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How Charlotte Perkins Gilman Uses Literary Devices to Create a Haunting Story in \"The Yellow Wallpaper\"
\"The Yellow Wallpaper\" is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, published in 1892. It tells the story of a woman who suffers from a nervous condition and is confined to a room with yellow wallpaper by her husband, who is a physician. As she spends more and more time in the room, she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper and starts to see a woman trapped behind it. She eventually loses her sanity and identifies herself with the woman in the wallpaper.
This story is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic literature and a feminist critique of the patriarchal society of the 19th century. Gilman uses various literary devices to create a powerful and disturbing effect on the reader. Some of these devices are:
Epistolary style: The story is written in the form of journal entries by the narrator, who is unnamed. This gives the reader a direct access to her thoughts and feelings, as well as her gradual descent into madness. It also creates a sense of intimacy and empathy with the narrator, as well as a sense of suspense and horror as we witness her deterioration.
Unreliable narrator: As the narrator becomes more delusional, her perception of reality becomes distorted and unreliable. She contradicts herself, misinterprets events, and confuses her imagination with reality. For example, she claims that she is getting better, while she is actually getting worse. She also believes that the wallpaper is alive and that there is a woman behind it, while it is actually a projection of her own suppressed self. The reader has to question everything she says and try to figure out what is really happening.
Irony: Gilman uses irony to highlight the contrast between appearance and reality, as well as to criticize the social norms and expectations of her time. For example, the narrator's husband, John, who is supposed to be a caring and rational doctor, is actually ignorant and oppressive. He dismisses his wife's condition as a \"slight hysterical tendency\" and treats her like a child. He also prevents her from writing, which is her only outlet and source of joy. Another example of irony is that the narrator's confinement in the room with the yellow wallpaper, which is meant to cure her, actually worsens her condition and drives her insane.
Symbolism: Gilman uses symbolism to convey deeper meanings and themes in the story. The most prominent symbol is the yellow wallpaper itself, which represents many things: the narrator's mental state, her oppression by her husband and society, her repressed creativity and individuality, and her desire for freedom and escape. The wallpaper also changes throughout the story, reflecting the narrator's changing mood and perception. For example, at first she finds it ugly and irritating, then she becomes fascinated and curious about it, then she sees patterns and figures in it, then she believes it moves and smells, and finally she tears it down to free the woman behind it.
Imagery: Gilman uses vivid and descriptive language to create a vivid picture of the setting and the characters in the reader's mind. She also uses imagery to evoke different emotions and sensations in the reader, such as disgust, fear, curiosity, sympathy, etc. For example, she describes the wallpaper as \"one of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin\", \"a smouldering unclean yellow\", \"a dull yet lurid orange\", etc. She also describes the woman in the wallpaper as \"stooping down and creeping about behind that pattern\", \"shaking it\", \"crawling\", etc.
By using these literary devices, Gilman creates a haunting story that explores the themes of madness, gender roles, creativity, freedom, and oppression. \"The Yellow Wallpaper\" is not only a gripping tale of psychological horror, but also a powerful statement of women's rights and autonomy. aa16f39245