Literary Criticism of The Yellow Wallpaper by Gilman

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Plot Summary
Applied Theory
Discussion
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

A piece of writing will always leave its author’s mark. Every piece of literature exposes something fundamentally important about the author. Some literary works, meanwhile, are regarded as autobiographical portraits of their writers. The Yellow Wallpaper, a short novella by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, has a striking similarity to her own life. There are many parallels between Gilman’s life and that of the story’s main character. Therefore, it is clear that Charlotte’s cognitive patterns are reflected in every idea the story’s protagonist has. There are various ways to analyze this tale, but psychoanalysis seems to be a significant option in this vein. Using psychoanalytic concepts in general and defensive mechanisms in particular, the discussion below aims to examine the parallels between Gilman and the main character in the mentioned novel.

Plot Summary

The Yellow Wallpaper is a first-person narrative – the whole tale is recounted by a lady who has just given birth. She experiences postpartum depression. For her rehabilitation, the family has leased and relocated into a colonial home. John, her husband, is a physician, but he has placed her on a relaxation cure. He had requested that she do nothing but rest. She is not actually permitted to write or interact with others (Gilman 648). Her living space is decorated with yellow wallpaper; the latter immediately repels her. Due to her isolation, she becomes obsessed with this wallpaper. She starts to inspect its patterns with great care. She gets bored in the outside world over time. She is always glancing at the wallpaper and realizes that the design conceals a shadow.

She says nothing about the wallpaper’s shifting patterns and the appearance of a shadow underneath them. Eventually, this shadow appears in the form of a lady. The wallpaper’s shifting patterns and the woman’s shadow are her delusions (Gilman 655). When she is isolated in the room, she notices a shadow emerging from the wallpaper and creeping over the walls and floor. Because of the wallpaper and the woman’s shadow, she senses that her life is becoming fascinating. She starts to crawl inside the room as she gets so preoccupied with the shadow. She believes that woman’s shadow is attempting to get independence. She believes that by removing the wallpaper, she can release the lady. Therefore, she removes the wallpaper and confines herself in the room. When her husband catches her doing it, she informs him that she has escaped and acquired independence.

Applied Theory

Psychologically speaking, psychoanalytic theory is a method for treating personality disorders. It was used to examine the unconscious portion of the human mind. Through a comprehensive exploration of a patient’s unconscious, suppressed thoughts and feelings might be alleviated. Dreams disclose the unconscious portion of the mind, and every individual and item in a dream has a symbolic meaning. The same holds true for literature; there are no straightforward assertions in literary works. In fiction, poetry, and drama, the author never speaks directly. It may be concluded that a text also reflects the author’s unconscious thoughts. By analyzing the letters, symbols, pictures, metaphors, etc., one may grasp the author’s inner self. Thus, this is how a connection between the psychoanalytic concept and literature is established.

Discussion

Repression is the first shared characteristic between the protagonist and the author. Repression refers to the mechanisms that assist one in ignoring unfulfilled aspirations and unsolved issues. However, suppressed desires do exist and manifest in mind, although in a different manner. In this instance, the symptom is the thought that arises in the patient. It is the replacement for what was suppressed (Tabla et al. 2). The physician advised Gilman to stop fantasizing and writing; it was a severe hit to her creative abilities. It was more harmful than beneficial. The intensity of suppression forced her to need to write out of her unconscious, and she thereafter became insufferable to others. Therefore, the shadow lady represents the author’s suppressed desires and wishes.

It can be noticed that there is the same fury and disillusionment in the heroine when John forbids her to even write in her journal. She followed his advice, but her emotional and physical health worsened as a result. The protagonist likewise experiences the same circumstance as Charlotte. Therefore, the shadow lady is likewise a manifestation of the protagonist’s repressed desires (Manzoor et al. 1062). Condensation is another similarity between the protagonist and the author. Multiple personalities, ideas, images, and events are merged into a single vision, according to Freud. Therefore, this picture represents condensation. It is also possible to say that condense is a stage in which two distinct desires will converge. The shadow lady is thus a compressed picture. Gilman was prohibited from pursuing her literary love. She was constrained by her spouse and a male physician and instructed to rest as much as possible and avoid socializing. Therefore, one might infer that there were two forms of restriction: cognitive and societal.

