Updated:

Analysis of the Gilman’s “Yellow Wallpaper” Report

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

In the story ‘the Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte, the narrator is a lady who is married to a physician and confined in a room covered with yellow wallpaper. Throughout the entire story, the narrator is emotionally disturbed and is filled with bad feelings such as dislike, loneliness, obsession, nostalgia, anger, sadness, and helplessness.

The narrator suffers from a mental condition and is angered by the fact that her husband who is a physician does not believe that she is sick ‘You see he does not believe I am sick!’ (Gilman 1). Contrary to what is expected of physicians, her husband who is a physician dismisses the seriousness of her condition and goes on assuring relatives and friends that she only suffers from ‘a slight hysterical tendency’ (Gilman 2). This makes her feel so helpless ‘And what can one do?’ (Gilman 2). The narrator also has a dislike towards her husband’s actions. He gives her drugs and forbids her from performing any congenial work ‘Personally, I disagree with their ideas’ (Gilman 2). She is also filled with sadness because of a lack of support from her husband and society in coping with her condition.

“-but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad” (Gilman 5).

From the way she describes and interacts with the room, one can notice that she has a dislike and immense hatred towards the room she is confined in. She believes that hatred radiates from the room. “It is stripped off–the paper–in great patches all around the head of my bed, about as far as I can reach, and is a great place on the other side of the room low down. I never saw a worse paper in my life” (Gilman, 9). She hates the yellow color and describes it as unclean. She also supposes that the room was a nursery school and the children studying in it must have hated the wallpaper just like her. This clearly shows that she hates the room because it confines her from the outside world and she is, therefore, unable to interact with other people (Gilman 7-19).

More about The Yellow Wallpaper

The narrator becomes obsessed with the mental picture of the woman. She thinks about her all the time and tries picturing her. She pictures her climbing through the paper wall and creeping during the daylight. She also pictures her getting out during the daytime, walking along the road under trees, and hiding under blackberry vines. ‘I see her on that long rod under the trees creeping along, and when a carriage comes, she hides under the blackberry vines (Gilman 23).

She is also nostalgic towards her husband’s sister. She is happy that she does her job well as a housekeeper but angry that she thinks that writing is the cause of her sickness. ‘She is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession. I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which made me sick!’ (Gilman 36). Her sadness sometimes results from her loneliness. ‘So I walk a little in the garden or down that lovely lane, sit on the porch under the roses, and lie down up here a good deal’ (Gilman 45). The narrator says that she spends most of her time crying when no one is present but once her husband comes in, she stops ‘I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time’ (Gilman 55).

The dislike, loneliness, obsession, nostalgia, anger, sadness, and helplessness she feels makes her feel suicidal. She gets a rope and tries finding something that she can stand on. ‘But I forgot I could not reach far without anything to stand on!’ (Gilman, 58). When she is unable to hang herself, she contemplates jumping out of the window ‘To jump out of the window would be admirable exercise, but the bars are too strong even to try (Gilman 59).

Work Cited

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The yellow wall-paper. New York: Forgotten Books, 1973.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, January 7). Analysis of the Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper". https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-the-gilmans-yellow-wallpaper/

Work Cited

"Analysis of the Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper"." IvyPanda, 7 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-the-gilmans-yellow-wallpaper/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Analysis of the Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper"'. 7 January.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Analysis of the Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper"." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-the-gilmans-yellow-wallpaper/.

1. IvyPanda. "Analysis of the Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper"." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-the-gilmans-yellow-wallpaper/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Analysis of the Gilman's "Yellow Wallpaper"." January 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-the-gilmans-yellow-wallpaper/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1