Author’s Reaction to a Current Event: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Although women began to move upwards in the United States in the early twentieth century, and have made a significant move towards equal opportunities with the male gender, there are still many places in the world where women do not have the ability to participate freely in political affairs, or in areas that men see as “unfit” for women. One of these places is in the Middle East, or specifically, Iraq and Libya.

Raheel Raza wrote an article for the Gatestone Institute about the oppression of Middle Eastern women. She made the statement, “I attended a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in March and heard testimony about women's rights being violated across the Middle East. That women's rights continue to be usurped and that women continue to be dehumanized is a reality and a horror.” She continues in the article to elaborate on the subject; “in Syria, women have been abducted by pro-regime forces, to spread fear in the population, and there is a mass of evidence involving rape, arbitrary detention, torture, "disappearances" and summary executions.”

In Raza’s article, she quotes the charity Al-Amal’s (which stands for “hope” in Arabic) head, Hanaa Edwar, who made the statement "Iraqi women suffer marginalization and all kinds of violence, including forced marriages, divorces and harassment, as well as restrictions on their liberty, their education, their choice of clothing, and their social life."

Charlotte Perkins Gilman would undoubtedly been strongly disapproving of this. As an advocate of women’s rights, Gilman most likely would have utter abhorrence for the treatment of women in these countries. Like in previous stories, she may have even written a shocking story identifying the tragic lives and atrocities that these women are forced to succumb to. Although it is not certain as to what exactly Gilman would do in order to bring this treatment to attention, by examining her previous works and attitudes towards women’s rights more than likely she would not stand to merely sit by and watch.

Works Cited

Raza, Racheel. "Middle East: Arab Spring vs. Women's Rights."Http://www.peacewomen.org. N.p., 21 June 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. <http://www.peacewomen.org/news_article.php?id=5051&type=news>.

Literary Analysis: The Yellow Wallpaper

In 1892, the rights for women were only beginning to be recognized, but to a very small extent. The women’s movement had not come into full effect at that time, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “the Yellow Wallpaper” sought to bring attention to the unfair treatment of women that had been in effect for hundreds of years. Although many critics focus on the women’s rights aspect of the short story, there comes to part a key element that people seem to look over. Gilman seemed to suggest in her text that the fault that caused the narrator her delve into insanity was actually due to her seclusion, as well as her disability to resort to creativity as a means for coping with her severe depression.

The narrator that Gilman depicted did make reference to her husband John keeping her from her writing on several occasions. He also frowned upon her ideas of remaining social and not remaining in seclusion. Examples of this are seen in the text; in paragraph 37 she explains her husband’s disdain for her to write. “There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word.” In paragraph 63 the narrator also insinuates John’s wishes for her to remain alone. “When I get really well, John says we will ask Cousin Henry and Julia down for a long visit; but he says he would as soon put fireworks in my pillow case as to let me have those stimulating people about now...”

These paragraphs depicted her suffocating situation well. Her husband would not give her the satisfaction of being around “stimulating people” which would not have beneficial at all, but in fact would result in being detrimental to her mental well being. A stimulant, or the help or companionship of friends most definitely can help relieve a person from depression or at least uplift them for a little while. The implications that her husband was forcing her against her will were very unsubtle, and the narrator was even disapproving towards his thoughts as well as wishes at some times.

In an article written by Lauren Spiro, the director of the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery, she recounts her tale of her own experience in an environment that secluded her from society for the purposes of mental health treatment.  “What remains very painful was the personal devastation of being locked up in a mental institution, away from friends and family, at the age of 16 – a time in my life when I so desperately needed to feel that I belonged, that I mattered, that I was good. Hospitalization itself is seclusion. The agony, the torment, the torture that I experienced is something I will never forget.” Spiro continues to make the statement that the seclusion she was forced to endure actually made her condition worse. In Gilman’s story, the same went for the unnamed narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

Cases like Spiro’s were not unheard of in the 1800s as well as into the 1900s. Although the time of her treatment was nearly a hundred years after the writing of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the tortuous methods to restrain women from society were prevalent. The “Rest Cure,” developed by Silas Weir Mitchell, was a treatment designed to deal with nervous illnesses. This cure was most often prescribed to women rather than men, and even Gilman was subjected to the treatment.

The elements of the treatment basically turned the patient into a being similar to that of an infant, completely incapacitated and unable to speak or even feed themselves. Often patients were force fed and in order to maintain some muscle mass were given electroshock therapy treatments. These treatments were later described as a means to subject women to male authority, and were thought to make the patient worse rather than better by many patients as well as doctors.

The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was subjected to a form of the Rest Cure treatment, and the effects were exaggerated by her utter insanity. Gilman used this work to speak out strongly against the oppressive nature of the Rest Cure; perhaps mainly due to the suffering that she had endured herself due to the “cure.”

