The Child Speaks
THE CHILD SPEAKS: A young child's thoughts and feelings on being confined to a room by their father for their own good.
By Charlotte Perkins Gilman · First published 1899 · Genre: Speculative Fiction, Feminist Literature, Social Commentary · 533 words
First lines
Get back! Give me air! Give me freedom and room, The warm earth and bright water, the crowding sweet bloom Of the flowers, and the measureless, marvellous sky,- All of these all the time, and a shelter close by Where silence and beauty and peace are my own In a chamber alone.
Then bring me the others! "A child" is a crime; It is "children" who grow through the beautiful time Of their childhood up into the age you are in. "A child" must needs suffer and sicken and sin; The life of a child needs the life of its kind, O ye stupid and blind!
What this Textopian page supports
The Child Speaks is listed on Textopian as a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, dated 1899 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Date: 1899 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Speculative Fiction, Feminist Literature, Social Commentary, Non-fiction, Realism
- Length: 533 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Child Speaks by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Child Speaks?
- How does this short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Speculative Fiction first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- Baby Love by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- The Mothers Charge by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- A Common Inference by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Mother To Child Charlotte Perkins Gilman by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- An Ominous Baby by Stephen Crane
- The Phantom Sister by Ring Lardner
Genres
- Speculative Fiction — Charlotte Perkins Gilman often incorporated societal criticism and utopian ideals into her works, hallmark characteristics of the speculative fiction genre.
- Feminist Literature — Gilman's work often centered on female empowerment and critique of the patriarchal society, classifying it as feminist literature.
- Social Commentary — Perkins uses her narratives to comment on societal norms and structures, making her work fit the social commentary genre.
- Non-fiction — If the book presents a collection of Gilman's thoughts, essays, or speeches, it could be categorized as non-fiction.
Tags
childhood · communication · innocence · imagination · family · parenting · society · gender roles · psychology · narrative · development · education