English 1A03 Short Fiction Essay: The Yellow Wall-Paper

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The Yellow Wall-Paper
The Yellow Wallpaper is a short fictional story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The story was written in 1897 and is mainly about Gilman’s life and the societal stereotypes towards women at the time. In the 19th century, women had little (if any) power and men were considered superior in every way. Women were considered property and therefore, were owned and controlled by the men. An activity such as voting was only reserved for the men and women, therefore, had no say in who assumes leadership. Many stereotypes were used to vitiate women, and these stereotypes were carefully inculcated into the minds of young girls to ensure the continuity of the cycle. In some areas, women were not allowed to go to school, and this helped to keep them ignorant and oblivious to the obvious inequality. However, when women such as Simone de Beauvoir, Gloria Steinem, The Suffragettes, and Coco Chanel began to voice their displeasure at the obvious discrimination and retrogressive stereotypes, things changed. The above women among others, including Gilman pioneered feminism and fought to ensure women’s opinions counted. In The Yellow Wallpaper, some of the stereotypes against women are vividly depicted. The story not only shows how men seemed to ignore women and their views, but also how some women bought or believed in the status quo. The word wallpaper, however, seems to be repeated several times and its significance in the story is quite evident as well. The word is indeed symbolic and this article, therefore, seeks to discuss the meaningful repetition of this word and its influence in the story.
“This wallpaper has a kind of sub-pattern in a different shade, a particularly irritating one, for you can only see it in certain lights, and not then.” The line above showcases the first time the word wallpaper is mentioned, and immediately one can directly tie it or relate to the conversation regarding stereotypes against women. As already stated, stereotypes against women are used to diminish their value and worth while exaggerating on their weaknesses. However, the truth is these stereotypes are not usually obviously stated and therefore, one can only recognize them only if or when they are keen enough. The above is quite similar to how the wallpaper was because according to Gilman, one could “only see it in certain light, and not clearly then.” Additionally, there are times when sly comments can be made against women and fail to get the reaction some would expect. This could be because of various reasons, but, it would be foolish to ignore the fact that society also plays a role in driving and propagating the retrogressive stereotypes against women. As Gilman continues with her description, she mentions that she could “see a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure, that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design.” A part of Gilman was indeed aware of the stereotypes and was already revolting and resisting the society’s belief of who or what a woman entails. However, this part was still buried deep, and on page 4, it could only depict its presence and rescind.
The narrator had no support f...