Charlotte Gilman Obstacles

“The Yellow Wall-paper” is an amazing story that demonstrates how close-minded the world was a little over a hundred years ago. In the late eighteen hundreds, women were seen as personal objects that are not capable of making a mark in the world. If a woman did prove to be a strong intellectual person and had a promising future, they were shut out from society. Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote her stories from experience, but added fictional twists along the way to make her stories interesting.

For Gilman, the conventional nineteenth-century middle-class marriage, with its rigid distinction between the “domestic” functions of the female and the “active” work of the male, ensured that women remained second-class citizens. The story reveals that this gender division had the effect of keeping women in a childish state of ignorance and preventing their full development. John’s assumption of his own superior wisdom and maturity leads him to misjudge, patronize, and dominate his

During the 19th century men considered themselves to be the superior sex. Without a valid reason or explanation, men were the providers, the politicians, and the physicians. Men had the power. The power to make the rules and set the guidelines of how things were supposed to be done and women were expected to follow without question. The 19th century was also the start of the women’s activist movement, more and more women were starting to realize that they had a voice and they wanted to be heard. Women were gaining the courage to speak up against the wishes of men and set their own guidelines. To stand up and tell men that contrary to what they believe, they are not always right. Among these opinionated women was Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the niece of Harriet Beecher Stowe and the author of many short stories and books on gender inequality. Gilman is most known for her Short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” published in 1892, where she writes about a wife and now a new mother suffering from depression. Through her work she reveals the strength and influence men had over women, the lack of knowledge pertaining to mental health and gender roles present during the 1800s.

The overall goals of womanhood included remaining passive and modest in all situations. During Gilman’s lifetime, women’s rights activists began to act out against The Cult of Domesticity, but society simply shunned them.

Her father left the family after she was born, her mother restricted Gilman from reading fiction. But there was a light at the end of a tunnel, her family had a financial problems had to move in with her relations. With the help of her aunts, Gilman started to become more independent. Being a women of the 19th century, women injustice

During the Progressive Era, there was a rise in advocates for various issues of the period. A prime example of a progressive advocate is Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who through her writing encouraged more social, political, and economic rights for women. Gilman specifically advocated for women to not only participate in their domestic duties but for women to also serve as active members of society; both politically and financially. To convey these points, Gilman wrote and published many books that illustrated the issues to the public and started conversations and controversies which brought more attention to women’s rights. In her works, Gilman consistently advocated for economic power for women; however, she supported women being involved and equal in every aspect of society; including having the same domestic power and rights as their husbands, women’s suffrage to match male counterparts, and the ability for women to be financially independent and self-supporting. Gilman’s writings acted as a significant part of the women’s rights movement during the Progressive Era by bringing the controversial issues to the public eye.

This could lend more proof to the idea that the women's brain acts and functions differently than a man's brain. The story and Gilman can also teach that although women do function differently than men it does not make them inadequate. Furthermore, we still, as women, stand to learn that as women we should have full control over ourselves, mind, body and, soul; Because at the end of the day we should, and do, know what is best for

While Gilman believed that, women would not have a revolution against the men, but we would “evolve” into equality. Society would over time, as women became more economically independent, balance its injustices. Then, women would finally be free to develop as individuals, and to offer their untapped resources to their families and society as a whole.

Gilman’s most distinguished piece of work was her novel, Women and Economics, published in 1898. In this text Gilman focused on women and the workplace, and women of the time could easily relate to her opinions about working in the home. However, Gillman believed that women could not gain true freedom working strictly inside their homes and to ultimately be free that they must find work outside of their responsibilities at home. She stated that “women experience not fulfillment but oppression” when merely working in the home (Foner 691).

Charlotte Perkins Gilman is known as the first American writer who has feminist approach. Gilman criticises inequality between male and female during her life, hence it is mostly possible to see the traces of feminist approach in her works. She deals with the struggles and obstacles which women face in patriarchal society. Moreover, Gilman argues that marriages cause the subordination of women, because male is active, whereas female plays a domestic role in the marriage. Gilman also argues that the situation should change; therefore women are only able to accomplish full development of their identities. At this point, The Yellow Wallpaper is a crucial example that shows repressed woman’s awakening. It is a story of a woman who

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was an American lecturer, writer, feminist and publisher who was a leading theorist in women’s rights. Gilman’s childhood was surrounded by poverty due to the fact that her father had left the family and it left the mother to fend for her and her children. Most of the education that she was lucky to receive was limited and irregular, Perkins would go to her town library to study books and novels considering her family couldn’t afford a formal education for her as a child. But, she did attend Rhode Island School of Design so she did receive some form of formal education. As Gilman aged, her writings and essays became more concise and sophisticated compared to when she was a younger woman.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was born in 1860, in the city of Hartford, CT. She would later move to California. She would end her own life in 1935, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought for women’s rights and was an advocate of socialism. She wrote novels, poetry and short stories. She was a woman who was educated; her writing reflected her knowledge, relating to her strong thoughts on woman’s rights and independence and how women of Victorian times suffered from this lack of rights. In her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Charlotte Perkins Gilman conveys her views on feminism and how women are treated through characters who represent this treatment. The characters she uses help the reader really get drawn into her story;

With the changes in American society, Gilman 's economic theories have appeared increasingly less radical and attracted less notice by critics and public. However, as women 's roles continue to evolve, her sociological studies and her suggestions for housekeeping and take care of child arrangements gain in significance. Many modern feminist nonfiction works reflect the influence of Gilman 's ideas. Readers are rediscovering in her thought much that is relevant

When Gilman was sent home she was given instructions to “ live as domestic a life as possible… Have but two hours’ intellectual life a day. And never touch a pen, brush or pencil as long as you live” (Scharnhorst 150)

Life during the 1800s for a woman was rather distressing. Society had essentially designated them the role of being a housekeeper and bearing children. They had little to no voice on how they lived their daily lives. Men decided everything for them. To clash with society 's conventional views is a challenging thing to do; however, Charlotte Perkins Gilman does an excellent job fighting that battle by writing “The Yellow Wallpaper,” one of the most captivating pieces of literature from her time. By using the conventions of a narrative, such as character, setting, and point of view, she is capable of bringing the reader into a world that society