Escobedo 1

Shaina Escobedo
Professor Hudler
ENGL 2300
7 December 2015
The Yellow Wallpaper Project
The ethics of care, defined by L.M. Bernhardts Theory and
Practice is: a central focuson the compelling moral salience of
attending to and meeting the needs of the particular others for whom
we take responsibility, which shifts the focus of care-ethical arguments
from independent individuals to interdependent systems of relation
(32). In The Yellow Wallpaper, the author, Charlotte Perkin Gilman uses
symbolism to show certain themes women struggled with during her
era. In Gilmans journal, her relationship with her husband fails to
uphold Noddings theory of the ethics of care. In my blog, The Yellow
Wallpaper Project, I take on the persona of the Narrator and publicly
share her letters that she wrote to herself, her husband, her sister-inlaw, her child, and the lady in the yellow wallpaper; her letters show
how her husband failed to follow the ethics of care.
In the blog, the narrator wrote five letters. In the letter written to
herself, the narrator is reminiscing about how she planned her life to
be, but then transitions to how her life really is. She complains about
how she lost control of her life because of her husbands lack of shared
responsibility in their relationship. In her letter that is addressed to her

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husband, she directly blames him for her health state. She clearly
states how he did not follow the role of the one-caring, because he did
not tend to her needs and did not put himself in her position. In the
letter directed to Jennie and her child, she continues to blame her
husband for her mental state. However, in the letter directed to the
lady in the yellow wallpaper, the narrator still continues to complain
about her husband, but this time she also blames the lady in the yellow
wallpaper. She is full of questions and wants answers in this letter.
The narrator clearly demonstrates how her husband did not
follow the role of the one-caring, though she followed her role of the
one cared-for. After realizing her husbands negligent nature, she
encourages herself to beat the stereotypes of women in her time. She
realizes that John, her husband, is the real issue because he did not
follow the ethics of care. Now, she is determined to take control of her
life once again. The narrators letters helped her express her feelings,
which she was not able to do with John. The letters are a start for the
narrator to gain her sanity back.
Through the use of the blog, the narrator intended to publicly
share her letters to show people how one has to take an ethical
approach to an illness or trauma. On the other hand, the narrators
letters also encourages people to find an outlet so that they can avoid
inactivity and keep their minds sane. She believed that it was her

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ethical and social duty to share her experience, so that she could help
others that are going through the same situation.
John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my
condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad (Gilman 42).
John was right about how the narrator shouldnt think about her
condition, but his superiority, because he was a man, lead him to
control every aspect of his wifes life. Rather than following through on
his one-caring for role, he did the complete opposite and did what he
thought was best for her. It was not easy for the narrator to write those
letters and criticize her husband, but it was the only way she could
gain control of her life once again.

Works Cited
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. English 2300.
Blackboard.
5 Dec. 2015.
Bernhardt, L.M. Theory and Practice. English 2300. Blackboard. 5 Dec.
2015.
"Science Museum. Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine."
Rest Cure.
N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

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