Kevin McIlvoy: Truth Be Told (July 1997)

Kevin McIlvoy counters the current fear of showing conviction in art as he explores elements of “truthtelling” in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short fiction. Noting that Gilman was primarily an essayist, one unafraid to argue for her views, McIlvoy also considers how these convictions surface, in different ways, in her fiction; he focuses on how the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” conveys its argument through image, and how an immediate issue of her time is used to create a terrifying, lasting work.