Teaching Feminism: The Yellow Wallpaper

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman* is one of the most interesting short feminist texts I’ve ever read (need a refresher? Check Wikipedia!).  I have a feeling several people agree, so I’d like to share with you a glimpse into my classroom and tell you how I taught this wonderful story earlier in the year.

One of the most interesting things about this text is that it was originally categorized as a horror story or Gothic text because there was no “feminist genre” in which to place it when it was originally written.  Some still see it as a horror story, thinking the women in the walls are ghosts rather than hallucinations.  Because of this, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is perfect not only for an introduction to feminism, but an introduction to reading literature from different points of view.

My intended audience is college prep sophomores in an English 2 class during a 50-minute class period.  This was the first full week of school, so I kept that in mind as I created rigorous plans, yet eased them into thinking after a long summer.

Day 1: I started class with a Bellringer (something that is on the board for the students to get started with as soon as the bell rings).  I asked them to answer these questions in a journal: Have you ever had something bother you that you just couldn’t get out of your head?  Tell me about it.  How did it make you feel? I gave them 10-15 minutes to finish this.  We then discussed their answers for about 5 minutes before transitioning into reading “The Yellow Wallpaper” aloud in class.  Since this was the first story in our short story unit, I read it aloud to them while they followed along.  We then discussed plot elements as we went along, and I assigned them a worksheet asking them to give examples from the story for plot, characters, theme, setting, etc. for homework.

Day 2: The Bellringer to start this day was on the board.  They were asked to answer the following journal question: If the story was a movie and you were working at a video store, what section would you file it under?  Explain your answer. I gave them a few minutes to answer this question in writing, then we discussed their answers.  As we talked, I explained to them the history behind the story’s categorization.  Interestingly enough, only a few students assigned this story to a “political” or “feminist” category, but when I asked if anyone wanted to change their opinion, and gave them a chance to add to their journals if this is the case, several students did so.  After collecting their journals, the students moved into their (already defined) cooperative learning groups to write about the story.  Each group was asked to answer “What does the story say about…?”, although each group was assigned a different end to that question: psychology, women, work (writing), how men see women, how the narrator sees men (her husband in particular), marriage.  They wrote their answers down as a group, pulling examples from the text to support their answers and recording quotes with page numbers, and they shared their answers with the class when everyone was finished.

So, here is a good way to teach a great story that is part of the curriculum while reviewing short story elements AND generating productive discussions about feminism in the classroom.  See?  Easy. :)

*Full Citation: Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Fiction: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R.S. Gwynn.  New York: Penguin, 2007. 86-101.

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5 replies on “Teaching Feminism: The Yellow Wallpaper”

  1. The Yellow Wallpaper was assigned in my freshmen English class whose theme was horror stories. BUT the guy who taught it was a flaming feminist. We read Frankenstein as a feminist text and many other things. He took horror stories and broke it down using feminist theory. He was also the first person to hand me a copy of Ms. I wish I knew where he was now!

  2. Pingback:Equality 101 » Blog Archive » We Still Aren’t Teaching Enough Women Writers

  3. I read Yellow wallpaper in college. It’s clearly a feminist text once you get past the first page.

    If you’re looking for modern feminist text, check out my latest book
    The Abyssarian Merchant and the Little Red Riding Hood Endings by Cupideros
    on Lulu.com and http://cupiderosbooks.com/books.html

    Cupideros

  4. lily barnes on

    I was just looking up Yellow Wallpaper since I referred to it at a recent meeting of Liberal Ladies Who Lunch here in Houston, TX. I admire your teaching approach. Teachers like you make a real difference.