Point of View

The point of view in this collection of stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman varies a bit between stories. The majority of the stories are told from the perspective of an omniscient third-person narrator, but "The Yellow Wallpaper" is told from the first-person perspective of an unnamed narrator.

The main character Malda narrates "The Cottagette" from a first-person perspective. The two stories narrated in first-person are limited to the narrators' experiences, thoughts and what they witness. The fact that the third-person narrators in the remainder of the stories offer an omniscient perspective is proven by their ability to share the thoughts and feelings of each character in the story, allowing the reader to get a more thorough, accurate view of each scene. The narrators throughout the collections are reliable with the exception of the unnamed narrator in the title story. Her mental instability makes her an...