1. What does “women’s liberation” mean to you?
Journal:
Why might “women's literature” be a separate study of literature?  What is unique about the feminine experience in American culture? How is it different from the experience of men?
Consider developments in historical, social, and gender perceptions that make women's voices worth studying.
What does “women’s liberation” mean to you?

2. Charlotte Perkins Gilman
-born in 1860
-largely self-educated
-attended a design school from age 18-20
-illustrated greeting cards
-married in 1884, and gave birth to a daughter in 1885
-later divorced and remarried in 1900
-published 186 short stories, including The Yellow Wallpaper, which appeared in 1892
-wrote throughout her life on women’s issues, advocated women’s right to vote, argued against Darwin’s writings and other scientific theories that described the female mind as functioning differently from the male mind

3. “Female Hysteria” the diagnosis for 25% of women during the 1800s when they had an ailment with no explainable cause. It had 75 possible symptoms and was found mostly in middle class white women

4. Greek word for uterus= hystera
Cures:
-“rest” cure
-“cold water” treatment
(pictured)
-Marriage and childbirth
-tonics and potions
Greek word for uterus= hystera

5. Extremely emotional (cries a lot)
Symptoms of a Victorian “hysterical episode”
Fatigue
Sleeplessness
Irritability
Loss of appetite
Loss of energy
Anxiety
Extremely emotional (cries a lot)
Ask: What is the diagnosis for people exhibiting these symptoms today? (depression?)

6. Why would someone be
depressed, wearing an
outfit like this?

7. Silas Weir Mitchell was a prominent nerve specialist who promoted the “rest cure” to treat hysteria: - six to eight weeks of bed rest. - patient is forbidden to sit sew, write, draw, read, or do other “work.” - a great deal of bland food - isolation (no visitors) - no excitement

8. Dr. Mitchell prescribed Charlotte his “rest cure” when she turned to him concerning her severe bouts of depression following the birth of her daughter. Charlotte tried to follow the doctor’s directions for several months, but her depression worsened, to the point of developing suicidal tendencies. Her depression lifted when she eventually divorced her husband and took her daughter to live elsewhere.

9. Victorian Era Women and The “Feminine Ideal”

10. Families experienced a major change during this time period.
Pre-Industrial Revolution
most work done in home by men and women-people made what they needed at home (food, clothing, etc.)
Advanced education (college) not widely available to women
After Industrial Revolution
work travels outside the home-new industries and companies where men could work as lawyers, clerks, factory managers, physicians, etc.
Educational opportunities for women become more widespread

11. How does the Industrial Revolution affect women’s place in society?
More women in the workforce-women were earning income, but expected to turn wages over to parents/husbands
Backlash against women working-seen as “unfeminine” (This applies mostly to the world of middle- and upper-class white women.)
“Feminine Ideal” emerges

12. Feminine Ideal Piety Purity Submissiveness Domesticity
The "true" woman was that female at home, "the Valiant Woman of the Bible, in whom the heart of her husband rejoiced and whose price was above rubies" (Welter, 41).

13. Advice to young women:
"sit not with another in a place that is too narrow; read not out of the same book; let not your eagerness to see anything induce you to place your head close to another person's."
~Mrs. Eliza Farrar, The Young Woman's Friend
"There is more to be learned about pouring out tea and coffee than most young ladies are willing to believe."
~Godey's Ladies Book

15. The Yellow Wallpaper Vocabulary Importunities. Inanimate Atrocious
The Yellow Wallpaper Vocabulary Importunities Inanimate Atrocious Patent Derision Perseverance Felicity Querulous Impertinence Undulating

16. OUTCOMES
TSWBAT Demonstrate knowledge of theme, characterization, vocabulary, and plot within literature.
TSWBAT Analyze how complex characters advance the plot and develop the theme.

17. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Take out your vocabulary words
ONE person from each group needs to contribute ONE piece of loose-leaf
Everyone needs a different color marker
You have FIVE minutes to go around the circle and construct a creative short story using the vocabulary words. Designate word(s) to each group member BEFORE writing. Need help getting started? Use the starters if needed:
Harambe had just escaped the grip of the zoo worker…
The man was distraught at the funeral, even if it was for his mistress…
The door slammed closed, and room the grew dark and cold…

18. OUTCOMES
TSWBAT Cite relevant and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of thematic elements within literature.
TSWBAT Analyze how complex characters advance the plot and develop the theme.

19. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
“It's possible, in a poem or a short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things-- a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring-- with immense, even startling power. It is possible to write a line of seemingly innocuous dialogue and have it send a chill along the reader's spine-- the source of artistic delight, as Nabokov would have it. That's the kind of writing that most interests me.”
-Raymond Carver (1983)

20. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Follow along as we read the text and answer/discuss the guiding questions in small groups and as a class.
You have a test on this information FRIDAY—it’s summative!
EXPECTATIONS—
Only speak when you are prompted to do so
No heads down
No phones
Annotate when needed
Follow along and answer questions

21. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
DIAGNOSE THE NARRATOR:
You are the psychiatrist…what is she REALLY suffering from?
REQUIREMENTS—
Primary AND secondary diagnosis with textual evidence and likely cause(s)
Doctor’s Notes
You can work ALONE or with ONE person—no groups.
You have TWENTY minutes to complete before we debate about what her actual condition.

22. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
DIAGNOSE THE NARRATOR:
You are the psychiatrist…what is she REALLY suffering from?
REQUIREMENTS—
Primary AND secondary diagnosis with textual evidence and likely cause(s)
Doctor’s Notes
You can work ALONE or with ONE person—no groups.
You have TWENTY minutes to complete before we debate about what her actual condition.

23. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Go to the area of the room where your PRIMARY DIAGNOSIS is.
Take something to write with, and your text.
YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES TO
discuss with your peers
Choose evidence that best defends your diagnosis
Be prepared to speak—I’m using cards

24. “The Yellow Wallpaper”
As we watch the following video, consider what you would have done differently if you were to film/act as the young girl.
Be prepared to discuss!