Jailed By Society

By Ellie Walters

The term female hysteria is rooted back in Ancient Greece and managed to remain in medical records until the 1950s. Female hysteria was thought to have been caused by the movement of the uterus, with symptoms including anxiety and several other things people did not want to think of a different reason as the cause. In modern times, it is easy to see these symptoms were likely due to the social pressures of the time and the frustration in the idea of a perfect subdued wife. In the 1890s, the case was different. Women had just started a movement of expressing their opinions and wanting voting rights publicly. Many, such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman, wrote newspaper articles and stories conveying their disdain for the mistreatment of women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman highlights this message by condemning the containment and control of women through symbolism and characterization in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

In the short story, Perkins Gilman layers many symbols to show the containment of women in the 19th century. A clear example is “The Yellow Wallpaper,” specifically the heavily described pattern. In Jane's writing, she discusses the images she sees in the design by saying, “At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be”

(Gilman 18). There are two key symbols in this quote, the bars in the wallpaper pattern and the woman's figure. Bars throughout history have been an indicator of physical confinement. Often associated with jails and cages, it is clear that the woman behind them is trapped. Through the story, it becomes further evident that the bars also represent the society that the woman, truly a reflection of Jane, is bubbled into. When describing the woman’s activities, Jane comments, “By daylight she is subdued, quiet. I fancy it is the pattern that keeps her so still” (Gilman 18). In addition, Jane mentions, “in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in the very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes them hard” (Gilman 19). A key difference in the woman's activities is when they take place. During the day and in the light, the woman is described as “subdued,” “quiet,” and “still.” In contrast, she is active at night and in the darkness and shakes the bars. Darkness and night are often associated with the subconscious and hidden, whereas light and day are what is seen and intentional. The fact that the woman is subdued in the day represents what people see and the outward presentation of women as perfect and obedient housewives. At night the woman shakes the bars, trying to escape the entrapment of society. Notably, this occurs at night in the subconscious and out of view of people. These symbols largely support the idea that 19th-century women were jailed in their society. Perkins Gilman characterizes the main character and narrator, Jane, to show women's diminished capabilities due to social control. The story of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is told from the perspective of Jane, who writes in a diary manner. At the end of one of her entries, she writes, “There comes John, and I must put this away - he hates to have me write a word” (Gilman 13). Furthermore, when discussing her sister-in-law, she relays, “I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which made me sick! But I can write when she is out” (Gilman14). Jane finds her writing to be a comfort, but many of this time would be in opposition. It is necessary that she hides her writing from her husband “hates” to have her write at all. Even women of the time would uphold the values of the repressive society. Jane’s sister-in-law characterizes the ideal women of the time as being content and compliant, distinctly different from Jane herself. This trophy wife and societal standard of a woman believe Jane’s writing is the root of her illness. Another example of societal repression is demonstrated when Jane states, “I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia. But he said I was not able to go” (Gilman 16). In this passage, Jane attempts to communicate her needs with her husband, and even though she thinks something will vastly improve her health, he says no, as it is not what he believes to be best. This is a precise moment where her opinions are invalidated, showing societal norms control her.

Through symbolism and characterization, Charlotte Perkins Gilman emphasizes her contempt for the control and containment of women in her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Though not the only voice to speak out against these things, she rose to fame and became a well-known speaker and writer. Gilman helped dismember the stigma enforced by centuries of systematic sexism. Her popularity breakthrough, which women’s activists had not seen, pushed the population towards more progressive thinking and, eventually, women's suffrage.