In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman utilizes first person narration, allegory, and symbolism to demonstrate how nineteenth century domestic life trapped many women and led to limited rights. Because of this exaggerated account of Gilman’s life, she is able to express her feminist stance as she intended to save people from being driven crazy (Why I Wrote 1). Through this specific experience, “The Yellow Wallpaper” came to be, where a troubled woman undergoes a similar situation to which Gilman experienced. By following these directions, Gilman approached the threshold of utter mental ruin (Why I Wrote 1).

However, the treatment was more detrimental than beneficial. Gilman also met with a physician who diagnosed her depression, where she was given the treatment known as rest cure, a typical solution for women suffering from illnesses that were diagnosed by male doctors. This progressive movement had a heavy impact on Gilman’s writing, where nearly each one of her works carries a theme of feminism. Among these women was Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who wrote many works pertaining to the discrimination and minority of women during these times to change how people viewed women in society. Because of this ordeal, women became active feminists and social reformists in order to change their social rank in society, known as the Women’s Suffrage Movement. During the nineteenth century, women were seen as property rather than human beings with rights.

In the yellow wallpaper