Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - Book Report/Review Example

English The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman The “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is one of the most controversial short stories that have received close attention from many scholars. Since the moment the author wrote the story in the year 1892, scholars have analysed the books from different dimensions to come up with the possible interpretations of the book. The story revolves around the life of one couple, a man and his husband, John spending their time at a summer hall. John is doctor who believes that her wife’s psychological stress can heal if she takes a rest, to which she seems to see as chauvinistic attitude. This article aims at analyzing the short story from different dimensions to show the feminist, psychoanalytic, historical and cultural perspectives of the story. This will enrich our understanding of the story through an in-depth analysis of the problem various society factors depicted in the article. This is a story that has attracted a lot of attention from many authors, who have found different ways to interprete the story. One group of individuals who have taken a keen observation of the story is the feminist critics, who find it as a manifestation of the male chauvinism and female oppression during the time of the writer. In the story, it is clear that the husband wins all arguments against his wife. When they consider choosing a room, the husband out-rightly decides that the upper room is the best, while she argues about finding another source. Her idea is that they use a different room does not go through. When she feels that her mental stress could be a serious problem, he wins by referring to it as “temporary nervous depression’, which he believes will end as soon as she gets adequate rest (Gilman 523). This however does not end well as she ends up becoming mad, a situation that he had not expected. Feminists criticize the idea of males as decision makes and their oppression of the female rights. They feel that the story represents the highest level of male dominance in decision making as they make decisions that only befit them. Feminists also have focused on the male oppressive control of the activities that women should involve with. From the story, Jane loves writing but cannot develop her talents due to the husband’s criticism. The males believe that specific jobs are only meant for males, and it is against odds that women should do such jobs. This is the reason why Jane cannot pick the confidence of writing when her husband is around. She hides her writing materials as soon as he arrives home. Others have stated that the story indicates the triumph of women from chauvinistic oppression. The woman struggles to unveil the wallpaper that has blanketed a woman, keeping her tied to the strings of domestic inequality. She refuses to leave even after the summer vacation is over to ensure that she frees the entrapped woman. They feel that the collapse of the husband, John, symbolizes the collapse of an oppressive marriage. Therefore, feminists perceive this as a “new freedom” for the women who for long have suffered domestic oppression and have served as the inferior members of the society (Stetson 12-15). Therefore, from a feministic perspective, the story focuses of the persistent female oppression and the eventual achievement of freedom after the struggle of determine female activists such as Jane. On the other hand, the psychoanalytic perspective presents a different side of the same coin. Psychoanalysts have come up with the idea that the story revolves around the poor medical practice that prevailed at the time the story was developed. They criticize the wrong treatment methods that the people applied during this time, and the change that was required to perfect it. Jane’s husband, John, was a qualified doctor, who was involved with the treatment of psychological disorders. When she notes about her wife’s problem, he calls it a temporary nervous stress that he could treat easily by providing her with ample rest. He feels that the cause of her illness is the lack of ample rest and isolation from their child. Therefore, he is confident that this treatment procedure would work perfectly for her. Similarly, the brother recommends the same statement. She says that “my brother is also a physician, and of high standing…” to criticize the kind of medical treatment they provide for her treatment. However, she ends up becoming worse that she was, which surprises him at the end of the story (Gilman 648). In addition, psychoanalysts point out to the idea that the story is a protest of the notion that prevailed among professional medical practice that women are mentally fragile. This adds to the idea of the feminists that the society, including medical professionals, perceives women as inferior beings (Quawas 47). Therefore, psychoanalysts depict this as the struggle of women to free themselves from the unrealistic medical ideas that depict them as weaker than men in the society. From a historical point of view, the story is among one of works of feminists who launched war in the end of the 19th century against economic, political, health and social discrimination by the male counterparts. The history of female activism is long and punctuated by the actions of brave women fighting against the discrimination of women at all levels. The 19th century was a period of rise in the inequality tension between the males and females. Female oppression was evident at its highest levels and many women suffered in the institutions of marriage. One form of discrimination at this time was in the economic arena and the employment sector. Women were limited to domestic tasks and it was ridiculous for a woman to engage in any economic activity (Quawas 47). The males expected that women take the roles of childrearing and cooking for the family. They could also engage in farming activities. Very few women had access to education at this time as only male children went to school. This manifests the height of discrimination at this time in history (Gilman 523). This is possibly the reason why Jane had to hide her writings as he termed it as ridiculous for woman to write; only men could handle such tasks. From a historical point of view, it is clear that the author wrote the story from an inspiration of the inequalities that existed during this time. Quawas (48) notes, the 19th century was the period of female activism. Women rose up against gender prejudice that persisted in