Honey Lei Nava JRLMHS

STEM 12-Edwards

Feminist Analysis of “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

• Premise of Feminism

“ If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that

there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight

hysterical tendency — what is one to do?” " My brother is also a physician, and also of high

standing, and he says the same thing."

The Premise of Feminism is concerned with the marginalization of women in a patriarchal

culture, creating an imbalance in power between men and women. The male authority

figures, her husband and brother, who hold prominent positions in society as doctors,

control the woman throughout the entire story of The Yellow Wallpaper. Additionally,

John elicits more elaborate descriptions with words such as “dangerous” and “fascinating,”

compared to his wife, who utilizes words such as “great,” “bright,” and “shady.” This

demonstrates the priority held for men to be educated over women, as it was seen as

unnecessary for women to have an education.

Three Phases of Feminism

• Feminine Phase (1840 — 1880)

The Feminine Phase is refers to female writers who initiated the literary tradition made by

men. In the story of The Yellow Wallpaper, Feminine Phase isn’t included.
• Feminist Phase (1880 — 1920)

“Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she

crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.”

The Feminist Phase refers to women protecting their lack of rights and wanting to secure

them. In the story The Yellow Wallpaper, the woman behind the yellow wallpaper is

attempting to escape, representing women trying to be free of oppressive gender

standards created by society that say men control women.

• Female Phase (1920 — Present)

“ I know a little of the principle of design and I know this thing was not arranged on any laws

of radiation, or alternation, or repetition, or symmetry, or anything else that I ever heard of.”

"It is repeated, of course, by the breadths, but not otherwise." “Looked at in one way each

breadth stands alone, the bloated curves and flourishes – a kind of “ debased Romanesque”

with delirium tremensgo waddling up and down in isolated columns of fatuity.” "But, on the

other hand, they connect diagonally, and the sprawling outlines run off in great slanting

waves of optic horror, like a lot of wallowing seaweeds in full chase." “ The whole thing goes

horizontally, too, at least it seems so, and I exhaust myself in trying to distinguish the order of

its going in that direction.” "They have used a horizontal breadth for a frieze, and that adds

wonderfully to the confusion."

The Female Phase is concentrated on exploring the female experience in art and literature.

Based on the story, The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator has a little knowledge of art and

knows a little of the principles of design. The way she describes it, the pattern of the

wallpaper was not arranged according to any laws of radiation and was repeated, the curves

and flourishes, the outlines, until she exhausted herself trying to find the arrangement of it

going in that direction.

• Study of Difference

“But the effort is getting to be greater than the relief.” “Then in the very ‘ bright spots she

keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard.”

“By daylight she is subdued, quiet. I fancy it is the pattern that keeps her so still. It is so

puzzling. It keeps me quiet by the hour.” “My darling,” said he, “ I beg of you, for my sake

and for our child’s sake, as well as for your own, that you will never for one instant let that

idea enter your mind! There is nothing so dangerous, so fascinating, to a temperament like

yours. It is a false and foolish fancy. Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so? “

The Study of Difference is a language and value system (e.g., diction, syntax, voice, etc.),

wherein in the story The Yellow Wallpaper Paper, the narrator uses words like “great,”

“bright,” and “shady,” while John elicits more elaborate descriptions with words like

“dangerous” and “fascinating.” The simple syntax and diction play an impactful role in the

story by emphasizing the lack of education held by women in that era.

• Study of Power

“John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” " John is a physician, and

PERHAPS—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great

relief to my mind)—PERHAPS that is one reason I do not get well faster. You see he does

not believe I am sick! And what can one do?" "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets

me stir without special direction. I have a schedule prescription for each hour in the day; he

takes all care from me, and so I feel basely ungrateful not to value it more. He said we came

here solely on my account, that I was to have perfect rest and all the air I could get." “ John is

away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious. I am glad my case is not
serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much

I really suffer. He knows there is no REASON to suffer, and that satisfies him.”

The Study of Power is a labor and economic status where, whoever has the job, he or she has

control or power. In the story of The Yellow Wallpaper, John is a highly respected doctor

who treats his wife. He is extremely practical, rejects superstition, and is interested only

in physical facts. This causes him to disregard his wife’s worries about her inner life

and impose his own treatment instead: rest, food, air, phosphates, and freedom from the

outside distractions of life.

• Study of Female Experience

“Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she

crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.”

The Feminist Phase refers to women protecting their lack of rights and wanting to secure

them. In the story The Yellow Wallpaper, the woman behind the yellow wallpaper is

attempting to escape, representing women trying to be free of oppressive gender

standards created by society that say men control women.

• Patriarchy

“I even said so to John one moonlight evening, but he said what I felt was a draught, and shut

the window.”

Patriarchy is a society dominated by men, which is why, in the story The Yellow Wallpaper,

the narrator is genuinely concerned about something strange in the house. John doesn’t care

about or support his own wife in any way. John doesn’t care about or support his own wife in

any way. John might also reply by saying it “was a draught, and shut the window.” Perhaps

this disregard for women led to the mistreatment of female illnesses by simply giving them
medicine to manage their sickness. The narrator frequently brings up the social

expectations placed on men with regard to women. Women had to overcome barriers to

their economic, social, and legal freedom. Men focused their interests and efforts on

what was most important to them: themselves.

• Misogyny

“I even said so to John one moonlight evening but he said what I felt was a draught and shut

the window.” “I don’t like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza

and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! But John

would not hear of it.”

Misogyny refers to hatred towards women, and in the story The Yellow Wallpaper, the

unjust relationship between the two main characters serves as a microcosm of the larger

gender inequality in society. The author makes it evident that John’s wife’s disorder plays a

small role in most of his patronizing and paternal actions toward her. He belittles her creative

instincts while dismissing both her well-reasoned judgments and her “flights of imagination.”

He disregards her opinions about how to best care for herself, just as he would with any other

decision. As a result, she is forced to live in a home, a room, and an isolated environment that

are all unpleasant and lonely. John’s solicitous “care” display indicates that he accepts the

prevailing scientific theories that claim that women’s innate inferiority leaves them childlike

in a state of infantile dependence.