The Circular Evolution of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Gender Discourse: Traces of Utopia and Dystopia 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and "Herland"

Abstract

This article argues that the transformation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's gender discourse from dystopia to utopia, exemplified by means of the commonly perceived evolution from her tale "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) to her novel Herland (1915), does not follow a linear trajectory from oppression to feminist jubilee, but rather presents a circular progression. As an author, Gilman is able to encounter spaces of creativity in creative displays of female insanity as a result of patriarchal subjection, and instances of subjugation in idealised all-female contexts. Both works contribute manifestations of oppression and exultation, even if they were written at different stages of the author's career, and have conventionally been considered as significantly dissimilar in their respective gender approach. This article aims to delineate a tendency toward circular evolution rather than linear progression by means of unveiling displays of utopia in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and of dystopia in Herland. These premises will be achieved through a comparative analysis of "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Herland by means of identifying traces of narratological features pertaining to dystopian and utopian fiction in both works.