Comparing and Contrasting The Yellow Wallpaper

The stories The Yellow Wallpaper and Tell Tale Heart are two very unique stories. Both stories are similar to eachother and both have differences. The most significant similarities are the true meanings of the stories and the  genre. The main idea of the stories are insanity. In Tell Tale Heart, the narrator goes from describing the wallpaper as "... repellant,almost revolting..." (Gilman) To saying she was trapped in the wallpaper. The narrator in Tell Tale Heart had similar tendencies by claiming, "You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing." (Poe) But by the ending, the narrator was saying, "Villians!...It is the beating of his hideous heart!" (Poe) The narrators both start off almost denying their insanity, but by then end, they let it succumb them. Another very obvious similarity is the genre; Gothic Lit. Gothic lit is described as "...writing that employs dark and picturesque scenery, startling and melodramatic narrative devices, and an overall atmosphere of exoticism, mystery, and dread." (Kennedy) Both of the stories have examples of Gothic Lit. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator and John move into an abandon mansion and the narrator suspects there was some sort of legal issue. In Tell Tale Heart, the narrator gives of an erie vibe and speaks of dreading seeing the man's vulture like eye. There are also quite a few differences between the articles. Tell Tale Heart tells the story in a perspective of a man murmuring an elder he works for. The story shows Poe inner demons and the problems he has with death. The Yellow Wallpaper shows the story in the perspective of a woman during the Victorian Era who is battling for her rights and to keep her sanity. The authors are also very different. Poe is viewed as a pioneer in the genre of Gothic Lit. While Gilman, is said to have been inspired by him. The stories may be different, both they both share one main similarity; they will forever give insight on a different point in time. These stories will both live on as inspirations to some, confusing to many and shocking to all.  

 

Citations:

Poe, Edgar A. Tell Tale Heart. Boston. Leland & Writing, 1843. Magazine.

Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. Boston. Small and Mayard, 1899. Print.

Kennedy, Patrick. Gothic Literature. About.com. 2016. Web.

Social/ Historical Connections

The short story is full of historical and  social connections. According to Marriam-Webster.com, feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. During the time that Perkins wrote her short story The Yellow Wallpaper, that idea was just starting to gain popularity. Her story portrays in many scenes, oppression to women and ideas of men  being the soul leader of the house. The narrator states many times throughout the story, "But what is one to do?" (Gilman). Like previously stated, women at the time were taught to be submissive and not to think for themselves. The idea of feminism also ties into the social connections shown in the story. Women had ultimately zero relationship with the work place. Their "workplace" was their house. One of the many famous people from the Victorian Era, the era that Gilman lived in, is Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria herself stated, "Feminist ought to get a whipping." This can tell you that not many people were fans of women wanting to seek their rights. Charlotte Gilmans's story was written with the intention of showing how badly feminism needed to be happening. She opened  the eyes of many people with her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper. 

Citations: 

"Feminism." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016

Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. Boston. Small and Mayard, 1899. Print. 

"Anti-Feminism." Goodreads.com . 2016.  Web. 

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper

According to Dictionary.com the definition of symbolism is; the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In the short story, many items in the house hold a symbolic meaning to history. One of the most obvious items in the story that is symbolic is, the bed in the room the narrator stays in. Gilman introduces the bed with this line,"I lie here on this great immovable bed- it is nailed down." The bed being nailed down is one of the many metaphors throughout the story for women being segregated."Women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere."Tells Kathryn Hughes. During the Victorian Era, women were treated as described above, slaves in their own home. Around the time Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, the feminism movement was just beginning. Anytime women tried to stand up for themselves and fight for equality, their ideas were squashed. Not only by their spouses, but by society. They were, like Gilman described, nailed down to their thought to be place in the world,the house. Another very symbolic object in the house is: the wallpaper. This wallpaper once described by Gilman as, "...repellant, almost revolting..." Eventually turns to,"I've got out at last...so you can't put me back!" This symbolizes how many women after being suppressed and ignored, had many mental issues. For the narrators case, she received what can only be described as craziness. Charlotte P. Gilman received what we can now conclude as, post-partum depression. The story Gilman wrote will be known as a symbolic piece of inequality, for many centuries to come. 

Works cited: Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. Boston. Small and Mayard,1899.Print 

Hughes, Kathyrn. British Library. British Library Board. bl.uk. Web

"symbolism". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 07 Feb. 2016. Dictionary.com 

The Theme of The Yellow Wallpaper

Throughout the text, one main theme is persistently shown. That theme is confinement. All through the story, the narrator speaks of her husband John belittling her every move. "He laughs at me so about this wall-paper!" Tells the narrator of the story. The narrator's husband also tries to trick the narrator into thinking that everything she believes is all fake.An example is, "Then he took me in his arms and called me a blessed little goose..." The theme of confinement is to believed to be shown so often because in reality, that is how life was for women during the Victorian Era. Often times throughout the story, the narrator keeps things to herself and does not express her beliefs about her health to anyone but the paper she writes on. "Of course I never mention it to them any more- I am too wise..." Writes the narrator. This causes the narrator to become sneaky and very paranoid of her surroundings. Not only does the she become sneaky around her husband, but also around their housekeeper. "There comes John's sister... I must not let her find me writing." Between being belittled and paranoid, the narrator is left with but one option to occupy herself; staring at the wallpaper. In the end of the story, "I've got out at last,' said I, 'in spite of you and Jane? And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" Cries out the narrator. This ending can only lead a reader to believe that the idea of people being confined and belittled will only drive one mad.

Works Cited: Gilman, Charlotte P. The Yellow Wallpaper. Boston. Small and Mayard,1899. Print.

Link to photo of yellow wallpaper : http://b68389.medialib.glogster.com/media/be4995c4752a25ee3e324c6e03f64357e0f967013a5890b642abd7b4c837b43c/8271-full.jpg

About Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a writer and a women's rights advocate, proved that women could do anything. She was born in a time when women were prisoners in their own home. Forced into marriage and thought of as arm candy, many women lived in fear and misery. Gilman, however took a stand and caught for her voice to be heard. In her short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, she portrayed her inner demons, her husband and her psychiatric Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, through a narrator gone mad. Her story, even though castes as a work of fiction , shone a light on the truth of how horrific women were treated during the Victorian Era. The story at the time was almost deemed as unprintable but was so true that it indeed was. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was in many ways the narrator from The Yellow Wallpaper, in the flesh. "While she is best known for her fiction, Gilman was also a successful lecturer and intellectual." Claims Biography.com. Gilman was married at 24 and had a baby named Katherine. For most women, having a baby was their only accomplishment. On the contrary, Gilman only became depressed from her living situation. She like many others, endured the Rest Cure, a treatment so unintelligent, it's hard to believe people thought it worked. Later in life, Gilman divorced her husband and married her cousin, George Gilman, the love of her life. In 1935, she committed suicide. She stated "I would rather take chloroform than cancer." Even though Charlotte Perkins Gilman passed, her ideas about equality for all, will live on forever. 

Works Cited: Picture of Gilman, Charlotte P. link: https://tantor.com/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman.html 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Biography. Biography.com Editors. Biography.com. link: http://www.biography.com/people/charlotte-perkins-gilman-9311669