Connections: Historical to Society

In The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman writes in a time where woman are under men. This story is written in the time of the Woman's Rights Movement (1848-1920).  Gilman is a very education woman, and believes that she is equal to everyone else, even men. "From the very beginning she struggled with the idea of having to conform to the domestic model of women." (An Autobiography of Emotions, 2). I believe this is a historical connection. A social connection, would be that "all woman have Woman Hysteria". "Doctors of the time were not versed about the female hormonal system. All nervous systems were associated with "hysteria" a reference used for women with emotional problems." (An Autobiography for Emotions, 2). For instance, it was believed that if a woman was tired, she had a disease. But if a man was tired, he was just tired. This society was based on unfairness and in equality. Serving as the fuel of the Woman's Rights Movement fire, and many women dedicating their careers to this cause, just as Gilman did. "In the late 1800s women like Gilman were not given the opportunity to choose their career over their families, to do so that meant they had to give up one or the other. Gilman did exactly that, despite the enormous amount of controversy she created, she chose her work over her family." (An Autobiography for Emotions, 3). 

Websites:  

http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/No-Lady/Womens-Rights/

This website can be used to learn more information about the Women's Rights Movement.

http://dictionary.reference.com

I used this website to look up connection. 

Definition of catagory:

Historical connections are examples of things that happened in the past that might better understand the present and or future. 

Social connections are examples in social situations that help us understand the past, present, and future. 

A Yellow Society: Symbolism

The Yellow Wallpaper has pushed me to the max. With higher language, sub plots, and the amount of deep thinking that is needed for this story to make an ounce of sense, Charlotte Gilman is a literary genius. But I feel as though I understand. The wallpaper, symbolizes society itself. The stripes, or bars, are the "emotional and psychological restraines" society has on women. The "great many women behind, sometimes just one.." (Gilman, 9), symbolize the many women, including Gilman herself, fighting for equal rights. Even the color yellow itself could very well have a double meaning. And I believe I know what it is. Society is a coward. Have you ever heard of the old saying "yellow belly"? Well it simply means cowardly, or afraid. Now I know, this might not make sense. So let me explain my theory. Society, or the "wallpaper", is trapping the woman (Gilman) or women (the many women fighting for women's rights) with the "stripes" on the wallpaper or "bars" on the windows of the house and Janes own bed. Society, "the wallpaper" is yellow, or "cowardly" to the idea of women's rights because maybe, women will over power the men. Or for some odd reason, this change is just not excepted. Society is afraid of change; "Yellow Wallpaper". Gilman becomes obsessed with the wallpaper, society. She does not want John to take her wallpaper away. She does not want anyone else to figure it out. "I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself!" (Gilman, 8). Could this mean Gilman did not want anyone else to help women gain rights but herself? "Her only fear was that she would not accomplish her lifetimes work." (An Autobiography of Emotions, 4). Nearing the end of the story, she tears the stripes out, "freeing the woman(en)". Could Gilman be saying through symbolism that tearing down the wallpaper is like abolishing the sexist bases of society in that time to say that one day women will be "free"? 

http://dictionary.reference.com

This website was used to find out meanings for: abolish, symbolism, and sexism. 

http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/WIC/Historical-Essays/No-Lady/Womens-Rights/

This website can be used to learn more information about the Women's Rights Movement. 

Definition:

Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Symbols are objects that represent, stand for, or suggest an idea, belief, or action. 

Jane: Protagonist , or Antagonist?

There are many sub plots in The Yellow Wallpaper. This piece seems like a story, with little stories woven Into The text, that only the most advanced and or out of box thinkers could understand. The Yellow Wallpaper is a piece that lets the imagination wonder and sort of lets the reader make up the story plot as you get deeper into the story. With all of this in mind, I have come to conclude, that Jane, or "Gilman" is both the protagonist and antagonist. It would seem like Jane has a split personality, and does things she does not remember. This "smell" she talks about might very well be the wallpaper. Or is it? Is it her own self? Is it a symbol of her mind decaying? Or that she soon will be? She talks about the smell "in her hair; creeping all over the house; the yellow smell" (Gilman, 8) She soon becomes addicted to the wallpaper, and gets the yellow on her. Meaning she was pressed against the paper. Could she have wanted to get so close to this wallpaper to perhaps, become the wallpaper itself? For instance, she talks about a line all around the room. "There is a funny mark on the wall, low down, near the mop board. A streak that runs around the room..I wonder how it was done and who did it, and what they did it for. Round and round and round --round and round and round-- it makes me very dizzy" (Gilman, 8-9) It is very plausible that Gilman herself could have made those marks. Her mind seems to be a rollar coaster of bipolarism and confusion. One day she likes the house, the room, her husband, and the wallpaper. The next, she cannot stand all of them. Gilman, or her mind in that case, seem to be her own worst enemy, and her own salvation. 

