CRITICAL STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE SHORT STORY THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

Abstract

This research utilizes Critical Stylistic Analysis (CSA) by Lesley Jeffries to investigate the theme of gender oppression, in Charlotte Perkins Gilmans "The Yellow Wallpaper." The story depicts a woman descent into madness as a result of her confinement and lack of activity providing a commentary on the systems that shape and confine female identity and independence. Through Critical Stylistic Analysis, the study dissects the elements of the text such as naming, presenting actions/events/states and modality to uncover how the protagonist’s mental decline is not an individual tragedy but a product of systemic gender oppression. The analysis emphasizes the language used by characters particularly the protagonist’s husband, whose medical dominance and condescending speech exemplify social norms that oppress women. Additionally, it shows how the wallpaper symbolizes women’s surveillance presented in the text mirror the protagonist’s quest for autonomy and self-expression. The results show that Gilman effectively critiques the social norms where women were controlled and silenced through narrative techniques and symbolic imagery.