the history of the world, with women remaining entrapped within this cocoon. It is seems to be the same cocoon that entraps Jane when she suffers from a psychological problem. Marion Reid and Caroline Norton are among some of the feminist activists who joined hands to fight against female oppression in the social and political landscape. The joined in what is known as the first wave of feminism that advocate for women rights to vote, acquire education and participate in the formal sector. When she states that “I got out at last…you can’t put me back” she provides hope for the liberation of women (Gilman 656). Jane’s writing appears to be a historical coverage of the war against gender inequality during the period of male dominance. In the story, she tears down the yellow wallpaper in an effort to rescue the other woman who is entrapped behind it. This represents a historical symbol of women’s struggle to fight against oppression. The collapse of her husband shows the collapse of the oppressive regime after a long struggle that ended successfully. Historians have depicted Jane as one of the strong women who idealized female discrimination, therefore making an imminent contribution to the war against gender prejudice in the world (Gilman 523). She is similar to other authors such as Louisa May Alcott who wrote feministic novels during the same historical time, as their contribution to the female activism war. Another group of scholars has analyzed the story from a cultural point of view, depicting the cultural attributed that underpin gender discrimination in the world today. In many parts of the world, cultural attitudes have influence the gender positions by defining their roles and responsibilities. One aspect of culture is that it divided between the female and male roles in the society. In conservative cultures such as that of the Arabs, men could only do specific activities while women could only play certain roles. These “cultural stereotypes” put boundaries on the feministic and chauvinistic behaviors (Sari 72-84). For instance, in the Arab culture, women were expected to look after their houses, while men were expected to be the key decision makers at home. Only this note, women were expected to remain loyal to their men. This cultural attitude is clearly eluded in the story. Since Jane is a woman, she cannot make decisions on where they can stay for the summer holiday. She narrates how her husband wins in every argument, and how this keeps her away from chipping in her own ideas. She has to be submissive to the dictatorial words of the husband. This is the reason why she quickly gives in to live in a room that she does not like to live in. When the husband thinks that she has a minor mental problem, she admits without questioning, as she knows that she cannot win over the argument. Cultural attitude is an issue that affects even the contemporary society. Even today, women continue to suffer from male chauvinism, even after many years of their struggle to fight this problem. The cultural attitudes are sticky and do not seem to end even if the level of illiteracy becomes high. Although John is a learned doctor, he still subscribes to the idea that women are inferior human beings who cannot make their own decisions. This is the reason why he makes choices for her, even they really do not suit her. The cultural believe that women are inferior beings is an idea that has strongly affected the social issues in the society. The story shows that John subscribes to the idea that women are mentally susceptible because they lack an efficient mental power like that of men. This is the main reason why he cannot allow her wife to make any decision on her own. Today, the same cultural attitudes prevail among many communities in the world. Many cultures still believe that women are inferior beings and they cannot perform as much as men can do (Lanser 415-441). Therefore, the narrator story seems to criticize this believe and supports the idea that all human beings are equal and that indeed women can break out of the cocoon of male dominance in the society. As she manages to tear down the yellow wallpaper, which symbolizes the cultural attitudes, she grants freedom to other women. In conclusion, the story “the Yellow Wallpaper” by Perkins is multidimensional piece of work that expresses the long feminist struggle to liberate women from male chauvinism. From a feministic point of view, the story presents the oppression that females have to go through their life. They have to endure intimidation, social and economic discrimination. However, the narrator presents hope for women as she launches a war against female discrimination. She herself breaks from the cocoon of gender bias through struggle and hardwork. From a psychoanalytic point of view, health professionals have shown preferential treatment of women’s problems, especially those with psychological problems. They feel that women suffer from low mental capacity by default and they take such problems lightly. However, a close examination of the historical perspective of the story shows that it was written during a period of female activism in the 19th century. Jane is only one of the females who wrote against female discrimination during this period. From a cultural perspective, the novel shows some of cultural attitudes that underpin gender inequality in the traditional as well as modern communities. On this light, Perkins piece of writing is one of the most crucial contributions to the literature that criticizes female oppression in world. Works Cited Fanghui, Wang. "Trapped And Silenced: Claustrophobic Fear In The Yellow Wallpaper And The Handmaids Tale." Studies in Literature And Language 2 (2012): 10. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 May 2014. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Omnibus of 20th Century Ghost Stories. Ed. Robert Phillips. New York: Carrol and Graf Publishers Inc., 1989. Print. Lanser, Susan. "Feminist Criticism ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, and the Politics of Color in America". Feminist Studies 15 (3): 415–441, 2003. Sari, Edelstein, "Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the Yellow Newspaper" 24(1) (May 2007): 72–92. Stetson, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-paper. A Story", The New England Magazine, 11(5) Quawas, Rula. "A New Womans Journey Into Insanity: Descent and Return in The Yellow Wallpaper." : Journal of the Australasian Universities Modern Language Association 2006: 35+. ProQuest Research Library. Web. Oct. 2012. Read More