Websites:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/neurological_institute/center-for-behavorial-health/disease-conditions/hic-dissociative-identity-disorder.aspx 

This website is informative on split personality disorders. 

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml

This website gives a clear definition on bipolar disorder and possible causes, as well as information on the illness. 

Definition:

Protagonist is the leading or one of the major character(s) in a drama, movie, novel, or text. 

Antagonist is a character or a group of characters that opposes the protagonist(s) in a drama, movie, novel, or text. 

The Message of The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper was writen in a time where woman were not equal to men by any means. "The ideal woman was not only assigned a social role that locked her into her home, but she was also expected to like it to be cheerful and gay, smiling and good humored." (A Autobiography of Emotions, 1). This piece of literature was a glimpse into the "sick and twisted" mind of a woman who was not taken seriously by people, especially her husband. It would seem that her husband John, in the story, would often make fun of her and talk down to her. "John laughs at me, of coarse, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman, 1). She was deemed mentally unstable, with a woman disease. The theme of The Yellow Wallpaper is that woman were unequal to men, and not taken seriously because of gender and sometimes their "sickness". Charlotte Gilman was believed to have post pardom depression after the birth of her daughter and a nervous disorder. At the time it was believed that the cause of this was her frequent writing. She was told to "live as domestic a life as possible and never touch a pen, brush, or pencil as long as you live" ( An Autobigrahpy of Emotions, 3) and that would fix her issues. Her husband treated her very child like, "He took me in his arms and called me a blessed little goose" (Gilman, 2) and isolated her to an attic-like bedroom in the top floor of their rented house, which was once a children's mental hospital. "No wonder children hated it!" "Up in this atrocious nursery" (Gilman, 2).

Websites:

http://dictionary.reference.com 

I used this website to look up "Atrocious".

https://www.kidspeace.org/childrenshospital.aspx?ekmensel=77931891_50_60_938_1

I used this website to learn a bit more about children sanitariums. 

Definition:

Theme is the central topic of a text or the moral/ important message of a story (text).

Who Is Charlotte Perkins Gilman? (Background)

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born July 3, 1860 in Hartford Connecticut. She grew to be an educated woman, in the times when woman weren't respected as men were. She believed woman should have equal rights. "Gilman grew up with the knowledge that she had the right to be treated the same as anyone, man or woman, and was just as capable in her work and in her personal life" (An Autobiography for Emotions, p2) But,she was not the only one in her family who had the same beliefs she did. "Gilman comes from a long list of freedom fighters for woman's rights;without having this type of influence throughout her life she would have never become the free thinker and advocate that she is famous for today" (An Autobiography of Emotions, p1) As brilliant and strong willed as she was, she also had a long string of mental issues in her family. This could arguably be her state in writing the Yellow Wallpaper, "mentally unstable". Unfortunatly in the end, Gilman could not take such phycological pain, unstableness, and tortute. She ended her own life by "huffing chloroform" at the age of 75. Her legacy lives on to this day with the fight for woman's rights. The Yellow Wallpaper continues to give us a glimpse into the emotional and pshycologically restraining societies women lived in back then. 

Websites (for extra information) :

http://www.biography.com/people/charlotte-perkins-gilman-9311669 

This website will tell you more background of Charlotte Gilman. 

http://archive.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/gilman.html

This website will show you some of Charlottes works, while giving some background information. 

Definition:

Background is some information about something that better helps you understand it. 

(For example background about a person might be their date of birth, birth place, childhood ext.)