'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Alias Grace': Utilizing Literary Texts as Pedagogical Tools in the EFL Classroom PDF Free Download

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'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Alias Grace': Utilizing Literary Texts as Pedagogical Tools in the EFL Classroom PDF Free Download

'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Alias Grace': Utilizing Literary Texts as Pedagogical Tools in the EFL Classroom PDF free Download. Think more deeply and widely.

University of Rijeka

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Anja Najman

'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Alias Grace': Utilizing Literary Texts as Pedagogical Tools in

the EFL Classroom

Master’s Thesis

Rijeka, 2025

University of Rijeka

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of English

Anja Najman

0009084051

'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Alias Grace': Utilizing Literary Texts as Pedagogical Tools in

the EFL Classroom, MA Thesis

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the M.A. in English Language and

Literature and Pedagogy at the University of Rijeka

Supervisor: Sintija Čuljat, PhD

September 2025

Abstract

The thesis 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and 'Alias Grace': Utilizing Literary Texts as Pedagogical

Tools in the EFL Classroom examines the pedagogical use of literary texts The Yellow

Wallpaper and Alias Grace in Croatian educational system, as well as different approaches and

practices that can be used in the immediate instructional process. This is executed by reviewing

the outcomes specified in the Croatian Curriculum of English language and how they can be

fulfilled through teaching these literary texts by implementing different activities and

assessment methods. Following the goal of the educational system to adequately prepare

students for the challenges of the modern world, this thesis focuses on cultivating knowledge,

skills and values through teaching these literary texts.

Key words: teaching literary texts, The Yellow Wallpaper, Alias Grace, outcome-based

education, curriculum

Table of contents 
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 
The educational system and its demands ...................................................................................... 2 
1. The hidden curriculum ........................................................................................................... 3 
Teaching literary texts in response to educational and societal challenges in Croatia .................. 4 
English language learning outcomes connected to reading and reading evaluation ..................... 5 
Teaching literary texts to learners of English as a second language: short stories and novels ...... 7 
Different approaches to teaching literature ................................................................................... 9 
Themes and plots in The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace ........................................................ 10 
1.  Patriarchy and gender roles ................................................................................................. 12 
2. Medical maltreatment of women ........................................................................................ 14 
3. Power and control ................................................................................................................ 16 
Exploring the main themes of the texts: Social influence and compliance with social injustice . 17 
Exploring cultural resonance of The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace ...................................... 20 
Creating interest in reading literary texts ..................................................................................... 23 
1.  Examining the title Alias Grace ............................................................................................ 23 
Students’ prior linguistic knowledge and potential for acquisition of new vocabulary ............... 25 
Screen adaptations as teaching resources ................................................................................... 30 
Reading assessment...................................................................................................................... 35 
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 36 
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 38 
 

Introduction

This thesis will explore how teaching English literature can benefit students in Croatian

schools with special focus on teaching two literary works, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte

Perkins Gilman and Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood.

Creativity and innovation are among the many qualities that define an effective English teacher.

While incorporating literary texts into language teaching may no longer be considered

groundbreaking, it remains a widely used method for teaching new vocabulary and reinforcing

grammatical structures. However, beside these applications, literary texts are a powerful

pedagogical tool in teaching English as a foreign language.

In addition to subject-specific learning outcomes that students are expected to achieve by the

end of each lesson, there are also learning outcomes related to civic competences. These

competences equip individuals with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to become

responsible democratic citizens who uphold and respect equal rights (European

Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2017). Recognizing the significance of education for

democratic citizenship and human rights, the Council of Europe (Committee of Ministers, 2002)

emphasized its integration into the educational system a priority objective of educational

policymaking and reforms.

Schools fulfil an essential role in preparing students for the challenges they will encounter in

life. Rosenblatt (1937) emphasized this expectation stating that a student “must be given the

knowledge, the habits, the flexibility, that will enable him to meet unprecedented and

unpredictable problems” (3). Although this might be an unrealistic expectation, modern

education retained a similar perspective where adaptability and critical thinking are essential

for success.

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the potential of literature as a powerful pedagogical tool

in teaching English as a second language by specifically focusing on The Yellow Wallpaper by

Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood and exploring how these texts

can benefit students’ cultural awareness, foster critical thinking skills and help them fight

stereotypes and prejudice in alignment with the Croatian national curriculum.

1. The educational system and its demands

Contemporary society transformed the way educational systems work. Our ability to

function and work in the society depends greatly on our educational system. The importance of

learning and knowing facts decreased and critical thinking, problem solving, lifelong learning

and skill development became a priority. Content based curriculum, which was the most

common model of curriculum until the 1980s, was therefore found lacking and insufficient in

preparing students for the challenges they would face after formal education (Baranović,

Domazet, Jokić, Marušić, & Puzić, 2006). The subsequent changes and developments of

curriculums were connected to these insufficiencies.

Curriculum can be defined as a methodical and structured plan of connecting teaching methods,

content elements and learning materials as well as the assessment methods and aligning them

with specific learning outcomes (Zrilić, 2018). The transformation from the rigid cramming of

information while teaching merely to fulfil plans and cover prescribed content, to designing

lessons in order to achieve specific learning outcomes, created a more flexible and student-

centred approach to education. This means that, in most educational systems today, teachers

also have more freedom to choose the method and content they will use to achieve the learning

outcomes.

The educational system in Croatia as we know it today has been continuously developing. A

big step toward achieving a modern, inclusive, and outcome-oriented approach to education

was the development of The National Curriculum Framework for Preschool Education,

Compulsory Education and General Secondary Education (Nacionalni okvirni kurikulum za

predškolski odgoj i obrazovanje te opće obvezno i srednjoškolsko obrazovanje). This document

was adopted with the goal of ensuring the development of individuals in all areas - ranging from

science, technology, and economy to culture, social cohesion, and the role of the individual as

a citizen, as well as their personal growth (Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa, 2011).

The holistic approach to teaching with emphasis on cross-curricular topics (civic education,

health, personal and social development, learning to learn) was the main distinction between

this curriculum and previous educational policy documents.

However, the implementation of these recommendations has been a challenge. While cross-

curricular topics are embedded into all subjects, teachers often struggle to implement it without

the training in the field (Diković & Zečević, 2020).

In a way, the Holistic Curricular Reform (Cjelovita kurikularna reforma) published in 2016

was a solution to the shortfalls of The National Curriculum Framework for Preschool

Education, Compulsory Education and General Secondary Education. The reform emphasized

key concepts such as the development of key competence, learner-centred education, societal

and economic relevance, teacher autonomy, active learning and others (Jokić & Ristić Dedić,

2018). However, the practical implementation of this reform did not happen.

Evidently, the shift from traditional fact-based teaching methods occurred in the Croatian

educational system following international examples of positive changes in education.

However, with the implementation of new practices also comes trial and error. In Croatia, the

process of implementation required a holistic approach. Teachers, who directly influence the

way knowledge and skills are transferred, lacked training, tools and professional support to

successfully apply these changes. As the main proposition of this thesis is that literary texts

(specifically Alias Grace and The Yellow Wallpaper) can be used as tools for teaching, one of

the focuses is to apply its concepts with a goal to improve the implementation of new practices

in Croatian educational system. Pursuing this goal, teachers are crucial agents because they

influence the process learning through ‘hidden curriculum’.

1.1. The hidden curriculum

Besides the formal curriculum, we also need to acknowledge the hidden curriculum or a

curriculum that manifests implicitly. Hidden curriculum can be described as unarticulated and

unintentional learning that often occurs through a role model (Neve & Collett, 2017). Hidden

curriculum exists on all levels of schooling and is not confined to formal education but can be

recognised in family life, health care, media and other social settings that implicitly shape the

way we think (Illich, 1971). In formal education, school culture, learning environments,

unwritten rules, school routines and other elements shape the hidden curriculum. However,

most notably, teachers become role models for students and either consciously or

subconsciously through their actions, topics for discussions, sayings, gestures and forms of

evaluations teach different values (Fraenkel, 1976).