A similar circumstance occurs throughout the narrative. The heroine was prohibited from engaging in any intellectual endeavor or social interaction as the shadow lady was a condensed representation of the protagonist’s unconscious in the novel. This narrative and the female’s shadow are also a compressed representation of Gilman’s unconscious. Her incapacity to write was symbolized by the entangled shadow figure. She was also a feminist, and the shadow lady caught in the wallpaper represented women’s dependence.

In regard to the protagonist and the author, sublimation is also evident. In sublimation, suppressed desires are given a new form. The suppressed desires might be of any sort, including feelings of envy, anger, sadness, and sexual urges (Manzoor et al. 1066). These ideas and emotions are forced into the unconscious by repressive forces. However, these suppressed ideas reappear in a new form after being transformed. This new and distinct form is known as sublimation. Freud has specifically highlighted the conscious reappearance of suppressed sexual urges. They adopt a form that has nothing to do with sexual behavior. However, these suppressed sexual cravings are the root of this picture.

The piece of writing and the shadow lady might be seen as the manifestation of Gilman’s suppressed desires. These desires may be sexual or nonsexual. Gilman’s first marriage was in 1884, and she divorced her husband the following year. This tale was composed in 1892 (Tabla et al. 4). Therefore, we might presume that sexual urges were suppressed via the role and the shadow lady. While the suppressed desires to write may have resurfaced in the guise of the shadow lady in the narrative. The suppressed desires for independence in a society dominated by men were likewise sublimated in the shape of that woman’s shadow.

The situation of the narrative’s protagonist is the same; her suppressed desire to write and live a life free of masculine guidance manifested itself as the shadow of a woman. She attempted to adhere to her husband’s and the doctor’s directions. By means of suppression, she forced all of her desires into unconsciousness. However, via transformation and sublimation, these energies returned to her awareness as a shadow lady. Furthermore, there is no indication of a physical relationship between the heroine and her spouse. She said in the narrative, “Yet I cannot be with him because it makes me so anxious.” Therefore, one might argue that the protagonist shoved unfulfilled sexual impulses back into the unconscious (Manzoor et al. 1064). However, these desires returned to her awareness through the shadow lady.

Another similarity between Gilman and the protagonist of the narrative is projection. Projection is the attribution of unconscious conduct to another individual. It is important to realize that we are discussing the attribution of unconscious action here. We are not considering the substitution of one person or item for another. Therefore, the noteworthy aspects of this situation include unconscious conduct that is attributed to someone else.

It indicates that a person is anxious about something but is not aware of it or the worry that exists in their unconscious psyche. However, they assert that others are anxious when they may not be. Therefore, Gilman’s assertion that others are anxious is a projection of her own concern. The captivity of the shadowy figure behind the pattern represents Gilman’s confinement in the chamber during her rest treatment. Her conduct of anguish and despair was shown by her attempts to escape these patterns and her creeping about the room.

She addressed their plights and stressed the advancement of women in her writings. Gilman’s conduct of sadness and suffering might also be ascribed to the protagonist. She poured her physical and emotional suffering onto the main character. Regarding the heroine and the shadow lady, everything is crystal apparent. The shadow lady is the protagonist’s mental projection. She transferred her feelings of helplessness, reliance, and intellectual aridity onto the shadow lady.

Conclusion

The above discussion applies the fundamental concepts of psychoanalytic criticism to The Yellow Wallpaper. It was proved that certain mental conditions inherent to the protagonist are connected with the author as well. Through the lens of psychoanalysis, the novel was interpreted as Gilman’s reflection of herself.

Works Cited

Gilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892. Web.

Manzoor, Mohsin et al. “The Yellow Wallpaper: A Psychoanalytical Parallelism Between Character and Author.” Palarch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, vol. 19, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1059–1068.

Tabla, Myette et al. “A Psychoanalytic Study of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper.” International Journal of Modern Developments in Engineering and Science, vol. 1, no. 12, 2022, pp. 1–7.

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