The Struggle For Independence In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper.

A detailed Summary of The Struggle For Independence In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper.


Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is the story of women's struggle for independence in a patriarchal society. In the story the wallpaper is an important symbol as is the woman behind it. The narrator's thoughts about the wallpaper tell us a great deal of how she feels about the situation she is in. The theme of the story is that by tearing off the chains of oppression one can obtain independence.

The wallpaper in the story has two layers, one that is most evident and one that is symbolic and therefore less visible. The outside layer is in fact a person's false front, the one that people let society see, the image of what society expects, if you will. In the beginning of the story the narrator hates the wallpaper, "I never saw a worse paper in my life." (140). The wallpaper is a representation of how women conform according to society's standards. During the time in which the narrator lived, the late 1800's, society had very patriarchal standards, that is to say women were expected to behave properly and be subservient. Her hatred of this conformist attitude becomes known to us when she states, "It is dull enough [...] constantly irritate [...] lame uncertain curves [...]" (140). In essence


Near the end of the story the narrator and the woman become one, "I wonder if they all come out of that wallpaper as I did?" (153). This is a very important fact that the narrator tells us. From this we can determine that she has succeeded in breaking down the walls of oppression and gained her independence. The narrator has become united with her true identity.

The narrator's determination to keep her independence is shown through her male-female role reversal when she states, "And then I said it again, several times, very gently, and slowly [...]" (154). This was unheard of in her day and age. She is definitely not putting on the passive front that society so expects from women. Her determination is also shown that when, even though her husband passed out in her way, she doesn't detour, but simply crawls over him. This shows her one-mindedness in not letting anything get in her way or stop her from being who she really wants to be.

Later on in the story the narrator begins to tear away at the paper, "I pulled and she shook, I shook and she pulled, and before morning we had pulled off yards of that paper." (152), in order to help the woman escape from her imprisonment. While doing this, the paper seems to enjoy her futile attempts at removing all

Some common words found in the essay are:
Yellow Wallpaper, yellow wallpaper, York Penguin, story narrator, woman wallpaper, wallpaper story, yellow wallpaper story, society expects, wallpaper symbol, narrator tells, narrator woman, walls oppression,

Approximate Word count 848
Approximate Pages 3 250 words per page double spaced

Category: English

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