Early Stream of Consciousness and Feminism in Fiction

Which of the narrator's statements suggest her viewpoint about women's roles in society? Check the three boxes that apply.

"John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage." "I MUST say what I feel and think in some way - it is such a relief!" "Of course it is only nervousness. It does weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way!"

How does Gilman's reasoning reflect her reaction to the social context in which she lived and wrote?

Gilman was challenging the status quo, as many early feminists did.

So now she is gone, and the servants are gone, and the things are gone, and there is nothing left but that great bedstead nailed down, with the canvas mattress we found on it. We shall sleep downstairs to-night, and take the boat home to-morrow. I quite enjoy the room, now it is bare again. How those children did tear about here! This bedstead is fairly gnawed! But I must get to work. I have locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path. I don't want to go out, and I don't want to have anybody come in, till John comes. I want to astonish him. I've got a rope up here that even Jennie did not find. If that woman does get out, and tries to get away, I can tie her! But I forgot I could not reach far without anything to stand on! This bed will NOT move! -"The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman What conclusion can you draw about the author's use of stream of consciousness?

It draws the reader into the experience of sliding into madness.

How does this effect support the narrator's viewpoint?

It supports the viewpoint that "rest cures" could be ineffective and even dangerous.

Which statements describe the general viewpoint of the narrator as it relates to her social context? Check the two boxes that apply.

She accepts society's expectations but unconsciously questions them. She feels alienated from those closest to her.

Which of the following statements describe gothic elements in "The Yellow Wallpaper" that reflect social attitudes? Check the three boxes that apply.

The image of the woman behind the bars suggests the theme of male expectations as a prison from which she cannot escape. The husband's treatment of his wife is based on the assumption that she is weak and frail, like a damsel in distress. The "cure" prescribed by the male doctor causes, rather than cures, the narrator's mental problems.

What effect does the unreliable narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper" have on the reader?

The reader realizes that the narrator isn't receiving the medical attention she needs.

I lie here on this great immovable bed - it is nailed down, I believe - and follow that pattern about by the hour. It is as good as gymnastics, I assure you. I start, we'll say, at the bottom, down in the corner over there where it has not been touched, and I determine for the thousandth time that I WILL follow that pointless pattern to some sort of a conclusion. I know a little of the principle of design, and I know this thing was not arranged on any laws of radiation, or alternation, or repetition, or symmetry, or anything else that I ever heard of. -"The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman What does the narrator's description of the wallpaper reveal about the social context of the story?

the narrator's feeling that her life is repetitive and meaningless

Based on the article you just read, what was Gilman's reason for writing "The Yellow Wallpaper"?

to help women avoid the fate she experienced

Which of the following describe Charlotte Perkins Gilman's purposes, or reasons why she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper"? Check the three boxes that apply.

to inform readers about the effects of society's expectations on a person's mental health to describe life as a woman in this time period and help the reader connect to the experience to persuade others of the dangers of medical treatment that do not take a patient's wants or needs into account