Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an interesting short story published in 1892 amidst changing economic tides and new social pressures. It has been influential both as a piece of literature and as a historical document as a window into the critiques of the era’s impact on women. Please read this short story and then reflect on the following questions. Each answer should be at least a paragraph in length.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/theliteratureofprescriiption/exhibitionAssets/digitalDocs/The-Yellow-Wall-Paper.pdf
1. Who does the creeping figure in the wallpaper represent? What does this feature of the story illustrate about Gilman’s views on the era’s impact on women?
2. What exactly is the domestic ideal and true womanhood as approached by this story? By Gilman’s implications, how are feminine ideals different than masculine ideals, and how does this impact the different experience of women and men?