However, because of the narrator’s obviously creative mind, the seclusion gave her the time to let her imagination get away with her. Perhaps, she developed over time a mental disorder similar to that of schizophrenia or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Many of these disorders were not as popular or heard of during that time however so it is possible that Gilman did not have either of these in mind during the writing of the story.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story “The Yellow Wallpaper” addressed the cruelties towards women which they were subjected to during the late nineteenth century into the early twenty-first. She made the statement that the treatments that women were forced to endure were in fact, not beneficial but detrimental to their health and well being. Her short story continues to remain an important piece of work in literature that advocates women’s rights.

Works Cited

Spiro, Lauren. "The Human Impact of Seclusion and Restraint." Http://ncmhr.org. N.p., 31 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://ncmhr.org/downloads/HumanImpactOfSeclusionAndRestraint.pdf>.

"Rest Cure." Http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk. N.p., 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/restcure.aspx>.

Literary Movement: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

          “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was published in the early 1890s, during two different movements; the realism and naturalist. Although it can be debated that there is not much difference between the separate movements, “The Yellow Wallpaper” seems to fall closer to one than the other. Of the two, the feminist short story lies closer to parallel with the naturalist movement.  

The naturalist movement, beginning in the1870s and ending around the 1920s, concentrated on emphasizing that humans are unable to act according to their own free will while dwelling in a universe that uses the idea of free will as a charade. Usually these stories or novels were presented in a manner in which reality was not embellished and did not convey merely what the reader wished to read in order to maintain pleasure. Instead, the harshness of reality was depicted, often in ironic situations, and these stories were in many cases condescending or critical of society.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” does have some similarities to the realist movement, such as a very strong character with a small plot line (however due to the fact that this is a short story there was not much room for a highly developed plot) as well as a plausible story. Despite this, Gilman’s short story still seems to fall under the naturalist movement.

The narrator of the story is an ideal model for a naturalistic protagonist; one who is unable to act upon free will. After her husband John commits her to “Rest cure,” the protagonist falls under a quick decline into insanity. She is unable to act upon her small desires, such as writing or even socializing. These events are not softened in any way and the finale to the story is anything but cheerful or comforting to readers.

This short story also promoted the feminist movement, which was beginning to become more prominent in society as women began to declare their insubordination to men as unfair. The story criticized the male treatment of women, which is yet another characteristic of the naturalist movement in literature.

Works Cited

Thomas, Deborah. "The Changing Role of Womanhood: From True Woman to New Woman in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”." Http://itech.fgcu.edu. N.p., 1998. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/gilman.htm>.

Matterson, Stephen. "1890s-1920s Naturalism." Www.pbs.org. N.p., 2003. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/naturalism.html>.

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Http://public.wsu.edu. N.p., 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2012. <http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm>.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman – Biography

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in mid-nineteenth century on July 3^rd, 1860. Gilman had strong feminist influences early on for she came from a family well known for their opinions on women’s suffrage. Her great aunts, whom she would often spend time with, included Isabella Beecher Hooker, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She was raised mostly by her mother for at the young age of nine Gilman’s father, Fredrick Perkins, left his family. Charlotte, her mother, and her brother Thomas were forced to move many times during her childhood and into her late teenage years. This forced Gilman to enter the work force to help support her impoverished family.

In 1884, Charlotte married Charles Walter Stetson and fell into depression soon after. After the birth of her first child, Katharine, Gilman’s depression worsened to the point that she sought professional help. Her prolonged stay at an institution with the popular treatment known as the “rest cure,” as well as being told to never write again, was inspiration for Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Gilman published this story after she divorced Stetson in 1892, and the short story was very successful amongst the women’s suffrage groups.

Katharine was left with her father and his new wife, who was Gilman’s best friend. Charlotte was criticized by the media due to the fact that they believed she had abandoned her child. Nevertheless, Gilman continued to write despite the guilt that she felt for her decision even though she technically did not abandon Katharine. She focused on her career as a writer and eventually fell in love with her first cousin, George Houghton Gilman. He was very supportive of her writings and they were married in June of 1900.

Gilman published many works after the marriage, including the start of her magazine The Forerunner, a few novels including Herland in 1915, as well as her autobiography The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which was not published until after her death.

George died in 1934 leaving Gilman with incurable breast cancer. In 1935, Gilman took her own life explaining in a note that one had the right to choose “a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one.”

Works Cited

"Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1860-1935." Http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu. N.p., 1998. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/386/cgilman.html>.

Beekman, Mary. "Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935): Her Life and Work as a Social Scientist and Feminist." Http://www.webster.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/gilman.html>.

Fox, Jeanna. "Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935): A Brief Biography."Http://lead.csustan.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http://lead.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/gilman.html>.