MASTERPIECE THEATRE: THE YELLOW WALLPAPER (TV)
Summary
One in this ongoing series of dramas presented under the umbrella of "Masterpiece Theatre." This made-for-television drama, based on the 1892 short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells the story of Charlotte Stamford and her battles against madness and her doctor husband's so-called "rest cure." Host Alistair Cooke provides background on Gilman, explaining that she was a radical feminist lecturer as well as a writer, and that the production has moved the story from America to England. The story begins as Charlotte, suffering from "tiredness and nervous depression," moves to a new home with her husband John, her young son James, her sister-in-law Jennie and maid Mary. She finds that John has selected an isolated room at the top of the house as their bedroom, citing her need for peace and quiet and deeming himself "her doctor first and her husband second." Charlotte writes in her diary, though she has been forbidden to do so, and notes that she finds the house "rather creepy." John works on a paper of his own and gives Charlotte a strict and very boring daily schedule, and she observes that she, as a woman, is not expected to speak her mind on the subject. She spots a girl in white on a bicycle and then finds a hidden library and brings many books back to her bedroom, where she is distracted by the damaged wallpaper.
John later scolds her for reading, but she argues that she is bored with nothing to do all day. When she asks, he reminisces about attending medical school because of his interest in "the reality of things." Late at night, Charlotte lies awake and fixates on the wallpaper. In the morning, she spots the girl in white again and continues writing in secret, deciding that there is "something unwholesome" in the house. She muses to Jennie that she once dreamed of publishing her writing but gave up hope when she married, noting that Jennie herself is more of "a perfect wife" to John. She continues writing during John's absence and discovers that her bed is nailed down, telling Jennie that she cannot think straight and continuing to obsess over the wallpaper, in which she seems to see a pair of eyes, and spots a crumpled dress in a trunk covered with flies. John returns and the couple is briefly happy until Charlotte suggests going to visit family and John refuses, saying it will "overexcite" her. She declares that she is going mad with boredom and that she could kill him for imprisoning her so, frantically telling him that it is the wallpaper that is tormenting her. He tells her that her imagination is dangerous, however, and urges her to use her will to "be well for him." Charlotte questions Jennie about her own childhood aspirations, and she claims she cannot remember beyond a desire to be like her mother. She asks Jennie if she believes in ghosts, and then comments that she and John are both "hypocrites."
John's mother and other relatives soon arrive for a visit, and they praise the home and Charlotte's apparently domesticity, though Charlotte protests that she does nothing and Jennie handles everything. She grows agitated during dinner and faints, and John decides to get a second opinion, frustrated with Charlotte's frequent discussion of her feelings. While the other play croquet, Charlotte spots a strange crawling woman in a yellow gown. Dr. Stark examines her and reminds her to stop writing and exerting "intellectual effort," also telling her to gain weight. Charlotte's fascination with the wallpaper increases and she compares it to a puzzle she must solve, telling a worried Jennie that there is also a "yellow smell" in the house. When she asks about the girl in white, Jennie implies that the girl has grown up and left. As Jennie plays the piano, John and Stark discuss their female patients, with Stark showing him some semi-romanticized photos of his patients, saying that it helps them to achieve an "acceptable feminine norm." Late at night, Charlotte imagines herself in the woods and sees the woman in the yellow gown again, and when John wakes, she asks him if he really believes that she is improving, telling him that she once believed herself to be joining "a brotherhood of writers," but now believes herself totally alone and out of control of herself. John tells her to dismiss these "false and foolish" thoughts, however, and urges her to trust him.
On the day of John's paper presentation, he finds Charlotte tearing her room apart, looking for "that woman" who is trapped with her, but he tells her that the yellow gown is in fact her own and urges her to drink Jennie's "magic drink." He leaves, and Charlotte tells Jennie to leave her alone for the entire day, secretly throwing up her medicine and moving all of the furniture around. As John gives his lecture about the need for artistic "pleasure" for people of all classes, Charlotte begins tearing the wallpaper down and eventually sees the woman in yellow coming through the wall to greet her. When John returns home, he frantically breaks down the door and finds the room in shambles, horrified to see Charlotte crawling on the floor in the yellow gown. He faints, and Charlotte passes by his body and leaves, seemingly disappearing into the woods. Cooke closes the program by explaining how the story is a "heightened account" of Gilman's own life, in which she felt "manacled" by her marriage and was at one point given the same restrictive treatment for her depression. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
- DATE: December 17, 1989 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:26134
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1971-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Favorite Themes From Masterpiece Theatre" album
- TV - Promos - "After the War"
- TV - Promos - "Mystery!: Agatha Christie's Poirot"
CREDITS
- Rebecca Eaton … Executive Producer
- Sarah Curtis … Producer
- John Clive … Director
- Maggie Wadey … Writer
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman … Based on the story by
- Carl Davis … Music by
- Geraldine Stephenson … Choreographer
- Alistair Cooke … Host
- Stephen Dillon (see also: Stephen Dillane) … Cast, John Stamford
- Julia Watson … Cast, Charlotte Stamford
- Carolyn Pickles … Cast, Jennie
- James Faulkner … Cast, Charles Stark
- Dorothy Tutin … Cast, Mrs. Stamford
- Samuel Tidswell-Norrish … Cast, James
- Louise Ashborne … Cast, Mary
- Alison Waters … Cast, Lillie
- Adrienne Burgess … Cast, Nellie
- Edward Lyon … Cast, Frank
- Gary King … Cast, George
- Annie Gurney … Cast, Girl on Bicycle