Herland: A Non-Feminist Analysis

Women’s Rights has been a point of contention for a very long time. Especially during the late 19th and 20th century, it was a seemingly unorthodox idea in a patriarchal society. This is what makes Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper a feminist piece still analyzed to this day. It was a story that was arguably ahead of its time, as was Gilman, with her utopian feminist ideals. She wrote the book with some introspection of her own postpartum depression. The Yellow Wallpaper has been deemed a classic feminist literature piece due to its layers of deeper meaning, achieved through Gilman’s use of symbolism, character, and setting, construed by many to represent the struggles faced by women in the late 19th century.

Kessler emphasizes the point that this one short story seemed parallel and mirror the views of Gilman in regards to the oppression of women in her society. Comparing the two, Kessler writes, “This once she was able to join her public and private expressions in a work of devastating impact” (Kessler 1991 p.159). Gilman, who was a leader and crusader in the women’s rights movement, tried to expel away the gender bias that plague women, just as the narrator in her story tries to pull off the wallpaper in her room to free the trapped women behind it. The patriarchal society at that time period was Gilman’s wallpaper. She had to work hard at trying to force through societal changes. Just like the resistant old wallpaper in her story, ridged and yellow with age, Gilman and her counterparts had much difficulty in pushing through the wallpaper of tradition.

The narrator, who is never named, is depicted as a woman who is confined and repressed based on her gender. During the time Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the feminist movement was going through its second surge and was continuously expanding. Gilman was considered “the idol of radical feminists” (Degler 21) and the “most original and challenging mind, which the women movement produced” (Degler 21). One of the major themes found throughout Gilman’s writings is “to show the disastrous and all-pervasive effects upon women and upon society of the continued suppression of her sex” ( Degler 22). This is seen in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”, when the narrator

In the 1800’s to the 1900’s, times were especially tough for women. Typically, women were not seen doing men’s work and had the important role of staying inside cooking, cleaning, and making sure their husbands were happy and pleased. In some cases, women were discouraged from doing any housework because of these roles; even writing, to express themselves, was forbidden. For Charlotte Perkins Gilman, that was not the case. Gilman was a lecturer, feminist, writer and social critic. Some of her most famous works of literature are, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, “To the Indifferent Women”, “The Crux”, and many more. Gilman found her love for literature as a child and the events of her early life inspired her to pursue a career in writing. As Gilman grew

Therefore, it might be said that sex and gender distinction shows inequality, and also feminism argues that a woman is not oblige to live her gender role. Biology is a destiny, but a woman also can be masculine. At this point, feminist writer Charlotte Gilman addresses an important point that she says; “Every kind of creature is developed by the exercise of its functions. If denied the exercise of its functions, it cannot develop in the fullest degree.” (Gilman). It is a good point that leads women the way in order to break sex and gender discrimination. The woman in The Yellow Wallpaper is a crucial example which supports both Tyson and Gilman.

Feminism is the advocating for social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men (Random House College Dictionary). This story depicts just that. It is about a society made entirely of women with no need for men. We see the perspective of men through the eyes of our narrator. He gives us the point of view from three different men about women. Herland takes the traditional stereotypes about women and reverses them entirely. Everything that was once regarded by feminine and masculine standards was taken away. The women had short hair and athletic bodies. Their clothing was not provocative but built for comfort and convenience. They were not coy and flirtatious. They did not need men.

