THE YELLOW WALLPAPER
An introduction
Charlotte
Perkins
Gilman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in Connecticut in 1860 and grew up in Rhode
Island, USA
 Her mother had 3 children, one of whom died, and then he father walked out on them
 By the time Charlotte was in her late teens, she had begun to seriously ponder “the
injustices under which women suffered”
 Later, she married
 She continued to think about the oppression women of her time suffered, writing and
lecturing about this
DOMESTIC BLISS
 Once married, she realised she was facing the crucial question many women of her
time had to consider: marriage or a career
 She notes that a woman “should be able to have marriage and motherhood, and do
her work in the world also”
 Although she claimed to be happy with her husband, she began to experience
periods of depression
 A year after getting married she gave birth to a daughter and she became, in her
own words, a “mental wreck”
THE ‘REST CURE’
 Gilman was sent to the most preeminent “nerve specialist” of her time, Dr. S.
Weir Mitchell (who is explicitly referred to in the story)
 It was his patronizing treatment of her that lead her to write this story
 His prescription for her was to devote herself to being a mother and wife,
confine herself to no more than 2 hours of intellectual work a day, and “never
touch a pen, brush or pencil as long as you live”
 She says she almost lost her mind following this advice
THE REAL CURE
 After four years of marriage, Gilman and her husband agreed to a separation and
divorce
 She decided to abandon Dr. Mitchell’s advice and moved to California to look
after herself
 She was happy here, away from her family, and when she had returned to them
she felt depressed and tired again, so she remained in California alone
 While in California she lectured on the status of women, wrote and generally
fought off public hostility and disapproval of her opinions
The Yellow Wallpaper
was originally published in
1892
T H E M E O F C R E AT I V I T Y V S.
R AT I O N A L I T Y
 From the beginning of the story, the narrator’s creativity is set in conflict with
John’s rationality.
 As a writer, the narrator thrives in her use of her imagination, and her creativity is
an inherent part of her nature.
 John does not recognize his wife’s fundamental creativity and believes that he can
force out her imaginative fancies and replace them with his own solid rationality.
 In essence, a large part of the “rest cure” focuses on John’s attempt to remove the
narrator’s creativity; by forcing her to give up her writing, he hopes that he will calm
her anxious nature and help her to assume her role as an ideal wife and mother.
Gilman believes in creativity without restraints and argues that the
narrator’s repressed imagination is the fundamental cause of her
psychotic breakdown.
Gilman also suggests that the narrator’s attempt to deny a
fundamental part of her nature was doomed from the beginning.
John should have been able to accept the true nature of his wife,
rather than trying to force her to adhere to the prescriptions of his
own personality.
In a simplistic way, we can see that the story is about a personality
clash between John and the narrator, and that John attempts to
make her personality fit with his because he is the male and
therefore superior to his wife.
On refill, draw up a T chart like the one below. Fill out the first column with
all the things from the story that represent creativity and any character traits
of the narrator you can think of that show her creativity. In the second
column write down all the character traits of John and all the things that
represent rationality from the story. Where possible use quotes from the text.
Creativity / The narrator
Rationality / John
Answer the following questions on refill. Either write
the question or use full answers.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why does the narrator go insane?
Do you think she has any other choice? Why?
Is John’s treatment of her fair?
Do you think his treatment is appropriate for
depression/anxiety? Why or why not?
5. Write down all the things you can think of that make
the nursery seem like a prison cell.
6. How does John view his wife? Give an example from
the text to support your answer.
7. Why does he control the treatment and not listen to her
request to change it?
8. John frequently uses the term “little” when talking to
his wife. For example, he says “bless her little heart”
and calls her his “little girl” and “blessed little goose”.
What does this tell us about the way he views her?
9. Why do you think John treats her the way he does and
doesn’t take her desire to write or be creative seriously?
Consider society and gender roles in the 19th century
10.Bearing in mind the physical imprisonment of the
narrator in the house, and in the domestic sphere in
general, what might her descent into madness mean to
her?