A Study on the Binary Opposition Structure in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Authors

  • Shuya Zhang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/r4h0bg81

Keywords:

“The Yellow Wallpaper”, binary opposition, feminism, discourse and power, spatial politics.

Abstract

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a classic work of feminist literature, which profoundly reveals the survival predicament and the awakening of subjectivity of women in the patriarchal society. This essay employs binary opposition analysis method, integrating feminism theory, discourse and power theory and space theory, to systematically deconstruct the heroine’s resistance path from four dimensions: gender power, cognitive style, existence status and spatial politics. Through the intersectional interpretation from different theoretical perspectives, this study not only expands the interpretation space of the text, but also reveals the enlightening significance of the female resistance paradigm constructed by Gilman for contemporary women’s persuit of discourse power, providing a new interpretation approach for feminist literary criticism.

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References

[1] Hong Liu: Disciplinary Power and Resistant Power: An Analysis of the Power Mechanism in Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, Foreign Literature, Vol. 27 (2006) No.3, p.60.

[2] Li Kongwen and Wang Jiayi: Foucault's Theory of Knowledge and Power and Its Implications for Pedagogy, Journal of East China Normal University (Educational Sciences), Vol. 29 (2011) No.3, p.4-5.

[3] Gilman, Charlotte Perkins:The Yellow Wallpaper (Harper Collins Publishers, Great Britain 2022), p.1-20.

[4] Liu Yan: Key Terms in Western Literary Theory: The Second Sex, Foreign Literature, Vol. 43 (2016) No.4, p.90.

[5] Zhu Xiaoying: Woolf and Plath: The Madwoman in the Attic, Academia Bimestris, Vol. 17, (2006) No.5, p.178.

[6] Foucault, Michel: Madness and Civilization(SDX Joint Publishing Company, China 2003), p.112.

[7] Zeng Zhen: The “ Lost and Reconstructed ” Self in The Yellow Wallpaper, Language Planning, Vol. 61 (2016) No.5, p.48.

[8] Liu Jitong: Women and Welfare: An Introduction to Feminist Welfare Theory, Collection of Women's Studies, Vol. 12 (2003) No.4, p.61.

[9] Chen Xu: A Spatial Interpretation of Moll Flanders, Foreign Literature, Vol. 36 (2015) No.6, p.126.

[10] Shen Xuejun: A New Field in Western Social Science Research: Spatial Politics, Fujian Tribune (The Humanities & Social Sciences Monthly), Vol. 33 (2013) No.10, p.91.

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Published

2025-09-09

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Zhang, Shuya. 2025. “A Study on the Binary Opposition Structure in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’”. Scientific Journal Of Humanities and Social Sciences 7 (9): 60-65. https://doi.org/10.54691/r4h0bg81.