"The Yellow Wallpaper"

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

(1860-1935)

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was the second child of Frederic Beecher Perkins - nephew of
Harriet Beecher Stowe - and Mary A. Fitch. Shortly after her birth, Perkins abandoned his
family, and Gilman's mother was left to support her two children.

As a young woman Gilman earned a living as a governess, art teacher and greeting-card
designer. In 1884 Gilman married an artist named Charles Stetson and shortly after gave
birth to their daughter Katharine. Suffering from what was most likely postpartum
depression, Gilman followed her husband's suggestion and consulted the famous physician
S. Weir Mitchell, author of Lectures on the Diseases of the Nervous System, Especially in
Women (1881). Mitchell prescribed his renowned Rest Cure, which essentially advised
Gilman and women like her to live "as domestic a life as far possible, to "have but two hours
intellectual life a day," and "never to touch a pen, brush, or pencil again" as long as she
lives, according to Gilman's essay Why I Wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper." Gilman followed
this advice and came near "mental ruin," she said. It wasn't until she began to work again
that she started to get well. "The Yellow Wallpaper," published in 1892, is Gilman's semi-
autobiographical account of the disastrous effects of Mitchell's "cure."

Discussion Questions

1. When "The Yellow Wallpaper" first came out, the public didn't quite understand the
message. The piece was treated as a horror story. Recognizing that this story was
an indictment of the medical profession and the social conventions restricting
women's professional and creative opportunities, 20th century readers began to
understand "The Yellow Wallpaper" as an early feminist work. What are some of the
problems with reading "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a feminist text? For instance, can
working-class women identify with the narrator's oppression? Why or why not?
2. Although women today are no longer prescribed "rest cures," does the broader
concept of women being imprisoned by societal conventions remain relevant? Why
or why not?
3. Moving beyond reading this as a feminist text, how could this story be used as an
argument for the importance of self-expression?
4. What do you think the wallpaper and its pattern represent? What other symbols did
you find in the story?
5. Is the narrator liberated at the end of the story or has she fallen deeply into mental
illness? How could one make the case that she is liberated by her insanity?