In teaching literature, there is also an implicit influence in how teachers shape the students’

views about reading in general and the values they derive from reading the texts. Attitudes

towards reading and the motivation to read are two thoroughly researched interrelated

constructs. What motivates us to read can therefore be categorised into five different aspects:

learning orientation or reading to understand and know what we read, intrinsic motivation or

reading for the pleasure of reading, extrinsic motivation such as reading to get good grades or

rewards, self-efficacy and to improve reading skills and social motivation, e.g. sharing books

(Guthrie and Wigfield, 2000, as quoted in Sainsbury & Schagen, 2004). Depending on the

source of students’ motivation, teachers need to adapt their approach to nurture positive

attitudes towards reading from the onset. This includes how teachers introduce students to

reading, the way they discuss the key themes of the texts, and how they evaluate and assess

students in their reading assignments. Knights (2017) explained that teachers need to be self-

aware about their teaching methods which can positively or negatively affect the environment

of learning, especially in reading and teaching texts where there is a possibility of multiple

interpretations and each class can be a way to teach new values. Students or readers are the ones

who come to their own conclusions about the text they have read. The feeling they have towards

the text is based on their own beliefs and worldviews. However, teachers are there to guide

them through discussions and questions. They offer possible meanings of the texts and bring

different elements into focus in their lessons. Teaching literature can, therefore, be a very good

way to teach students moral values and content that is not only based on factual knowledge. In

addition, one of the main features of curriculum is that teachers are given the freedom to

incorporate additional content into their lessons as long as they serve as a tool to fulfil required

outcomes and goals. So, even though there are literary texts already prescribed as obligatory in

both elementary and secondary school education, teachers can choose other materials and

literary texts based on their literary value. Keeping this in mind, this thesis proposes the

inclusion of the texts The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace in secondary school education,

specifically within English language instruction or as part of an elective reading course.

2. Teaching literary texts in response to educational and societal challenges in

Croatia

Literary texts can always be used in classrooms to provide a unique insight into social

concepts and norms and explore the complexities of the human mind. With the ongoing

globalisation, there is a need to educate students in order to improve their global understanding,

facilitate learning that creates openness towards differences between people and battle

stereotypes and prejudice. If a society is prejudiced and if it has stereotypes, discrimination of

certain groups is highly probable. In this day and age, discrimination is still a frequent

occurrence in Croatia. We hear about it in the news and read about it in the papers. Fredman

(2016) defines direct discrimination as treating someone less favourably because of a protected

characteristic. It can be based on someone’s ethnicity, religion, racial background, culture or

other characteristics. Moreover, it cannot be denied that even among school children there are

challenges in adhering to social norms contributing to violence and bullying in schools

(Đuranović, Klasnić & Lapat, 2013). In addition to preparing individuals to be critical thinkers

and become competent citizens, educational facilities must also have a goal to prevent bullying

and discrimination. Therefore, moral education must be incorporated into the education system.

Teaching literature may be beneficial to learn moral values such as respect, justice, caring,

responsibility, trustworthiness and civic competences indirectly (Ahmad, 2021).

3. English language learning outcomes connected to reading and reading evaluation

Incorporating new materials into lessons is not a process that can be done superficially and

without a holistic approach. It should be based on triadic alignment which encompasses careful

consideration of learning objectives, learning activities and assessment methods at the same

level of cognition included in the process (Pape-Zambito & Mostrom, 2018). Cognitive levels

are classified by Bloom’s Taxonomy. The taxonomy is organised into six classes starting from

the lowest order of thinking skill: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis

and evaluation (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, & Krathwohl, 1956). Figure 1. illustrates the

cyclic nature of the process of triadic alignment.

Figure 1. Triadic alignment

OBJECTIVES

LEARNING

ACTIVITIES

ASSESSMENT

METHODS

In the curriculum of English language in Croatian schools, there are general outcomes, i.e. what

is expected to be achieved by the student. The outcomes are also specified through objectives

which clarify how to fulfil the outcomes in practical contexts and indicate the cognitive level

that is expected from students based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Taking into consideration the level

of English language proficiency of students and the complexity of language in Alias Grace and

The Yellow Wallpaper, the inclusion of these works as unaltered educational materials in

schools can only be accomplished in secondary school instruction. Moreover, looking into the

learning outcomes specified in the Curriculum of English Language that determine the

expectations for secondary school students from 1st to 4th grade in general grammar schools,

it is evident that the complexity increases with each grade. For example, the outcome in the

domain of communicative language competence in 1st grade (A.1.1.) is “analyses a simple

adapted or authentic medium-length text while listening or reading”; for the 2nd grade (A.2.1.),

it is “analyses simple authentic and longer adapted texts while listening and reading”; for the

3rd grade (A.3.1.), “analyses longer authentic or adapted texts while listening and reading”; and

for the 4th grade (A.4.1.), “evaluates longer authentic or adapted texts while listening and

reading” (Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja Republike Hrvatske, 2019, 14, 19, 25, 30).

Evidently, the complexity of the outcomes increases – this is signified by the verb used in the

specific outcome which indicates a higher-order thinking skill, e.g. analyse in the 1st, 2nd and

3rd grade and evaluate in the 4th grade. According to Bloom’s taxonomy “to evaluate” is a

higher-order thinking skill than “to analyse”.

Similarly, the advancement in the thinking-skill level that is expected from students as they

progress to a new grade is also reinforced through length of the texts in focus. In other words,

for the first grade, the text in focus should be medium length (adapted or authentic) while for

the fourth grade, it should be a longer authentic or adapted text – the length gradually increases.

Since Alias Grace and The Yellow Wallpaper are both longer texts, a novel and a short story,

the predetermined outcomes and expectations of students are that they should be able to analyse

and evaluate such literary texts in the 3rd and 4th grade. On the other hand, the texts can also be

taught in the 1st and 2nd grade. However, due to the outcomes A.1.1. and A.2.1., an option for

teaching these literary works could be choosing shorter excerpts from the texts to use in

classroom, and adapt them by simplifying vocabulary or providing a glossary.

In the Curriculum of English Language there are two other domains that should be taken into

account in order to align them with the teaching of literary works beside the domain A.

communicative language competence. Domain B. is intercultural communicative competence

and domain C. is autonomy in language learning. The outcomes that can be achieved by

reading, implementing activities connected to reading in lessons and using alternative

evaluation methods are numerous. In a way, activities connected to reading foreign language

literature in classrooms can be intended to fulfil certain outcomes from all three domains,

providing students with tools to communicate in a foreign language in a more nativelike

manner, giving them a powerful intercultural insight and teaching them strategies to learn and

think critically about information they receive.

4. Teaching literary texts to learners of English as a second language: short stories

and novels

In teaching languages, it is important that students are exposed to authentic language use.

Short stories have certain advantages when it comes to teaching a language and focusing on

reading comprehension. Erkaya (2005) argues that short stories give educators possibilities to

teach all four skills – reading, listening, writing and speaking to students of all levels of

linguistic competence. Educators might choose short stories to teach in class not only due to

their pedagogical value and advantages but also due to their length. Novels and short stories

share common elements, but short stories are less likely to include multiple narrators, non-

chronological order of events, numerous characters and a complex plot, so novels may present

a greater challenge for ESL learners and for teachers due to difficulties of adapting activities

(Lazar, 1993).

However, educators should not shy away from teaching novels. Even though reading entire

novels in a foreign language can be challenging for students, once a habit of reading longer

texts is made, novels can be captivating and rewarding. On that account, when choosing literary

works for teaching, educators should always consider students’ prior reading experience and

reading habits. Besides literary background, several other factors should be taken into account

when choosing literary texts (Lazar, 1993). These include:

• Students’ culture – whether they will understand the text and find this diversity

enriching or not be interested in the text because it is does not reflect their own

reality.

• Students’ level of language proficiency – educators have to consider the

vocabulary of the text such as archaisms, metaphors, dialect or register and

whether it is too complicated for the students, as well as specific language norms

that could make the process of learning difficult and unenjoyable

• Text length – educators have to account for the time needed to work on the text

in class as well as for the time the students have to work on it during independent

study.

• Accessibility of texts – what books are already available and if there are no

available text, how easily can they be made available (for example online

versions)

• Pedagogical potential – what activities can be done to explore the text and are

there and additional materials that would help the students learn more about the

text or the author (for example a screen adaptation).

• Curricular alignment – is the text connected to the rest of the course and can the

text be used in accordance with the teaching methods and learning outcomes.

Taking these factors into account, pedagogical value can be found in two literary works that

were published in different times but set in a similar period. A fictional short story, The Yellow

Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in 1892 and Alias Grace, a historical

fiction by Margaret Atwood published in 1996 but set in the 19th century. The story follows

multiple timelines. Most of Grace’s life is retold by Grace during her interviews with dr Jordan.

The interviews take place in 1859, and Grace gives dr Jordan recollections of her difficult

childhood, her journey from Ireland to America, her employment and the murder of her

employer Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery in 1843. The book

concludes in the late 1880s.

