32nd Annual Student Research Conference
Drugs and Gender in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper
Morgan P. Kemp
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
This paper is an exploration of the relationship between drugs and gender in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper. Gilman challenges gender normative in her short story as a way to advocate for women’s rights regarding the treatment of mental health and involvement in decisions about her own body and medical treatment. Gilman was dedicated to helping women recognize their individual potential. She used her life experiences as inspiration for her writing, which she used to expose the inequality that she felt as a wife and mother. An analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper and Gilman’s own life shows the ways in which drugs were prescribed to ostensibly help women cope with their lives but to, in effect control them.
Keywords: The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Drugs, Mental Health, Gender, Women, Early 1900s, Medical Treatment
Topic(s):English
Women's and Gender Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 105-1
Location: BH 241
Time: 8:30