Charlotte Perkins Gilman story "The Yellow Wallpaper," was published in 1892, two years before Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour." These two stories deal with the position of women in the late 1800's. This era is especially interesting because women were still treated as second-class citizens. I will try to make their themes apparent by examining a brief summary of their stories, relate them to their authors" personal life stories, and show their similarities. .
In Chopin's "Story of an Hour", we are told that Louise has a bad heart condition. A friend of the family has discovered that there was a bad accident at her husband's job and he is on the deceased list. Louise's sister carefully tells her this shocking news; however, instead of falling apart, Louise finds herself feeling as if she has a new lease on life because she will finally be able to live for herself. Suddenly, her husband walks in the door, and shocked, Louise drops dead of a heart attack. The physician says it was from "a joy that kills" (Bedford 11-13).
In "The Yellow Wallpaper", the main character is attempting to heal from a nervous disorder. Her husband who is a physician does not allow her to do anything: no housekeeping, no writing, and no visiting with family or friends. Her husband also insists that she has to stay in a room upstairs where everything, including the wallpaper make her eventually go insane. (Wallpaper).
Both Chopin and Gilman wrote these stories based on real events in their lives. Kate Chopin's mother lost her husband to a railroad accident at a young age and Kate lost her husband to illness at a young age as well. Similarly, Gilman drew on a powerful event in her life. She suffered from a "severe and continuos nervous breakdown tending to melancholia" (Gilman's article). A famous physician prescribed the "rest cure" which she claims nearly drove her insane. She wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a way of protesting his methods.
