
"Good Furnishing
andDecorationoftheHouse:Wail-Papers."
Vallance,Aymer.
MagazineofArt(Mar.1904):224-30.
Veeder,William."Who Is Jane?The IntricateFeminismof CharlottePerkins
44 (1988):40-79.
Gilman."ArizonaQuarterly
the Ineffable:The YellowWallpaper'and
Weatherford,
Jenny."Approaching
Gilman'sProblemwithLanguage."AmericanStudiesin Scandinavia31
(1999):58-75.
Weinstock,
Andrew,ed. ThePedagogicalWallpaper:TeachingCharlotte
Jeffrey
PerkinsGilman's"The YellowWall-Paper"NewYork:Lang,2003.
Park:
Weintraub,
Stanley.AubreyBeardsley:Imp of the Perverse.University
State
1976.
UP,
Pennsylvania
Wharton,
Edith,and OgdenCodman,Jr.TheDecorationofHouses.NewYork:
1897.NewYork:Arno,1975.
Scribner,
John.Winthrop's
Journal,"History
Winthrop,
ofNewEngland/'1630-1649.Ed.
JamesK. Hosmer.1908.Vol.2. NewYork:Scribner,
1966.2 vols.
This content downloaded from 132.178.94.23 on Tue, 9 Apr 2013 23:05:43 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions