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An Introduction to “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Man. Woman. But….through time:. If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things. Plato (427 BC - 347 BC). But….through time:. For most of history, Anonymous was a woman. - Virginia Woolf. But….through time:.
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Man Woman
But….through time: If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things. Plato (427 BC - 347 BC)
But….through time: For most of history, Anonymous was a woman. - Virginia Woolf
But….through time: Male and female represent the two sides of the great radical dualism. But in fact they are perpetually passing into one another. Fluid hardens to solid, solid rushes to fluid. There is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman. Margaret Fuller (1810 - 1850), Woman in the Nineteenth Century, 1845
But….through time: Women upset everything. When you let them into your life, you find that the woman is driving at one thing and you're driving at another. George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)
But….through time: Funny business, a woman's career: the things you drop on the way up the ladder so you can move faster. You forget you'll need them again when you get back to being a woman. It's one career all females have in common, whether we like it or not: being a woman. Sooner or later, we've got to work at it, no matter how many other careers we've had or wanted. Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909 - 1993), in All About Eve
But….through time: What Women Want: To be loved, to be listened to, to be desired, to be respected, to be needed, to be trusted, and sometimes, just to be held. What Men Want: Tickets for the world series. ~ Dave Barry
"Every kind of creature is developed by the exercise of its functions. If denied the exercise of its functions, it can not develop in the fullest degree."—Charlotte Perkins Stetson (Gilman)
My son-thou wilt dream the world is fair, And thy spirit will sigh to roam, And thou must go;-but never, when there, Forget the light of home. Sara J. Hale longest editor of Godey's Lady's Book and author of nineteenth century advice books for women
A Modern Belle, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 6 (April 1853), p. 707 [from the "Editor's Drawer" section. "She sits in a fashionable parlor, And rocks in her easy chair; She is clad in silks and satins, And jewels are in her hair; She winks, and giggles, and simpers, And simpers, and giggles, and winks, And though she talks but little, 'Tis a good deal more than she thinks. "She lies a-bed in the morning, Till nearly the hour of noon, Then comes down snapping and snarling, Because she was called so soon. Her hair is still in papers, Her cheeks still 'fresh' with paint; Remains of her last night's blushes, Before she intended to faint!
A Modern Belle, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 6 (April 1853), p. 707 [from the "Editor's Drawer" section. She dotes upon men unshaven, And men with 'flowing hair;' She's eloquent over mustaches, They give such a foreign air! She talks of Italian music, And falls in love with the moon, And if a mouse were to meet her, She would sink away in a swoon. Her feet are so very little, Her hands are so very white, Her jewels so very heavy, And her head so very light; Her color is made of cosmetics, (Though this she will never own;) Her body's made mostly of cotton, Her heart is made wholly of stone.
A Modern Belle, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 6 (April 1853), p. 707 [from the "Editor's Drawer" section. She falls in love with a fellow, Who swells with a foreign air; He marries her for her money, She marries him for his -- hair! 'One of the very best matches' Both are well mated in life; She's got a fool for her husband He's got a fool for a wife."
A Woman's Qualities • The accepted reasoning was that the career for women was marriage. • To get ready for courtship and marriage a girl was groomed like a racehorse. • In addition to being able to sing, play an instrument and speak a little French or Italian . . . • The qualities a young Victorian gentlewoman needed, were to be innocent, virtuous, biddable, dutiful and be ignorant of intellectual opinion.
Whether married or single all women were expected to be. . . • weak and helpless, • a fragile delicate flower incapable of making decisions beyond selecting the menu and ensuring her many children were taught moral values. • ensure that the home was a place of comfort for her husband and family from the stresses of Industrial society.
A woman was to . . . • bear a large family and maintain a smooth family atmosphere where a man need not bother himself about domestic matters. • He assumed his house would run smoothly so he could get on with making money.
Social Differences Between Classes of Women The Rich: A wealthy wife was supposed to spend her time reading, sewing, receiving guests, going visiting, letter writing, seeing to the servants and dressing for the part as her husband's social representative.
The Rich: A wealthy woman's day was governed by etiquette rules that encumbered her with up to six wardrobe changes a day and the needs varied over three seasons a year. A lady changed through a wide range of clothing as occasion dictated.
The Rich: There was morning and mourning dress, walking dress, town dress, visiting dress, receiving visitors dress, traveling dress, shooting dress, golf dress, seaside dress, races dress, concert dress, opera dress, dinner and ball dress.
BASIC SOCIAL RULES FOR LADIES • ALWAYS • Graciously accept gentlemanly offers of assistance • Wear gloves on the street, at church & other formal occasions, except when eating or drinking • NEVER • Refer to another adult by his or her first name in public • Grab your hoops or lift your skirts higher than is absolutely necessary to go up stairs • Lift your skirts up onto a chair or stool, etc. • Sit with your legs crossed (except at the ankles if necessary for comfort or habit) • Lift your skirts up onto the seat of your chair when sitting down (Wait for, or if necessary, ask for assistance when sitting down at a table or on a small light chair) • Speak in a loud, coarse voice • But wait . . . .
BASIC There are still rules for . . . • Ballroom Dancing • The Dining Room • Conversation • Funerals • Christenings • Neighborhood Customs • Introductions • Formal Correspondence • Clubs and Club Etiquette • Traveling Etiquette • The Clothes of a Lady • Telephoning, Smoking, and Out-In-Company manners . . . .
Guys treated the ladies like precious little flowers . . . • BASIC SOCIAL RULES FOR GENTLEMEN • Stand up when a lady enters a room • Stand up when a lady stands • Leave a lady you know unattended, except with permission • Offer a lady your seat if no others are available • Assist a lady with her chair when she sits down or stands, especially when at a table or when the chairs are small and light • Retrieve dropped items for a lady • Open doors for a lady • Help a lady with her coat, cloak, shawl, etc. • Offer to bring a lady refreshments if they are available • Offer your arm to escort a lady (with whom you are acquainted) into or out of a building or a room at all social events, and whenever walking on uneven ground • Remove your hat when entering a building • Lift your hat to a lady when she greets you in public (Merely touching the brim or a slight "tip" of the hat was very rude)
“The Yellow Wallpaper” Active Reading Chart No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness. - Aristotle Be detailed in your responses! Important: Make sure you pay particular attention to the way the voice changes throughout the piece. Also, there will be a quiz over the short story on Monday, so make sure you read it carefully! Even More Important: You must have “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Why I Wrote ‘They Yellow Wallpaper’” read by tomorrow! The Active Reading Chart is due on Monday, the quiz over the reading is on Monday, but the readings are due tomorrow!
“It [“The Yellow Wallpaper”] was not intended to drive people crazy, but to save people from being driven crazy, and it worked.” - CPG
Question 1 • How is the female narrator different from her husband? What kind of relationship do they have as husband and wife? Most probably, the wife is suffering from postpartum depression. How does her physician-husband (John) try to cure her? Does the wife agree with the treatment?
Question 2 • The following is the treatment the author Gilman received from her doctor when she suffered from depression. Is it similar to that of the narrator's husband? "Live as domestic a life as possible, Have your child with you all the time. Lie down an hour after each meal. Have but two hours intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as you live."
Question 3 • The story is highly symbolic, and its development is in the changes in the woman's attitudes toward the other people and in her views about the yellow wallpaper. Can you describe this process? For instance, how does the woman feel about John at each stage (e.g. respectful, guilty, distanced, etc.)? And how does she feels about the wallpaper--like? dislike? and what does it represent for her? (Think carefully of the changes in the descriptions of the wallpaper)
Question 4 • Considering the unequal relationship between the husband and the wife, what can the wallpaper, the creeping woman and the narrator's madness be symbolic of?
The ideal of womanhood had essentially four parts--four characteristics any good and proper young woman should cultivate: The Cult of Domesticity
Ideal Number One: Piety Nineteenth-century Americans believed that women had a particular propensity for religion. The modern young woman of the 1820s and 1830s was thought of as a new Eve working with God to bring the world out of sin through her suffering, through her pure, and passionless love.
Ideal Number Two: Purity Female purity was also highly revered. Without sexual purity, a woman was no woman, but rather a lower form of being, a "fallen woman," unworthy of the love of her sex and unfit for their company. To contemplate the loss of one's purity brought tears and hysteria to young women.
Ideal Number Three: Submissiveness This was perhaps the most feminine of virtues. Men were supposed to be religious, although not generally. Men were supposed to be pure, although one could really not expect it. But men never supposed to be submissive. Men were to be movers, and doers--the actors in life. Women were to be passive bystanders, submitting to fate, to duty, to God, and to men. Women were warned that this was the order of things. The Young Ladies Book summarized for the unknowledgeable, the passive virtues necessary in women: "It is certain that in whatever situation of life a woman is placed from her cradle to her grave, a spirit of obedience and submission, pliability of temper, and humility of mind are required of her.“Just in case she might not get the point, female submissiveness and passivity were assured for the nineteenth century woman by the clothing she was required to wear. Tight corset lacing closed off her lungs and pinched her inner organs together. Large numbers of under garments and the weight of over dresses limited her physical mobility.
Ideal Number Four: Domesticity: Woman's place was in the home. Woman's role was to be busy at those morally uplifting tasks aimed at maintaining and fulfilling her piety and purity. Housework was deemed such an uplifting task. Godey's Ladies Book argued, "There is more to be learned about pouring out tea and coffee than most young ladies are willing to believe." Needlework and crafts were also approved activities which kept women in the home, busy about her tasks of wifely duties and childcare, keeping the home a cheerful, peaceful place which would attract men away from the evils of the outer world.
Your task? Bring the Cult of Domesticity to 2014. Update what you feel our society has set for the ideal of womanhood! The Cult of Domesticity
Before you get your task . . . How about a modernized version of “The Yellow Wallpaper” . . . .
“The YOLO Wallpaper” by Jessica Probus
If you ever get the opportunity to spend the summer in an ancestral country home as a reprieve from the anxieties of city life, you should do it. Even if you think it’s haunted. Even if it isn’t really your choice. After all, you only live once. Love like you’ve never been imprisoned by your overbearing husband. Eat like this is the last meal he will let the maid bring up to you before you have to come down and be pleasant in front of company. There are no second chances, only second-class genders. Dance like no one is watching, except the woman who is trapped behind your wallpaper pattern.
When life gives you lemons, get rid of them, quick!—they’re too close to the color of that ridiculous wallpaper. When life gives you lemonade, or the maid brings you lemonade to wash down your hourly medicine capsules, fill your chamber pot to the fullest. There’s no time like the present, and no present like a healthy bladder. When your husband is your physician you certainly don’t want to get a UTI.
When your husband closes a door he also closes the windows. The old ball and chain is getting heavier every day. You need to get out of this room. Tell your husband you want to work like you don’t need the money. If all he says is “you don’t need the money, dear” and “stop gnawing on the bedposts,” take this opportunity to get some writing done. Write like no one will ever find your journal. But make sure to write like no one is reading when no one is watching. That nosy maid is two sleeves short of a straightjacket. A journal in the hand is worth two hidden in the bush.
Take time to smell the flowers, if you can even smell them over the putrid odor of that wallpaper. At least look out the window at the beautiful garden and the sprawling lawns that you can’t get to. A friend is someone who will bail you out of your domestic prison. A husband is someone who will tell you you’re delusional and the chains are there for your own good. The grass is always greener outside of the asylum. Time waits for no one. But thyme waits for the gardener to pick it. When the gardener looks up toward your attic room, flail your arms around and call out to him for help. He has the master keys. He could let you out of here. Or at least get you a shovel or spade to scrape the god-forsaken pattern off the walls. Even if he doesn’t hear you, scream like no one is listening. Then scream because no one is listening.
Live like it’s your last day on earth before you jump out the window, if you could just get those pesky bars out of way. Otherwise you better live like it’s your last day in this country house because your husband is going to send you to an institution. Tell him you’re ready to go home. Actions speak louder than words, especially if those actions are to rearrange all the antique furniture until you are debilitated. It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have challenged the paternalistic ideals of your husband’s sham profession.
Never give up on your dreams—even if those dreams are filled with the frenetic wailings of the woman who is stuck behind the brocade bars of your wallpaper. You can sleep when you’re dead. Or you could sleep at night and spend the day plotting your escape. It’s time to Carpe Diem. Seize the day, because that’s when your husband is out tending to his patients and you can do whatever you want. Better yet, Carpe Wallpaper. No one is going to free that woman trapped in there but you. Dig your nails in. Get your hands dirty. Rip all the wallpaper down and roll around in the torn remnants on your floor. Laugh like it’s not totally demented.
If your husband comes home, breaks down the door and collapses in shock on the floor in front of you, but you’re already crawling on all fours, does anybody hear him? Don’t let his crumpled body, or anything else, get in your way. Crawl right over him and out the door to your freedom. Because YOLO.
Your task? Bring the Cult of Domesticity to 2013. Update what you feel our society has set for the ideal of womanhood, you will select -four characteristics any good and proper young woman should cultivate: The Cult of Domesticity Create a one page advertisement where you list your four new characteristics and describe how society supports this. Treat this handout as an advertisement for young women to help them understand exactly what society expects from them! Include graphics and quotes to help with your advertising appeal!
