– By Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Meaning of DzI’ve got out at last, in spite of you and Janedz
and relation of “descent into madness”
to the powerfully subversive nature of Gilman’s short story
ǮThe Yellow Wallpaperǯ was first published in 1892 in ǮThe New England Magazineǯ. Itǯs a
short story focusing on the genres of feminism, captivity, womenǯs health & mental illness,
written by American feminist, sociologist, and novelist named Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
She used her writing to explore the role of women in America at the time. She explored
issues such as the lack of a life outside the home for women and the oppressive forces of
the patriarchal society. ǮThe Yellow Wallpaperǯ and ǮWomen and Economicsǯ are her most
notable literary works.
[I intend to show] The implication of DzI have got out at last, in spite of you and Jane?dz
spoken by the narrator. Iǯll talk about narratorǯs representation of women and their
miserable position in male commanded world. The need for awareness of womenǯs rights
and the narratorǯs decision to understand herself will also be mentioned.
DzI’ve got out at last, in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you
can’t put me back!’ Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my
path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!”
The narrator of the story was a representation of all women in the society who were
trapped by their men. Women in that time period unfortunately were better seen, not
heard. They just stood by their husbands and became imprisoned by the power of their
own lovers. Men assigned and defined womenǯs roles and women before the 20th century
did not have much of a say.
When the narrator gradually begins to see a female figure trapped behind the barlike pattern of the wallpaper, it is realised that both she and the figure are suffering from
oppression and imprisonment. This urges the narrator to look for solutions in decoding the
male repression on their female counterparts. She urges, in her own world, that all women,
including her, needed to have the opportunity to work, to grow, and to make connections
outside of home. Constraints on women are not healthy for anybody – the husband, the
children, the family or the woman herself. Freedom to women must match with that of men
so that the active participation of enthusiastic women population enriches both domestic
and national lifestyle and conditions. Recognition to female section shall bring prosperity,
auspiciousness, and success to humankind and its heights.
Shubham Gaur