The Yellow Wallpaper

First published in 1892 in The New England Magazine, The Yellow Wallpaper is one of the first prominent literary works of the feminist movement in the United States, paving the way for a generation of women that would dedicate their lives to gender equality. Gilman strived to remodel the roles of women in marriages, distraught by the oppression of their creativity and intellectual potential. Furthermore, the compelling story of The Yellow Wallpaper is thought to have been influenced by her own personal experiences with depression, only aggravated by the presence of her child and her husband. Referred to Dr. S. Weir Mitchell to cure her condition, she was obliged to live in a period of mental inactivity for some time, refrained from any intellectual work and forced to implicate herself more in domestic affairs. This only led her deeper into depression and pushed her to her breaking point, clutching rag dolls and crawling under beds and into closets.