The connection between these two literary works is not only in the time setting but also in the

themes and messages the authors wanted to convey in their works. Both The Yellow Wallpaper

and Alias Grace implicitly criticised social issues prevalent in the 19th century. Specifically, the

literary works are the most similar in confronting patriarchy, gender roles, oppression of women

and medical mistreatment of women. In addition, Atwood’s novel examines the important

topics of identity, memory and truth (Monacelli, 2018). Even though the themes of the texts

were based on and described in relation to 19th century societal problems, the messages they

send can be viewed and compared from the perspective of modern-time societal problems.

The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace are longer texts that require a higher level of language

proficiency as well as the utilisation of higher-order thinking skills from students.

Consequently, it can be confirmed that, based on curricular requirements, these literary texts

are suited for students in secondary schools in their 11th or 12th year of English language

learning.

Moreover, student’s culture, pedagogical potential and curricular alignment is discussed

throughout this paper. These factors are incorporated into classroom activities. Each activity is

based on different approaches in reading as well as the intended outcome and its pedagogical

potentials.

5. Different approaches to teaching literature

Using literature in language teaching can have different purposes. Therefore, the aim in

teaching The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace in English-language courses in Croatian

secondary schools should not be limited only to language acquisition purposes. There are three

distinct approaches in teaching literature, these include a language-based approach, an approach

where literature is used as content and using literature for personal growth (Lazar, 1993).

Following this, Beach, Appleman, Hynds and Wilhelm (2013) listed practices involved in

teaching literature:

1. Taking a different perspective – Practice that focuses on the notion that adolescents

often believe their perspective is the only one. These practices require students to

assume a viewpoint of a character that differs from them with respect to gender,

race, historical period or class.

2. Building a social world based on the setting of a literary text – Practice that involves

constructing a text world based on the students’ knowledge of historical and cultural

aspects that shaped the world described in the literary text.

3. Explaining the actions of characters – Practice that focuses on students’ ability to

connect traits, goals and beliefs of characters to the specific reasons for their actions.

4. Inferring meanings – Practice of inferring implied meanings of symbols and themes

in the text.

5. Connecting prior knowledge of world and other texts to the text in focus – Practice

that focuses on students drawing conclusions from what they already know and

connecting it to new concepts.

6. Posing questions, solving dilemmas and rereading – Practice based on an argument

that students struggle with understanding the literary text after the initial reading.

Therefore, it crucial for educators to address students’ questions and dilemmas about

the text, help them resolve those dilemmas and encourage them to reread the literary

text with the new understanding.

7. Examining the text critically – Practice based on critically examining literary text

from a perspective of different critical lenses, such as feminist or Marxist.

These practices can be incorporated into different phases of teaching literature. The phases in

teaching literature are:

1. Pre-reading (activities to create interest, motivate and provide students with relevant

vocabulary before reading),

2. While-reading (activities to help students understand author’s goal, content or text

structure) and

3. Post-reading (activities for students to reflect on the text and relate to it from their own

viewpoint) (Yazar, 2013).

In order to make reading lessons and reading itself more enjoyable and productive, different

approaches and practices can be combined and carried out through planned stages of reading

lessons. Therefore, the activities to teach the texts The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace will

be also divided into those stages and based on approaches in focus for specific lessons.

6. Themes and plots in The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace

Coser (1972) identified a link between the central themes of literary works and sociological

themes believing that literature makes commentary and critiques societal manners and morals

while also making an impact on society and trying to bring change. It can be argued that this is

also the basis of teaching literature. Besides improving vocabulary, grammar, writing and

reading skills in both foreign and native language and benefiting general knowledge, reading

facilitates personal development.

Each text presents its reader with a different set of ideas, values and worldviews where author’s

personality and social context as well the time and place in which the text was written play a

significant role in the reader’s understanding of the text creating an interaction between reader’s

own set of values and beliefs (Rosenblatt, 1937). Due to this interaction, a literary text can never

be objectively written nor objectively read. The writer draws upon their own ideas, opinions

and worldviews, incorporates it into their writing and the reader observes the texts from their

own point of view. Even though this is an inevitable occurrence when reading, the process is

still significant. By learning how to reflect on the important themes and messages from their

own point of view and learning how to come to conclusions based on evidence and arguments,

readers are improving their critical thinking skills. Similarly, with literary works where a theme

or a message of the story is central to the time or culture in which it was written, readers can

examine it from the perspective of their culture and time.

With the examples of The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace, the time setting is 19th century.

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story written in the form of diary entries. The narrator,

diagnosed with nervous hysteria by her husband, a medical doctor, keeps her diary secret

because her husband believes that writing is bad for her health. Moreover, in her short story,

Gilman reflects on and condemns the oppression of women in a patriarchal society that is

occurring in her day while Atwood uses past transgressions of the society to warn about the

present. In addition, due to the fact that Alias Grace was written and published more than a

century after the time setting of the novel, we see its depictions of the society and the ongoing

problems in the 19th-century Canada as Atwood’s representations of the era. Nevertheless, this

difference in the time the two literary works were published provides us with a great opportunity

to compare the ways central societal problems were criticised and brought forward by the two

authors. In the dynamic and changing society we live in, with many different cultures,

languages and ethnicities, determining what values should be passed to younger generations

can be difficult, but in education, it is essential that certain character traits are acquired where

people are guided by universal moral values (Akin, Dunne, Palontares, & Schilling, 1995). The

literary works chosen for this thesis share common themes but also examine themes that are

distinctive for their own narratives. In the following paragraphs, the focus is on the themes

present in the literary texts which are essential for learning and discussing in secondary-school

education and are connected to curricular goals.

6.1. Patriarchy and gender roles

The main premise of patriarchy is simple; men have power over women. Beauvoir argues that

patriarchy is grounded in the belief that women are biologically weaker than men, but her

philosophy contradicts this idea (Beauvoir, 1997, as cited in Irshad & Banerji, 2013).

By reading The Yellow Wallpaper written from the perspective of a narrator who is a middle-

class woman married to a doctor, free from financial problems and even from responsibilities,

readers do not envision a woman who is a victim of her circumstances. Despite this, the

consequence of patriarchy is her being driven to madness from the control she experienced that

was framed as an act of care (Lanser, 1989). She was forbidden from writing, socialising, and

from all forms of physical exertion. The short story takes place in a summer house her husband

rented in hopes that it would lift her spirits. However, her stay there only worsens her condition.

She spends most of her time in a room in the attic with a yellow wallpaper which preoccupies

most of her attention and she fixates on it, first hating it and later starting to like it but growing

more into madness.

The depiction of patriarchy in the short story is almost casual and implied as just the way things

are. A very good example of this is in the sentence “John laughs at me, of course, but one

expects that in marriage” (Perkins Gilman, 3). The husband disregards the concerns of his wife

as silly and funny not even considering her medical condition as serious believing that “there

is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical

tendency – what is one to do.” (Perkins Gilman, 4). There are also other men mentioned in the

story. One of them is the narrator’s brother who “is also a physician, and also of high standing,

and he says the same thing”, referring to the diagnosis the narrator’s husband gave (Perkins

Gilman, 4). From the start of the story, we can notice a pattern of putting men and women into

traditional gender roles and generalising their character traits. The men are described as logical

and rational, while women are described as irrational and illogical which is an embedded belief

in patriarchal societies, particularly of the time the short story was written (Ghandeharion &

Mazari, 2016).

However, even though the patriarchy and the way it has influenced the narrator is portrayed as

ordinary, the story progresses into a serious indirect criticism of patriarchy. The narrator’s

health worsens, and she becomes obsessed with the wallpaper believing there is a woman

behind the wallpaper shaking it and that the wallpaper has a smell that follows her “even when

I go to ride, if I turn my head suddenly and surprise it – there is that smell!” (Perkins Gilman,

25). This fixation with the wallpaper and becoming so obsessed with it that she started to believe

there is a woman behind it is a result of not having control over her own life. Her husband

controlled every part of her life from how she spent her time, where she went, what she could

and could not do and even when she could see her own family, secluding her from the society

by choosing a house that is remote and isolated (Tonmoy, 2014). In addition to being controlled,

she is also infantilised by her husband, who patronises her by calling her a “little girl” and

dismisses her concerns by telling her “Bless her little heart!” said he with a big hug, “she shall

be as sick as she pleases! But now let’s improve the shining hours by going to sleep, and talk

about it in the morning!” (Perkins Gilman, 19-20). It is evident that he does not take her

seriously and sees her more as a child that needs to be taken care of than his equal partner.

