Charlotte Perkins Gilman, also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, advocate for social reform, and eugenicist. She was a utopian feminist and served as a role model for future generations of feminists because of her unorthodox concepts and lifestyle. Her works were primarily focused on gender, specifically gendered labor division in society, and the problem of male domination. She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her best remembered work today is her semi-autobiographical short story "The Yellow Wallpaper", which she wrote after a severe bout of postpartum psychosis.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Portrait of Gilman at age 24, ca. 1884
Gilman (right) with her daughter, Katherine Beecher Stetson, ca. 1897
Charlotte Perkins Gilman Photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston (c. 1900)
National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) is an American institution founded to honor and recognize women. It was incorporated in 1969 in Seneca Falls, New York, and first inducted honorees in 1973. As of 2021, it had 303 inductees.
NWHF from across river, in 2022
Interior of NWHF, in historic mill, in 2022