The Role of Power and Gender in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)

Expanding the Roles:
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story that explores the mental and emotional deterioration of a woman prescribed the “rest cure” for her postpartum depression. The story is told through a series of journal entries, in which the narrator becomes obsessed with the wallpaper in her room. The tale explores themes of gender roles, power dynamics, and mental illness. For literature students, The Yellow Wallpaper is a powerful critique of the treatment of women and the societal norms that confine them.

• Power and Patriarchy:
  The narrator’s husband, a physician, controls her life in an attempt to “cure” her, highlighting the power dynamics that exist between men and women. Students can analyze how the story critiques patriarchal authority and the way women’s voices were silenced in the medical and social spheres.

• Mental Illness and Gendered Expectations:
  The story reflects the harmful effects of the “rest cure” and the societal belief that women were fragile and in need of control. Literature students can explore how Gilman uses the narrator’s descent into madness to comment on the damaging consequences of gendered expectations and the mistreatment of women’s mental health.

What We Learn:
The Yellow Wallpaper provides literature students with a critique of gender roles, power, and the treatment of mental illness. The story encourages readers to reflect on how societal norms can contribute to the oppression of women and the dangers of silencing women’s voices in both the personal and professional spheres.