Realism in literature refers to the portrayal of events or ideas using pragmatic rules and presenting those events or ideas in a realistic manner without embellishment or exaggeration. This literary style was prominent in much of Europe and the United States during the 19th century. In this essay I will argue that the American author Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses elements of realism in her semi-autobiographical short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” to shed light on the issue of women's oppression during the late 19th century, thus becoming a fundamental piece of American culture. literature. The influence of 19th century realism and truthful portrayal of American life are evident in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper." Although her story is largely symbolic in how she uses the yellow wallpaper to represent the oppression of women and her depiction of her husband being immensely protective of her, in an attempt to portray him as more of a father figure than like a lover; the verisimilitude of the allegory remains constant from beginning to end. One of the ways Gilman does this is by writing in a diary-like sequence. This forces the reader to focus on the “here and now” of the story and creates an environment where it feels as if the sequence of events happening is in the present. Additionally, this sets the tone for the story by creating vernacular dialogue, complimenting the journal writing and promoting the authenticity of the story. Another technique Perkins uses to incorporate elements of realism into his work is to focus on the characters in the story, rather than the plot. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator serves as the main protagonist of the story, while the wallpaper can be seen as… the center of the paper… is in that long smooch around the wall, so I can't lose my way ( 685). This quote is significant because it describes how the narrator's delusions about the yellow wallpaper eventually consume her and we as readers can see that she has now become the wallpaper; moving and crawling along the wall as if she had just escaped inside it. It is only when the narrator finally becomes one with the women trapped within the wallpaper that she is able to see that other women are also forced to crawl and take refuge behind the redundant patterns of their mundane lives. Perkins uses this pivotal moment in her story to help readers make the connection between the intricate patterns of the yellow wallpaper and the women trapped behind it, with the oppression of women and her discontent with the domestic role that women of that period they should have carried out. play.