In the short story, we never find out what the narrator’s name is, she is anonymous. This brings

forward the fact that this is not just one specific case, but one of many, it illustrates the

experience of many women’s sufferings in 19th-century America, but also today anywhere in

world (Ghandeharion & Mazari, 2016).

Throughout her novel, Atwood brings the issue of patriarchy into light and through the character

of Grace Marks illustrates the instilled ways of the society. However, she contradicts the belief

that women are weaker than men. Grace sees and believes that by marrying well she can live a

better life, and this is her wish in the beginning, to earn money for her dowry and become a

mistress in a house (Goldblatt, 1999). Marrying is seen as getting ahead in life and there is a

certain safety when you are married. However, with the conviction of murder, Grace needs to

use the narrative in her own advantage. Due to her being considered by the court and the public

as the weaker sex, she was not punished by death as James McDermott was, but by life in prison

(Irshad & Banerji, 2013). Grace was a ‘victim’ of the patriarchal society but when it came to

life or death, she escaped the fate of the other women in her life that were dear to her. Even

from her descriptions of her early childhood we see the negative pattern of women close to

Grace dying. Her mother, who died during their voyage to Canada, was an example of a woman

suffering due to her husband’s actions. His alcoholism and inability to provide for his family as

well as her own weakness contributed to Grace’s traumatic childhood and troubled life. Her

mother was passive and voiceless even though she and her sister “both had education, and could

embroider and play the piano” (Atwood, 208). In other words, she had no influence nor choice

in what happened to her and her family. Even Grace claimed for her mother that “she was a

timid creature, hesitating, weak and delicate, which used to anger me. I wanted her to be

stronger, so I would not have to be so strong myself” (Atwood, 209).

On the other hand, Mary Whitney, the first friend she met during her first employment, was the

direct opposite of her mother. Grace described Mary as “a fun-loving girl, and very mischievous

and bold in her speech when we were alone. But towards her elders and betters her manner was

respectful and demure … behind their backs she made jokes about them…” (Atwood, 304).

Mary taught Grace many things about working as a housemaid and about the ways of society.

Grace looked up to her in a way, frequently contemplating what Mary would say about a certain

situation. However, despite her astuteness and insight into the ways of the patriarchal society,

Mary died because she had not followed her own advice. She died from complications after an

illegal abortion, because the person who impregnated her refused to own up to it, even though

she at first believed he would. Mary was also very different from Nancy Montgomery, a

housemaid at Grace’s new employment. While Mary encouraged Grace to challenge patriarchal

and class-based ideologies, Nancy treated Grace as her superior even though they had the same

social background which amplified Grace’s subordination (Azam, Faheem, & Batool, 2025).

The reason behind her behaviour is that Nancy was their employer Thomas Kinnear’s lover.

This gave Nancy more freedom to do what she wants and work less. However, the society

frowned upon their secret relationship because of their class differences, which was why they

could not be officially married.

The complex social relations in the novel and what ultimately happened to the characters serve

as a lesson and a warning about the consequences of living in a society where women are

subordinate and oppressed. Grace is portrayed both as a victim and a murderer, a person that

controls the narrative but also a person traumatised by the events in her life since early

childhood (Azam, Faheem, & Batool, 2025). Grace’s mother, Mary and Nancy as well as Grace

have all been subjected to different types of oppression by the patriarchal society. Moreover,

the three women have all influenced Grace in her beliefs and formation of character.

6.2. Medical maltreatment of women

The Yellow Wallpaper places strong emphasis on the medical maltreatment of women, and it is

one of the main themes. In her essay, Why I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins

Gilman describes her own struggle with mental health, where she was also advised to practice

the ‘rest cure’ by a famous physician which did not help her, but only worsened her condition

(Perkins Gilman, 1913). She wrote the essay because she saw how many people reacted to The

Yellow Wallpaper and she wanted to explain the reasons behind it. She claims that her intent

was not to make people go insane, instead she wanted to save people from going insane and she

fulfilled her goal (Perkins Gilman, 1913). The rest cure was a popular treatment at the time,

prescribed only to women. The implications behind this “treatment” were that there was nothing

physically wrong with the women being treated, only some emotional or mental instability

which was because of too much work. And women are too fragile to exert themselves,

intellectually or physically.

On the other hand, in Alias Grace, there are several instances where women were medically

maltreated. The first is the illegal abortion that Mary Whitney has. When she got pregnant, her

choices were limited. Since she was not married, she knew that her employer would send her

away “and she would have to go on the streets, and become a sailors’ drab, as she would have

no other way of feeding herself and the baby. And such a life would soon be the end of her”

(Atwood, 357). Mary saw the abortion as her only hope, she believed she would die on the

streets if she had a baby. However, the abortion she had was botched and she bled to death.

Mary died when she was “fifteen or sixteen years old” and her death is the result of

“misogynistic indifference and self-righteous disregard for women’s medical needs” (Horvitz,

103). Her death is also one of many that happened and are still happening today due to the

inaccessibility of proper medical care and can be interpreted similarly to how the narrator’s

situation in The Yellow Wallpaper was interpreted, as a message and a way to bring focus on

this issue.

Secondly, in Grace’s descriptions of the time she spent in the mental asylum also provide an

insight into maltreatment, neglect and poor living conditions as well as misdiagnosis of women

as insane when in fact:

“…a good portion of the women in the Asylum were no madder than the Queen of

England. Many were sane enough when sober, as their madness came out of a bottle,

which is a kind I knew very well. One of them was in there to get away from her

husband, who beat her black and blue, he was the mad one but nobody would lock him

up; and another said she went mad in the autumns, as she had no house and it was warm

in the Asylum, and if she didn’t do a fair job of running mad she would freeze to death;

but then in the spring she would become sane again because it was good weather…”

(Atwood, 64)

In the 19th century men and women were under great pressure due to high standards of the

society. However, women were especially impacted by such standards. Madness as such was a

condition only women were diagnosed with, it was a gendered condition closely linked to

female morality and sexuality where any transgressions from traits that were considered

feminine such as motherhood, caring or patience were considered as unnatural and morally

insane (Sen, 2005). The gendering of madness is even mentioned in the previous excerpt from

the novel – a woman is in the asylum to escape her husband that beats her, while the husband

whose behaviour can be described as a symptom of madness, remains free.

6.3. Power and control

The two literary works portray two types of power over a group of people. One is the power of

a higher social class – money, reputation and social standing in both The Yellow Wallpaper and

Alias Grace were key in maintaining power over someone. In The Yellow Wallpaper, John is

an influential physician which means that he can use his good reputation to basically control

every element of his wife’s life. Similarly, in Alias Grace, almost every character exerts power

over Grace because she was a mere servant. This dynamic is visible in the power of her

employers over her, her treatment by the physicians and workers in the asylum and penitentiary

and even the influence of Nancy Montgomery who was the same social class as Grace.

The other form of power is tied to the gender dynamics. Women were in a severe disadvantage.

Besides the perception that they are the weaker sex and not complying to the norms and societal

expectations of women meant they were insane, women’s own agency and control over their

own life was non-existent. However, both main characters seek this and strive to achieve it. The

narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper challenges her husband’s control by writing a journal in secret

and through her journal we find out about her emotional turmoil. Her state worsens, and while

spending most of her time in her room, she starts seeing women in the wallpaper and imagining

that they cannot get out. To free them she even started peeling the wallpaper.

7. Exploring the main themes of the texts: Social influence and compliance with

social injustice

One of the main themes of the text is the narrator’s subordination in her marriage and

descriptions of her relationship with her husband which embody the usual roles of women in

marriages in the 19th-century American setting of The Yellow Wallpaper. We might see her

husband John as the villain now, but this was the usual marriage dynamic of that time, women

were considered weak, and it is no surprise that his recommendation as a physician was to rest,

avoid physical and mental exertion at all costs and isolate in a remote house. In addition, the

people she did interact with also conformed strongly with the traditional gender roles. The

people that surround her are mostly men – her husband, her brother, Weir Mitchel, and the

women who she mentions are Mary and Jennie who are happy with their domestic occupations,

looking after the children and being a housekeeper (Ford, 1985). The characterisation and

actions of other characters in the short story illustrate how individuals follow the societal norms

and do not consider questioning them. In the 19th-century America and Britain, it was the norm

that women were associated with the private sphere and men with the public sphere, where the

private sphere meant that women are “to be pious, pure and domesticated” (Ross, 228).

