- Unfolding epistemic injustice in “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Abstract

This essay aims to analyze the different interpretations that Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper has received over time, highlighting how such readings contribute to the understanding of the concept of epistemic injustice and its effects on the recognition and practice of rights in plural social contexts. Based on Miranda Fricker’s contributions, two types of injustice are discussed: testimonial and hermeneutical. The essay emphasizes how theoretical, political, and cultural advances have enabled new readings of the work, expanding the interpretive resources available in each era and highlighting the historical limitations in the acknowledgment of the narrated experiences. By articulating literature and theory, the essay contributes to elucidating the mechanisms through which identity prejudice limit the intelligibility of marginalized testimonies and, at the same time, reflects on the gradual constitution of hermeneutical justice as a corrective virtue in the social and theoretical fields.