THE YELLOW WALLPAPER

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

1. Psychoanalytic point of view.

2. John as a psychopath.
Psychoanalysis

The method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in

which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance
and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious
impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts.
Psychoanalytic point of view

Carl Jung

1 Carl Jung suggested that we act out

things we don’t understand.

2 Our thoughts and perception and

action are all shaped by our
unconscious motivation.

3 The lady was also driven by her

unconscious which manifested it’s
thoughts in the yellow wallpaper.
Jungian Complex

Jung believed the personal unconscious

1 was dominated by complexes. An
emotionally charged group of ideas or
images

2 The lady was probably suffering from

Jungian complex.

The Yellow wallpaper as the emotionally

3 charged idea, developed by her
unconscious as a result of repression.

4 These ideas and images also manifested in

the form of dreams and fantasies of the lady
Freud : Fantasy and Dreams

It was Freud in some sense started to

1 preach the notion that people live in the
dreams. He also suggested that there is no
substantial evidence that our dreams are
less real that the reality we live in.

2 The lady’s obsession with the yellow

wallpaper can be interpreted as her fantasy
to escape repression.

3 The implicit knowledge is made explicit in

the form of dreams and fantasies.
Freud : Fantasy and Dreams

1 The fantasy is partly the representation of

problemed space.

2 Fantasies are problem identification

mechanism with the possibility of a solution
built in.

3 Fantasy and Dream as the birth place of

fully articulated ideas and thoughts.

4 The fantasy of the lady is the collective

unconscious of women under patriarchy.
The Id & Ego

1 The narrator’s fixation on the wallpaper is

the emergence and taking over of her ID.

2 Id tendencies and primal thought as a result

of sexual repression and a potential for
aggression.

3 Narrator is so confined by oppressive

gender roles and the patriarchy (Ego)
Psychopathy

Psychopathy is traditionally a personality disorder characterized by

persistent antisocial behaviour, impaired empathy and remorse, and
bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits..
Personality traits of a psychopath
The first such list was developed by Hervey
Cleckley (1941), who is known as the first
person to describe the condition in detail.
Anyone fitting enough of these criteria
counted as a psychopath or sociopath.

1. Uncaring

2. Shallow Emotions

3. Irresponsibility

4. Insincere speech

5. Overconfidence
6. Narrowing of attention

7. Selfishness
John, The Psychopath

1. Superficial empathy.
2. Highly manipulative

3. Lacks affection

4. Uncaring and Irresponsible

5. Selfish.

6. Misplaced conscience