“The Yellow Wallpaper” - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

“The Yellow Wallpaper”

Assignment by: Natasha,

Kiran

, Caitlyn, Diana, & JessicaSlide2

Plot Summary Slide3

The story begins with a husband and wife touring through a house that is described in significant and illustrative detail. We learn that the narrator suffers from an illness involving a

nervous condition

and that her husband is a doctor who believes that maintaining a stress free and

inactive lifestyle

will cure her. She is therefore banned from writing, which she feels would act as an outlet for her anxiety and resolves to continue anyway. In a

secret journal

, the narrator begins a description of the house that revolves around a nursery that she sleeps in, with apparently

disturbing yellow wallpaper.

Her life begins to revolve around the wallpaper where she begins to see the images of

creeping

women trying to free themselves from the paper. At the end of the story, she removes the wallpaper from the room and feels as though she herself has become one of the women that she had once seen behind it. Slide4

Narration Slide5

Who is the narrator?

Narrator is the

protagonist

Young, upper-middle class, married woman

New mother

Surrounding characters indicate that she is going through post-partum depression Slide6

What type of narration is used?

First-person narrative

The story revolves around the protagonist Slide7

This story is

semi-autobiographical

. The text reveals that the narrator is thought to be in a state of depression by her husband and other family members. It also reveals that she is

highly expressive

through her

personal diary

, which dissociates her from reality. She keeps her thoughts secret most of time because of her husband expects her to stay in her room and sleep all the time. As the story progresses, her fascination with the yellow wallpaper grows and she relates herself more and more to the woman in the wallpaper.  The reader could or could not trust the narrator depending whether you believe she is in a state of depression and hysteria or not.  If the narrative were from a different view, the reader would not understand the women’s thought and reasoning because she is so secretive about it. We would think of her as in a critical state of depression and crazy.

Narration: Other

F

acts Slide8

Themes: Significance of Self-Expression Slide9

The

mental constraints

forcefully placed upon the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” are ultimately what drive her insane.  Throughout the story, the narrator continuously pretends to hide her anxieties and fears in order for her husband to believe she fighting against her depression. She is unable to move around (not allowed to visit her relatives) due to the “resting cure” prescribed to her. Additionally, the narrator is unable to write, as it entails using her imagination, which her husband fears will run away with her. It becomes evident that the narrator’s insanity is a product of the repression of her imaginative power, not the expression of it. For example, she keeps a secret journal, explaining it provides a “relief” to her mind. In the end, the narrator is liberated and is finally able to express herself.Slide10

School and Tradition Slide11

The

author’s work is of interest to

gender critics

, particularly

poststructuralist feminists

, as her

writing display the roles of women in 19th century American society. This pertains to the examination of the social construction of gender and power dynamics between gender difference/inequality. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, gender roles are made clear throughout the story. For example, her husband is the final decision maker while the narrator’s role is to be a wife and a competent mother. Additionally, John treats her like a child, calling her “blessed little goose” and does not allow her to visit relatives. Slide12

Symbols AnalysisSlide13

Yellow wallpaper

- the plight of women who are struggling to

free

themselves from

societal expectation and limits

Door

- barrier between men and women in societyPlantain- the enslavement of women to a male dominated society where they have no real choice or freedom Key- a source of escapeRope

-

freedom of choice

, whether it is to leave the confinement of her room or end her own life, the rope represents her ability to make her own decisions

Bed

- the

stagnation

of

women’s rights

, their inability to move forward as long as they remain at home with men in complete

controlSlide14

Characters Slide15

Main character: Narrator

The narrator is a newly married mother who is undergoing care for depression. She has been very imaginative

and

as she loses touch with the outside world, she turns her imagination onto the house and the wallpaper in order to distract herself from her frustration. Her frustration stems from being locked up in the house and forced to undergo a treatment that she does not believe will help her

.

Secondary character: John

Physician and husband of the narrator. He’s a practical man who prefers fact and figures, and forbids his wife to use her imagination. He is trying to help her with this treatment - his intentions aren’t to hurt her. He exerts great authority over the narrator, as was consistent with the time.Slide16

Setting Slide17

The story takes place entirely in a country house, more specifically in the nursery. Takes place in the

1800’s

when it was acceptable to put your wife under a treatment like this.

A certain

darkness

looms over the nursery setting – it is very

somber. The setting drives the plot and the narrators obsessions and downward spiral into a darker place.Slide18

Style & Tone Slide19

Style:

Gilman uses a diary entry style of writing which enhances the main character’s oppression by her husband which relates to the role of women in 19

th

century American society.

Tone:

The narrator expresses an intense, hysterical and fast-pace tone in paradox to the quiet, large and empty room that she is in for most of the story. The tone is created and developed through the narrator’s thoughts because of the strict first person narration. Slide20

Happy studying

