"The Theme of The Yellow Wallpaper".

    

What is a theme? Theme is the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, and a person’s thoughts of a topic. It is the lesson or moral of the story. Gilman suffers from mental illness after three months of being isolated in her room by her husband, John for the sake of her health. She becomes obsessed with the room's intense yellow wallpaper. Gilman wrote this story to change people's minds about the role of women in society, showing how women's lack of self is harmful to their mental, emotional, and even physical interest. Gilman had a connection for boys, she acted like a kid. Connection for being childlike. Gilman wrote the “Yellow Wallpaper” to show how women were mistreated and didn’t have any freedom in the 1800’s. Through her creation of the “Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote an autobiography of her emotional and psychological feelings from society as a free woman. The lack of free woman had in the late 1800’s and their inability to have a career and a family. Gilman thought her mind was sinking into deadness because she thought she was equal to men, but she wasn’t. Gilman grew up with the knowledge that she had the right to be treated the same as anyone, man or woman and was just capable in her work and in her personal life (p.9). That shows you that Gilman was highly educated. In the story it says, "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." In those couple sentences he sees the bars as she is locked up. I believe she is locked up in society. Jane is fighting for freedom and her rights. I believe the bars are her head board and she shaking the bars and getting frusterated because she wants what she deserves. As we look back in the story it says, "I have watched John when he did not know I was looking, and come into my room suddently on the most innocent excuses, and I've caught him several times looking at the "yellow wallpaper"! And Jennie too. I cought Jennie with her hand on it once." What do you think is happening? Well, I think John is acknowleding that Jane hasnt been complaining about how sick she feels, so he went in her roomand checked on her. I feel like, maybe John is giving Jane more medicine to make her go crazy, so he can spend more time with Jennie. I feel like Jane got really angry at Jennie when she touched her wallaper. I believe that it is creepy that Jane saw John go in her room and John didnt see her! Is their two Janes? Is Jane a Ghost?  It says, "I dont want to leave now until I have found out." She is saying she doesnt want to fight for her rights anymore. She doesnt want freedom and she wants to stay. Wasnt she just shaking the bars trying to escape and know she wants to stay?As you can see Gilman is bipolar and she gave in. She loves the "Yellow Wallpaper" now! It says, "It is the strangest yellow, the wall-paper! It makes me think of all the yellow things I ever saw--not beautiful ones like buttercups, but old foul, bad yellow things." How many times did she use yellow in that sentence? Three times! Again Jane is in love with the "Yellow Wallpaper". As we look back it says, "It is not bad-- at first, and very gentle, but quite the subtlest, most enduring odor I ever met. I thought seriously of burning the house-- to reach the smell. But now I am used to it. The only thing I can think of that it is like the color of the paper! A yellow smell! There is a very funny mark on this wall, low down, near the mopboard. Jane finally smells the wallpaper. She is in the room so much, she can smell it! Jane is slowly sliding her face across the bottom of the floor. What do you think is happening? Is Jane decaying? Is she slowly dying? (p.8). As we continue reading we read, "Then in the very bright spots she keeps still, and in very shady spots she just takes hold of the bars and shakes trhem hard." As you casn see, Jane is sick. She was just talking about how she wants to stay and know she wants to leave. Once again Jane is fighting the bars, its like she trying to fight society and get freedom! As we look back in the 1800's women were under depression. Men thought, if they didnt have a voice they thought they were ok.

 



 

Links to sources
These sources were valuable to me because it gave me the definiton of "Theme". Also it gave me an idea of the moral of "The Yellow Wallpaper".
 http://www.gradesaver.com/the-yellow-wallpaper/study-guide/major-themes/
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/theme
 

          

 This picture shows that Gilman is obsessed with "The Yellow Wallpaper"!!!

 

Definition of Category

Gilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" to change people's mind about the role of women in society and how they were mistreated.