To illustrate this dynamic to students and improve their understanding, it can be beneficial to

adapt and implement the activity proposed by Collie and Slater (1987) for the text The Yellow

Wallpaper. Below is an example of a possible way this activity a can be implemented in four

steps.

Stage: Pre-reading activity

Approaches: Reading for personal growth

Practices: Taking a different perspective

Specific outcomes: Writes texts of very complex linguistic structures of varying lengths, styles,

and purposes

Applies a wide range of critical thinking skills: constructs arguments and evaluates opinions,

attitudes, and values, applying them to problem-solving situations and to making decisions

related to personal experiences and contemporary issues

Title: “If I were them” – writing task

Task Description:

Step 1: Present students with the important information connected to the theme

The main character is a young woman who feels she is unwell, she is struggling mentally

and feels nervous and anxious all the time. Her husband and brother are doctors and

assure her that what she is feeling is not serious. Her husband claims her health will

improve with some rest and forbids her from writing and working. While staying in a

house they rented in a village, she has limited social interactions. As the time progresses,

she feels she is not recovering, and she describes her feelings in a secret diary.

Step 2: Provide students with relevant excerpts from the text to give them insight

into interactions and relationships between the characters

Excerpts in focus:

a) A dialogue between the narrator and her husband

“What is it, little girl?” he said. “Don’t go walking about like that—you’ll get

cold.”

I thought it was a good time to talk, so I told him that I really was not gaining

here, and that I wished he would take me away.

“Why darling!” said he, “our lease will be up in three weeks, and I can’t see how

to leave before. … Of course if you were in any danger I could and would, but

you really are better, dear, whether you can see it or not. I am a doctor, dear, and

I know. You are gaining flesh and color, your appetite is better. I feel really much

easier about you.”

“I don’t weigh a bit more,” said I, “nor as much; and my appetite may be better

in the evening, when you are here, but it is worse in the morning when you are

away.”

“Bless her little heart!” said he with a big hug; “she shall be as sick as she

pleases! But now let’s improve the shining hours by going to sleep, and talk

about it in the morning!” (Perkins Gilman, 19)

b) Narrator’s description of her sister-in-law

“There comes John’s sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me! I

must not let her find me writing.

She is a perfect, and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better

profession. I verily believe she thinks it is the writing which made me sick!

But I can write when she is out, and see her a long way off from these windows.”

(Perkins Gilman, 12)

Step 3: Give students instructions for the task

Write a diary entry (about 150-200 words) as if you were the woman in the story (the

narrator). Use the excerpts provided to help you envision her situation and relationships

with people close to her. Use the following questions as a guide:

1. Where are you now, what do you see around you?

2. How do you feel right now about this situation?

3. What is your next move/what are you planning to do?

4. What is currently your worst fear?

Step 4: Once students have completed their diary entries, choose two or three

examples (with students’ permission) to be read out loud in class. Briefly discuss

their perspectives.

This activity is in alignment with the outcome: Secondary school (first foreign language –

English), domain A, 4th grade, learning outcome A.4.5. that states that student “writes texts of

very complex linguistic structures of varying lengths, styles, and purposes.” (Ministarstvo

znanosti i obrazovanja Republike Hrvatske, 2019, 106). Additionally, this activity aims to help

students develop their writing skills, and they the ability to express themselves creatively. It is

a step away from a simple “write an essay” task while still not being too time-consuming and

challenging to implement. On the other hand, in instances where essays are well set, they can

be very “powerful pedagogic tools” because they demand arguments to be original and

thoroughly sustained (Gibson, 99). Therefore, total exclusion of essays as an in-class

assignment or an assessment method is not required.

Another outcome targeted by this activity is that students are expected to make well-thought

conclusions and logical inferences as elements of critical thinking, make predictions about

consequences and possible solutions, elaborated from the outcome: Secondary school (first

foreign language – English), domain C, 4th grade, learning outcome C.4.5. “Applies a wide

range of critical thinking skills: constructs arguments and evaluates opinions, attitudes, and

values, applying them to problem-solving situations and to making decisions related to personal

experiences and contemporary issues.” (Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja Republike

Hrvatske, 2019, 110).

8. Exploring cultural resonance of The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace

It goes without saying that the setting and historical context of the two literary works are

very remote to Croatian students. The Yellow Wallpaper is set in the 19th-century America and

Alias Grace in the19th-century Canada. The society then was shaped by different social norms

and expectations, religious practices, traditional gender roles and class hierarchies. There is a

chance that students could perceive this as unrelatable and irrelevant to the realities of the

modern times. However, experience has shown that history tends to repeat itself, besides that,

sometimes issues relevant to today’s world reflect the ones in the past. Weinstock (2003)

emphasizes the importance of teaching The Yellow Wallpaper not to portray deeply sexist

society of the 19th century, but to connect it to contemporary issues which, in more ways than

expected, remain similar. Although gender inequality is less frequent today, it does not mean it

no longer happens. The Yellow Wallpaper brought forward a problem of medical neglect of

women whose serious mental health problems were disregarded and treated as a mild emotional

instability. The narrator’s experience can be described as medical gaslighting, a phenomenon

that in majority affects women and other marginalised groups and is characterised by the

dismissal and minimisation of a person’s symptoms without appropriate medical examination

(Kaur Dhillon, 2025). This phenomenon is very frequent today and it does not only include

mental health problems, but also other symptoms that are not visible or measurable. Such was

the narrator’s illness, her symptoms were not taken seriously, and she was “treated” in a wrong

way.

Similarly, although occurrences Grace described may seem shocking to us and we believe that

such things do not happen today, Alias Grace like many of Atwood’s literary works, serve as a

warning and a cautionary tale, reminding the reader that injustice, gender inequality and other

societal issues are still persistent.

What does this mean for implementation in classrooms? In order to make sure that students

have enough knowledge to understand these texts and their cultural background, having pre-

reading activities is very important. The results of a study done by Spencer and Sadoski (2006)

have shown that a pre-reading activity helped students achieve better scores than the students

that did not have a pre-reading activity. The pre-reading reading activity included a list of key

terminology that was given to students followed by a brainstorming of the terms and a short

discussion. Since The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace are set in 19th-century America and

Canada, respectively, the pre-reading activities can be similar. A list of key terminology, a

brainstorming activity and discussion can therefore be useful to implement, but there are also

more creative ways to introduce students with the key concepts of the text. Before reading

literary texts, it is important for students to know the historical context of the 19th century: social

norms, class structure and gender norms. One creative, practical and well-liked activity by the

students is an anticipation guide, a strategy where major ideas of a text are forecast by using

statements (Defrioka, 2017). Below is an example of an anticipation guide task for The Yellow

Wallpaper and Alias Grace aligned with the outcome Secondary school (first foreign language

– English), domain B, 4th grade, learning outcome B.4.1. that requires students to engage in

discussions about complex cultural elements relevant to members of other cultures and to justify

the importance of multilingualism” (Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja Republike Hrvatske,

2019, 107).

Stage: Pre-reading activity

Approaches: Reading for personal growth

Practices: Inferring the meaning of themes, connecting prior knowledge of world and

other texts to the text in focus

Specific outcome: Expresses opinions and believes about complex cultural elements

that are significant in other cultures and gives evidence-based reasons for their views.

Title: Exploring the historical context of The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace

Task description: Read the following statements and decide whether you agree or

disagree. Explain your opinion for each statement.

Statement

Agree/

Disagree

Why?

Women in the 19th century were equal to men.

☐ / ☐

...

Traditional gender roles were normal in the past but don't exist now.

☐ / ☐

...

In the 19th century, the upper class held power over the lower class.

☐ / ☐

...

Mental illness in the 19th century was diagnosed equally in men and

women.

☐ / ☐

...

Iti s possible to manipulate others without lying.

☐ / ☐

...

People in power (doctors or lawyers) always have the best decisions.

☐ / ☐

...

In 19th century, social class had no effect on fairness of trial.

☐ / ☐

...

Possible follow-up activity:

Stage: Post-reading activity

Approaches: Reading for personal growth

Task Description: After reading the texts, review the statements once again. Have your

opinions changed? Describe how the texts influenced your beliefs about these

statements.

