Language, Style and Ideology: A Feminist Stylistic Perspective on Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

Abstract

The present research intents to explores “The Yellow Wallpaper” through the lens of feminist stylistics to know how through language, Charlotte Perkins Gilman has attempted to   reinforce or challenge the typical existing stereotypes that exist    in different  societies of the  world.  The study analyzes the data from the perspective of Mills’ (1995)  model of Feminist stylistics, through the use of qualitative method to the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.  The present research attempts to identify how Gilman’s use of language and word choice have implied feminist themes in her short story. The story is a critique on the gender norms and medical practices related to female gender in 19th century. The short story itself has been used as a primary data through which the researchers have conducted a close reading of the data, which revealed the impact of social limitation on women’s mental health and autonomy in patriarchal societies. It contends that most often female voices are silenced because of Man-made norms.