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;

When The Yellow Wallpaper was published in 1892 the first wave of feminism was occurring, which probably had an influence on Gilman’s attitude and writing. Women’s desire to have more opportunities and being able to vote are the main characteristics of first-wave feminism. The rebellion against domesticity also played an important role in the movement as it created an uproar when women started to act “unladylike” (Rampton, 2015). Further, Gilman indirectly criticizes the men’s reaction to the feminism wave in The Yellow Wallpaper. The husband in the story clearly wants to ensure that his wife doesn’t begin to act out by belittling her, keeping her domestic, and making sure she stays under his control. He denies her requests to change the room or to let her visit family, teaching her that she doesn’t actually have a choice. Hence, it is a prime example of the suppression of women in the 19th

Gilman’s short stories is a warning to her readers about the consequences of fixed gender roles assigned by male-dominated societies: the man’s role being that of the husband and rational thinker, and the woman’s role being that of the dutiful wife who does not question her husband’s authority. And despite differences in levels of domination the broad principles remain the same, i.e. men are in control. The nature of this control may differ. So it is necessary to understand the system, which keeps women dominated and subordinate, and to unravel its workings in order to work for women’s development in a systematic way. In the modern world where women go ahead by their merit, patriarchy there creates obstacles for women to go forward in society. Because patriarchal institutions and social relations are responsible for the inferior or secondary status of women. Patriarchal society gives absolute priority to men and to some extent limits women’s human rights also. Patriarchy refers to the male domination both in public and private spheres. In this way, feminists use the term ‘patriarchy’ to describe the power relationship between men and women as well as to find out the root cause of women’s

The diction Gilman employs relates directly to the lasting role of women in the home to expose the historical adversities endured within the domestic sphere. The intricacy with which Gilman composes the text highlights the inherent

One major influence in Gilman’s life that led her to write The Yellow Wallpaper was her own mental illness and post-partum depression. Gilman was first diagnosed with a mental illness while she was married to Charles Stetson, during 1884 and 1894. On March 23rd, 1885 Gilman gave birth to Katherine Beecher Stetson, during that time motherhood often consumed her time, resulting her to let go of her ambitions. Gilman often questioned why childbearing was one only by women she stated, “Men have as much right to raise children as women do” (qtd. in Schlesinger Library). Gilman was always critical about her lifestyles and decisions. It is then noticeable that both narrator and author share the same pain and misery of post-partum depression. Readers

The early twentieth century, a time of debates over women’s rights, paved the way for two conflicting definitions of feminism. There was one definition, referred to as humanist or identity feminism. It asserts that women are essentially human, and therefore deserve the same liberties as men in all scenarios, because they are fundamentally more the same than different, to their male counterparts. In contrast, there is the other definition, named difference or complementarity feminism. It says women and men are different but equal, because they posses distinct qualities that complete each other, when a union is formed. The utopian novel, Herland, by feminist Charlotte Gilman, pulls from both

After reading different articles and “Herland”, written in 1915 by Gilman, I have been thinking about this question that what would a world without man be like? On the contrary, what would a world without woman be look like? Gilman in her fairy novel, described three men landing in a country where there are only women are living there. A fairy land with cooperation , peace , wisdom and achievement. The characters in this book seem to have been chosen carefully. Terry is a man who believes a woman’s place in the world is in the house cooking and serving the man. Jeff themas who thinks that the woman are to be idolized and protected. And finally Van, who seems to be between the other two at the beginning but he changes his wive as the book goes on. These three men decided to discover a hidden land populated entirely by women. Women in Herland have been reproducing with the air, apparently, birthing babies without men, and they all are independent of sexual friendships. In Herland, women are fully successful in their socitey with their production , education, and health. They are strong and they can make changes when things aren’t working for them. Their religion is unifying and it’s based on unique values that bringing them all together in an exclusive community. Everyone has a place and a value. They built up their own society without any man, and Gilman was really successful to picture a feminism view in her readers’ mind. However,

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

Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a famous social worker and a leading author of women’s issues. Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's relating to views of women 's rights and her demands for economic and social reform of gender inequities are very famous for the foundations of American society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In critics Gilman ignored by people of color in the United States and attitudes towards non-northern European immigrants (Ceplair, non-fiction, 7). “Gilman developed controversial conception of womanhood”, by Deborah M. De Simone in “Charlotte Perkins Gilman and the feminization of education”. Gilman’s relation to reading deserves more attention than it has received (“The reading habit and The yellow wallpaper”). Her work about Women and Economics was considered her highest achievement by critics.