This task provides the educators with the insight into students’ existing knowledge of the culture

and their misconceptions. In addition, it helps educators track the students’ progress and their

ability to infer certain characteristics of the target culture from the text. The task is focused on

the key themes of both text such as power dynamics, gender roles, truth and how it can be

manipulated, social class structure and attitudes towards mental illness. In this activity students

also write the reasons for their opinions which guides them to base their opinions on certain

evidence they can interpret. With the follow-up activity, educators can measure if the outcomes

have been achieved based on how the students’ opinions changed after reading.

9. Creating interest in reading literary texts

Educators have to keep in mind that not all students are particularly enthusiastic about

reading. Starting a book can be difficult and daunting because readers are thrown into unknown

contexts, new characters and unfamiliar settings. This can demotivate students right from the

beginning. Therefore, sparking students’ interest in the book is one of the first important steps.

Collie and Slater (1987) recognised that literary texts mostly do not start with content that

instantly grabs our attention and for this reason they suggested activities that would “warm-up”

students for the text (16). Some of the activities include:

1. Discussing the title of the literary text or the design of the cover – if the title is

interesting or the cover design is intriguing, educators can use them to engage

students’ attention by examining it in class.

2. Using guided fantasy – students are instructed to picture a setting from the

beginning of a literary text and imagine themselves in that setting, they focus on

how they feel, what they see or what they would say.

3. Examining excerpts from the text – students are given chosen parts of a literary

text with a goal to familiarise them with main characters and their personalities

or with the central theme of the text.

4. Comparing the beginnings of selected literary texts – educators present students

with three or more opening paragraphs from literary works and give them

instructions to compare the text in aspects of writing style, character introduction

or overall mood.

5. Exploring one of the main themes – using the main theme of a text as a writing

prompt for students where they put themselves in that situation and create a story

from their own perspective.

The following chapters exemplify how the discussed activities can be adapted and combined to

be applied for the texts The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace.

9.1. Examining the title Alias Grace

A title of a literary work is an orientation and a guide to reading of the work (Wilsmore, 1987).

In other words, by examining the title we can get a glimpse into the literary work. The title

Alias Grace can be examined from two perspectives when teaching ESL students. First is from

the perspective of literal meaning of the word ‘alias’ which is defined as “a false name,

especially one used by a criminal” and as a term “used when giving the name that a person is

generally known by, after giving their real name” (Cambridge University Press, n.d.). In

addition, using native language in foreign language teaching is beneficial as well. Therefore,

students can be asked to provide Croatian equivalents, translations or definitions of the word

alias. The literal meaning can serve as the beginning of exploring deeper and implied

connotations of the term alias in the title. So, another perspective to explore the title is to

consider its figurative meaning. One of the connotations, as described in the dictionary, is that

the term alias is associated with criminals, because criminals often use a different name to hide

their identity. Therefore, students can give their predictions about whether they think there is a

connection with anything illegal about the character Grace and what crime she could have

committed. On the other hand, the title implies that Grace is the alias even though it is the real

name of the main character.

Stage: Pre-reading activity

Approaches: Language-based approach, using literature as content

Practices: Explaining the actions of characters, inferring meanings of symbols

Specific outcome: Critically evaluate the main message, key information and implicit

meanings in the text

Title: Read between the lines

Task description: To guide students in their process of reflection on the implied

meaning of the title, educators can ask questions such as:

1. What can the word alias in the title tell us about Grace (the main character)?

2. What associations do you get with the word alias in the title – do you think about

the aliases criminals use?

3. Do you think Grace is a criminal? Why? Why not?

4. What crimes do you think she might have committed?

5. Based on the title, do you think we can trust Grace as a narrator?

The questions give students opportunities to predict some of Grace’s character traits. While this

will hopefully spark their interest in the novel, it also facilitates the development of an important

skill for reading comprehension – inference. To infer is to “read between the lines”, and for

successful understanding of the text, inference is crucial. Lee (2013) concluded that inferencing

is making a connection between the information from the text and world knowledge.

Accordingly, this activity, where the focus is exploring the implied meaning behind the title,

provides students with factual information they might not yet possess, such as the meaning and

use of the world alias, but also allows them to draw upon their own knowledge to come to

conclusions and predictions about the text. Developing the skill of inferencing is embedded in

the learning outcome: Secondary school (first foreign language – English), domain A, 4th grade,

learning outcome A.4.1. “Evaluates a longer authentic or adapted text while listening and

reading” which is elaborated to cover that students should be able to critically evaluate the main

message, key information and implicit meanings in the text (Ministarstvo znanosti i

obrazovanja Republike Hrvatske, 2019, 105). Students should be encouraged to actively think

about the text they are reading and try to make connections between the text and their previous

knowledge, to approach the text critically and consider what is the truth, what are facts and

what is unspoken.

10. Students’ prior linguistic knowledge and potential for acquisition of new

vocabulary

For language teachers who decide to teach literature to their students, one of the major

challenges is to find texts that match the language proficiency of students but are still valuable

in bringing new vocabulary in a way that is interesting. Literary texts can serve to model the

authentic use of vocabulary and syntax for students. However, literary masterpieces are mostly

the only literary texts deemed valuable in school settings, and they frequently have an archaic

style which makes it difficult for students to understand (Lengyel, 1975). In addition, students

become less interested in the texts that are difficult for them to follow. When reading The Yellow

Wallpaper, it is inevitable that students will come across some archaic and unknown words

because it is an older text. Similarly, Alias Grace is a longer novel and it is impossible for

students to know the meaning of every single word. Therefore, it is crucial to prepare students

and teach them that it is not absolutely necessary to translate or search for meaning of every

single word they do not understand. They can use different reading strategies such as guessing

the meaning of the word based on the context, especially if knowing the exact meaning of the

word is not crucial for understanding the text. In addition, some words derive from other words,

so it is beneficial to dissect an unknown word and see if its root form is familiar. Zhang (2007)

suggested these reading strategies in the while-reading stage to enhance students’ learning

autonomy in language learning. A positive aspect of these strategies is that students can utilise

them in out-of-classroom reading.

On the other hand, the literary texts should also be taught because of their potential as language

learning materials. While reading the texts, some vocabulary and language structures should be

in focus. Beglar and Hunt (2005) suggested encouraging students to engage in “communicative

output” activities as one of the principles for teaching foreign language vocabulary (8). In other

words, an effective way to successfully learn and internalise new vocabulary is to use it in

speech or writing. To better assure that new vocabulary is retained in memory, students should

encounter and use them more it once. Accordingly, educators should aim to introduce activities

that encourage use of key vocabulary in the while-reading phase. A challenge here for educators

is how to choose key vocabulary from entire literary texts. One way could be connecting them

to a theme which can encourage conceptualisation. Tinkham (1997) researched thematic and

semantic clustering of words and their impact on vocabulary learning and concluded that

thematic clustering facilitates the learning of new vocabulary. In addition, choosing vocabulary

that will also be useful to students for communicative and academic purposes is also a necessity.

For the text The Yellow Wallpaper one example of vocabulary that can be chosen for thematic

clustering can be connected to mental and emotional state:

1. Horror (p. 3) – horrid (p. 9)

2. Opposition (p. 4)

3. Stimulus (p. 4) – stimulating (p. 10)

4. Hysterical tendency (p. 4)

5. Nervous condition (p. 5)

6. Confuse (p. 7) – confusion (p. 15)

7. Irritate (p.7) – irritating (p. 13), irritant (p. 20)

8. To be fond of (p. 9)

9. Discouraging (p. 10)

(Perkins Gilman, 1892)

The words were purposely not selected for their semantic relatedness, but for their shared

connotations and their link to the narrator’s mental state and emotions. In addition, some words

and their derivations were used several times in the short story which can be a great learning

opportunity. For example, the word horror was used on the 3rd page of the short story and its

derivational form horrid was used on the 9th page. Therefore, when students already know or

learn the meaning of the word horror, they can use the vocabulary learning strategy where they

break down the word horrid and connect it to the word horror.

On the other hand, students should also be given opportunities to use these words in classroom.

Below is a suggestion for a creative and visually stimulating classroom activity where students

have to write a description of the narrator based on an illustration.

Stage: While-reading activity

Approaches: Language-based approach

Practice: Building a social world based on the setting of a literary text

Specific outcomes: Uses a wide range of creative expression techniques

Writes texts of very complex linguistic structure, of varying lengths, styles, and

purposes.

Title: Illustration description

Task description: Write a 250-word description of the given illustration of the narrator.

