To Live A Creative Life, We Must Lose Our Fear Of Being Wrong. -Joseph Chilton Pearce: Raft Assignment

March 22,1950

The Censorship Committee

165 Main Street

Farmingdale, NY

11798

Dear Committee:

My name is Courtney Palazzolo. I am a member of the National Organization for Women. I am writing you in regards to the recent issue of not publishing “The Yellow Wallpaper”. I would like to take just a few minutes of your time to show you how positive and helpful the piece really is and why it should be published.

For obvious reasons I can see your hesitancy of not wanting to publish the literary piece. Your concerns of young women not adhering to medical treatment and becoming distracted from their every day duties is quite understandable. Instead of looking at the piece as being negative and having a bad outcome, I would like to focus on the positive message of the story. During World War II millions of women were hired in factories to make up for the domestic manpower shortage. After the war the number of working women dropped, but by 1950 it began to rise again, at the rate of a million a year. During this time women worked and still took care of their household. By women stepping in and helping out, women kept the economy stimulated by working in factories and aiding in the war effort. These responsibilities did not distract women from their household duties, but shows women going above and beyond what is expected of them to help out.

In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Gilman is only trying to show how the narrators positive qualities of having a lively imagination and being creative are being stifled. Yes, for some the rest cure does work but for her it did not. She wanted to share with other women what worked for her. If it did not work for her, one might think, how many other women out there has it not worked for as well? I fully understand men are superior and we are to be obedient and subservient to you, but put yourself in women’s shoes. Imagine going through hysteria and being told the “rest cure” was your only option for recovery and it ended up not working. You would want to make yourself feel normal again. Gilman was one of the only females who has the courage to write about it.

Gilman is not the first and will not be the last woman that goes against the every day norm. Men never thought they would see the day that a woman would hold a spot in our presidential cabinet, yet in 1933 Frances Perkins served as the Secretary of Labor through out all of Roosevelt’s presidency. Go even further back to 1912, Juliette Gordon Low established the Girl Scouts of the USA, it engaged them in outdoor activities, encouraged them to be self-reliant and resourceful, and prepared them for their future adult roles later on in life. As you can see women are constantly coming up with new ways to reinvent themselves and it is only to benefit them and the people around them. So I ask you to please rethink your decision on not publishing Ms. Gilman’s work. “The Yellow Wallpaper” will help women have the courage to have a voice and that is a positive outcome.

Sincerely,