A Book Review:
The Yellow Wall Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Yellow Wall Paper is a short story that portrays the state of the world back in the 18th century in terms of the place of both men and women in the society. Essentially it is the journal entries of a seemingly mentally disturbed young woman who lives with her husband as her primary care giver, one child and their house keeper. The plot of this short story uses a lot of symbolism primarily the wall paper stuck in the room where the narrator sleeps. The story is descriptive at its core and is written in old British English that is slightly hard to interpret at first but eventually the narrator creates a mental picture in the minds of the readers through symbolism and plenty of sarcasm. This analysis explores the core themes of the story, the communication strategies used by the author as well as the lessons one can derive from the plot.
Thematically, the author boldly addresses the subordination of women within the institution of marriage. The narrator’s husband lords his authority over his wife but disguises it in the form of love and affection for her seemingly fragile state. She is restricted in the use of her imagination, intellect and freedom as she is forbidden from pursuing her writing. Control is taken away from her as her husband plans all of the nitty-gritties of her daily routine. The author also addresses the vitality of self-expression by exhibiting the consequences of an idle mind especially in those who suffer from anxiety. The narrator’s mind runs wild as she is prohibited from expressing what is really going on within.
As a primary strategy, symbolism is used in the entirety of the plot to address various issues. For instance the yellow wall paper is described to have women drawn on the inside of it who eventually lose their heads trying to escape the myriad of social manipulative systems within their society. The wall paper is described as dirty, musty and with a suffocating bad smell. The narrator tries to escape it as much as possible but finds it in her clothes and in the smell of her hair. This is to represent the struggles that women endure to get from underneath the pressing thumb of patriarchy, family and medicine. The writer also dabs in verbal irony in the form of sarcasm as she often means the exact opposite of what she says. For instance, she narrates that her husband John often laughs at her mental psychosis but in the same paragraph explains to the readers just how much John loves her and cares for her. It is daunting to say the least.
As a reader one can draw a number of lessons from this plot. The targeted audience is broad as it is can be used to show the dangers of isolating mental patients in medical practice and can still be used as a core text to in the teaching of literature aimed towards advancing social agendas such as feminism and women empowerment. It can just as easily be the text studied in a regular book clubs. The diversity of target audiences is connected to the lessons that can be drawn from the text. From a personal point of view I would recommend it to friends but not as a source of entertainment but a wealth of knowledge and experience.