For this task you have to use 6 out of 9 given words or their derivations: horror (horrid),

opposition, stimulus (stimulating), hysterical tendency, nervous condition, confuse

(confusion), irritate (irritating, irritant), to be fond of, discouraging. Use the following

questions as writing prompts:

How does the woman look? How does the woman feel? What does her room look like?

Describe the wallpaper. How would her mental health be described today, how is it

described in the story?

Illustration in focus:

Figure 2: AI-generated illustration of the narrator in a yellow-walled room, inspired by

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper (created by ChatGPT, 2025).

Firstly, with this task students are improving their writing skills as well as their vocabulary.

Secondly, they are visually stimulated and can write about what the illustration reminds them

of while also learning and using key vocabulary. Lastly, the students can make comparisons

about the culture and society’s beliefs about mental illness then and today, which is based on

their reading comprehension.

Using key vocabulary is also necessary in speech. A creative and frequently used activity in

foreign language learning where students interact with each other and get opportunities to speak

is role-playing. Such an activity can be introduced in the while-reading stage of the text Alias

Grace. Below is an example of a possible way this activity a can be implemented.

Stage: While-reading activity

Approaches: Language-based approach

Practice: Explaining the actions of characters, taking a different perspective

Specific outcome: Uses a wide range of creative expression techniques

Speaks at length using very complex linguistic structures

Title: Who is Mary? Role-playing activity

Task description: Read the following excerpt of a dialogue between dr Jordan and

Grace. What happens next? Work in pairs and come up with a continuation of the

dialogue. Make 5–7 turns of dialogue between the characters and prepare to act them

out in front of class.

Dialogue in focus:

Situation: Grace describes why she used Mary Whitney as her alias

Grace, he says then, who is Mary Whitney?

I give him a quick look. Mary Whitney, Sir? Now where would you get such a name as

that? I say.

It is written underneath your portrait, he says. At the front of your Confession. Grace

Marks, Alias Mary Whitney.

Oh yes, I say. It is not a good likeness of me.

And Mary Whitney? he says.

Oh, that was just the name I gave, Sir, at the tavern in Lewiston when James McDermott

was running away with me. He said I should not give my own name, in case they came looking

for us. He was gripping my arm very tight at the time, as I recall. To make sure I would do as

he told me.

And did you give any name that came into your head? he says.

Oh no, Sir, I say. Mary Whitney was once a particular friend of mine. She was dead by

that time, Sir, and I did not think she would mind it if I used her name. She sometimes lent me

her clothing, too. (Atwood, 203-204).

Both of these activities can be utilised to achieve the outcome Secondary school (first foreign

language – English), domain A, 4th grade, learning outcome C.4.4. Uses a wide range of

creative expression techniques: critically evaluates existing ideas and creates new ones

connected to personal experiences and contemporary topics” (Ministarstvo znanosti i

obrazovanja Republike Hrvatske, 2019, 109). Another intended outcome for the “illustration

description” activity is Secondary school (first foreign language – English), domain A, 4th

grade, learning outcome “A.4.5. Writes texts of very complex linguistic structure, of varying

lengths, styles, and purposes.” (Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja Republike Hrvatske, 2019,

106). On the other hand, the role-playing activity aims to fulfil the Secondary school (first

foreign language – English), domain A, 4th grade, learning outcome “A.4.3. Speaks at length

using very complex linguistic structures.” (Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja Republike

Hrvatske, 2019, 105). In the activity students work together to predict the continuation of the

conversation based on what they have already read and found out about the characters. In

addition, they have to plan an interaction which is meaningful and well thought out in terms of

the use of language and relevance to the theme.

11. Screen adaptations as teaching resources

Many dynamic and creative methods and activities for teaching The Yellow Wallpaper and

Alias Grace have already been discussed. In addition to the methods mentioned, although we

are now trying to limit the time spent using screens, literary screen adaptations have been

proven as useful pedagogical tools along with reading the literary works. It can be a challenge

to find adaptations that closely follow the original text, and it may be frustrating for some to

see a literary masterpiece being altered just to appeal to mass audiences. Nevertheless, these

adaptations help students understand the text better as well as make the themes and linguistic

features that are beyond their grasp less complex. An advantage of utilizing literary adaptations

is providing context of the texts and creating a link between past and present by translating

archaic language and adapting cultural and historic references to be more familiar to students,

however a disadvantage is that students can start using them as their primary source (Karaktan

& Verma, 2025). While literary adaptations likely retain the main themes and messages of the

source text and therefore hold similar values for moral education, many linguistic aspects are

often lost. With texts we have an opportunity to experience different types of narrative passages

where we read about descriptions of places, people and feelings as well as inner monologues

and dialogues between characters. Readers have the chance to visualise characters and places

on their own. On the other hand, with for example TV series or films, many of these valuable

perspectives are lost.

Regarding critical thinking skills, research has shown that incorporating adaptations into

classrooms as additional learning material can enhance skills such as deduction, inferencing

and induction (Djamàa, 2018).

The novel Alias Grace was adapted into miniseries directed by Mary Harron where she and the

screenwriter Sarah Polley faithfully translated Grace’s ambiguousness and inscrutability as well

as the open-endedness of the narrative onto the screen in each episode (McMahon, 2021).

Because of this accuracy in adapting the novel into a miniseries, its use in classroom can be

very beneficial. However, to prevent students from relying too much on it and disregarding

reading completely, activities connected to watching the series should be conducted as post-

reading activities. In addition, time constraints should also be taken into account. With students

having already read the whole not so short novel, incorporating only one episode of the

miniseries as an obligatory task would serve as a sufficient visual background and as a tool for

further learning and outcome fulfilment. Watching all episodes would be optional and entirely

up to students to decide if they want to.

One way to utilise the series to help students understand the concept of unreliable narrator better

and to visualise in what ways Grace has characteristics of an unreliable narrator. Grace is seen

as an unreliable narrator because of her tendency to manipulate truth when talking to others and

using her appearance to be seen as an innocent girl not capable of killing anyone. While not

directly connected to outcomes that describe the development of critical thinking skills in the

curriculums, teaching the concept of an unreliable narrator can be a tool to fulfil some outcomes.

Specifically, learning to recognise an unreliable narrator and examine elements that define it

can be utilised as a practice of inferencing skills. In addition, with morally questionable

unreliable narrators, educators may ask students why they think the narrators chose to

manipulate the truth and thus creating a situation where they put themselves in the narrator’s

shoes and try to understand or empathise with the narrator (O’Connor, 1994).

Hanafi (2024) distinguished three types of unreliable narrators – naïve (unreliable because of

the inability to completely understand their experiences), morally ambiguous (unreliable

because their actions are morally ambiguous and they want to manipulate readers to rationalise

their behaviours), and mentally unstable (unreliable because their narrative is impacted by their

psychological disorder). With Grace, it can be argued that she is both a morally ambiguous and

psychologically unstable type of unreliable narrate. This is illustrated numerous times in the

novel. One example where the moral ambiguity can be seen in her conversation with dr Jordan

when he gives her an apple and she gives him answers to appear less intelligent than she really

is:

“He gives his one laugh. Can you tell me what it is, he says.

I look at him, then look away. An apple, I say. He must think I am simple; or else it’s a

trick of some sort; or else he is mad and that is why they locked the door—they’ve

locked me into this room with a madman. But men who are dressed in clothes like his

cannot be mad, especially the gold watch-chain—his relatives or else his keepers would

have it off him in a trice if so.

He smiles his lopsided smile. What does Apple make you think of? he says.

I beg your pardon, Sir, I say. I do not understand you.

It must be a riddle. I think of Mary Whitney, and the apple peelings we threw over our

shoulders that night, to see who we would marry. But I will not tell him that.” (Atwood,

81-82)

In this scene, Grace is careful what to say, she believes that dr Jordan thinks she is stupid, and

she formulates her responses and gives him her “stupid look” to maintain that belief (Atwood,

82)

On the other hand, Grace claims she has gaps in her memory, and she does not remember any

events connected to the actual murders of Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear. The

claimed memory loss as well as descriptions of her deceased friend Mary Whitney taking over

her body when her actions are morally questionable, make the reader truly question what the

actual truth is.

The fact that Grace is not to be trusted completely is perfectly depicted in the mirror scene in

the first episode of the series. The scene begins with an inner monologue where Grace states:

“I think of all the things that have been written about me — that I am an inhuman female

demon, that I am an innocent victim of a blackguard forced against my will and in danger

of my own life, that I was too ignorant to know how to act and that to hang me would

be judicial murder… that I am well and decently dressed, that I robbed a dead woman

to appear so… that I am of a sullen disposition with a quarrelsome temper, that I have

the appearance of a person rather above my humble station, that I am a good girl with a

pliable nature and no harm is told of me, that I am cunning and devious, that I am soft

in the head and little better than an idiot. And I wonder, how can I be all these different

things at once?” (Alias Grace, 2017)

This text is almost the same as in the novel, only a small part was excluded in the series. The

scene in the series depicts Grace deliberately changing her posture and expressions, she tilts her

head, alters her look and watches how with this difference her personality also seemingly

changes (Alias Grace, 2017). The viewers get the feeling that Grace is using different versions

of her personality, and it seems as if she is checking how she can portray herself in a different

light (Paquet-Deyris, 2021). Furthermore, in this scene in the series it is already evident that

Grace is capable to control how she is viewed by others, and she does it intentionally. In the

same scene in the novel, the readers still cannot discern that she is not just a victim of societal

prejudice and expectations of women. After watching this part in the beginning of the episode

in classroom, a short pause from watching can be made to discuss students’ feelings and

thoughts about the scene. Some questions that educators can ask are:

- How does this scene make you feel?

- What does her observation of her facial expressions tell you about Grace?

- Compare your beliefs about Grace in the beginning of reading the novel and in the

beginning of watching this episode.

These questions and the comparison task encourage students to actively think about Grace as a

possible unreliable character and their ability to recognise it while reading and by seeing

Grace’s character portrayed in this way in the series.

Having already read the novel and after answering the questions, students already have all

information needed to come to a conclusion that Grace is not a completely trustworthy narrator.

At this point, the concept of the unreliable narrator can be explicitly explained to students by

giving them the definition and some famous examples of unreliable narrators in literature and

film. A possible activity for students during watching the episode is to note subtle and obvious

actions or statements which reveal hidden aspects of Grace’s character and foreshadow later

events. The intended learning outcomes for this activity are aligned with the Nacionalni

kurikulum za nastavni predmet Engleski jezik (Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja Republike

Hrvatske, 2019):

1. Secondary school (first foreign language – English), domain A, 4th grade, learning

outcome A.4.1 – Evaluates a longer authentic or adapted text while listening and

reading; elaborated to include the ability to critically evaluate the main message, key

information, and implicit meanings in the text (105).

2. Secondary school (first foreign language – English), domain C, 4th grade, learning

outcome C.4.6 – Critically evaluates information from various types of texts and

sources, and delivers extended presentations on complex topics; uses different types of

digital and other media; critically interprets and evaluates information for objective use,

exchange, and presentation (110).

3. Secondary school (first foreign language – English), Domain C, 4th grade, learning

outcome C.4.5 – Applies a wide range of critical thinking skills: constructs arguments

and evaluates opinions, attitudes, and values, applying them to problem-solving

situations and to making decisions related to personal experiences and contemporary

issues (110).

In addition, teaching stylistics is not one of the aims in English language instruction in Croatian

secondary school. However, with teaching the students about narrative techniques, this example

is one way to still incorporate some aspects of teaching stylistic to fulfil prescribed outcomes.

Furthermore, students can subsequently use this knowledge to read The Yellow Wallpaper from

a critical point of view. In other words, while reading this short story, readers should keep in

mind that it is written only from a singular perspective and a personal point of view (Galullo,

1999). Because of this, students have to be taught and reminded to question and reexamine what

they have read in this short story as well as in their following reading experiences and to employ

this technique in everyday life.

When considering including the screen adaptation of The Yellow Wallpaper into the teaching

materials there are several options to choose from. However, the adaptations are not as popular

nor as easily accessible as the 2017 Netflix adaptation of Alias Grace. The most recent

adaptation was the 2021 film directed by Kevin Pontuti. Another screen adaptation was a film

released in 2012 and directed by Thomas Logan. Due to the inaccessibility of the screen

adaptations, their utilisation in the learning process can be skipped. Regardless, the 2012 film

has an interesting plot summary on IMDb which can be used as an discussion point included in

the after-reading stage: “After a devastating fire, Charlotte and John rent a countryside house

and attempt to start life over, though Charlotte, upon seeing visions of her deceased daughter,

retreats to the house's attic and pulls away from her husband and sister” (IMDb, n.d.). In this

description of the adaptation, we see a striking difference from the original plot of the short

story. The narrator, named Charlotte in the film, has a different reason to close herself in the

attic room. She is mourning the loss of her daughter and is tormented by visions of her daughter.

Despite altering the plotline, the adaptation can provide an interesting discussion point in

classroom. Students can connect this departure from the original with their learning background

in sociology and psychology. The filmmakers felt the need to give the character a reason to

descent into madness. The oppression and patriarchy were not enough to make the character

relatable. In other words, even today, or in 2012 at least, there was a presumption that the society

would not see the reasons from the short story serious enough for a woman to break down, they

had to come up with a tragic loss and a great trauma to make them sympathetic to Charlotte. As

a classroom activity educators can introduce the film to students by giving them the description.

To encourage students to connect the changes made in the adaptation to their previous learning

in sociology, educators can ask questions:

- Why was the reason behind narrator’s mental illness changed from oppression to

personal trauma?

- What does that say about society’s sympathy towards oppressed women today?

- Is grief seen as a more acceptable reason for women’s decline in health than systemic

oppression and patriarchal control?

In addition to connecting their knowledge gained from other school subjects, this activity

enables students to show what they learned from pre-reading and while-reading activities that

were previously discussed.

12. Reading assessment

Many educators today have similar experiences with reading assessments when they were

students in secondary schools because most of the time, when reading was assessed, the task

was to write an essay. Development of essay writing skills is an important goal because of the

state graduation exams that students have to take to enrol to universities. Croatian language is

one of the obligatory subjects in which students must take exams and it includes writing an

argumentative essay about a topic concerning a literary text that was a part of compulsory

reading. In contrast, English-language state graduation exam also contains an essay writing

task. However, the task is not directly connected to any obligatory reading materials. Because

of this English language teachers do not have to worry to assess students’ reading

comprehension by using an essay as a tool, at least not as frequently.

There are two types of assessment. Summative assessment, which measures student’s

performance after a certain learning period with a goal to rank the students based on their

achievements, and formative assessment that measures student’s performance during the

learning process with a goal to give them feedback (Chen, Chen & Horng, 2019). Because

formative assessment focuses on the process of learning and improvement possibilities after

certain feedback, assessing reading would be more beneficial if it was done formatively and

through a longer period of time. One way to integrate this into assessing reading comprehension

of The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace without adding extra activities or tasks, is to assess

students continuously. However, drawback of this method is that it is time demanding for the

educator and requires continuous monitoring and recording students’ achievements. While

students’ written tasks serve as evidence of their learning which makes tracking the progress

easier, activities that are done orally such as discussions, should be sufficiently documented.

13. Conclusion

This study demonstrates different ways incorporating The Yellow Wallpaper and Alias

Grace as learning materials can be helpful to achieve learning outcomes in secondary school

education. It has shown that reading in a foreign language is not merely a linguistic enrichment

tool but also a way to encourage students’ personal growth and development. Moreover, it can

serve as a teaching aid for educators worldwide that set out to incorporate The Yellow Wallpaper

or Alias Grace in their English as a foreign language classroom.

Because of the scope of learning possibilities with these novels, students can use their

knowledge in their personal lives as well as for academic purposes. They can utilise their

knowledge about the society’s perspective on mental illnesses in the past while engaging with

literary texts that deal with this topic, such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) and Caleb

Carr’s The Alienist (1994). The time setting, central themes and educational potentials in The

Yellow Wallpaper and Alias Grace are interconnected creating a unique opportunity to design

a learning plan where students build on their previous experiences and use their prior knowledge

while reading the texts sequentially. In other words, educators can plan to teach Alias Grace in

the beginning of the school year and The Yellow Wallpaper towards the end of the school year.

In that way, they can observe how the students advanced in engaging with the text. For example,

they can observe whether students read the text critically and question the narrator’s version of

the story. They can also observe if they recognise the characteristics of the society of that time

period and if they are keeping in mind that we can also view a literary text from a contemporary

point of view and compare it to the society today.

Evidently, there are many challenges educators can come across when teaching these literary

texts. One of these challenges are time constraints. It is generally known that in educational

system there are always unforeseen circumstances that slow down the learning process. But it

is on educators to decide which learning outcomes they aim to fulfil with the texts and based

on that they can choose which of the suggested activities are most suitable for the learning needs

of their students.

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