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How Does Gilman Present The Ideals Of Women

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All cultures have strong ideals of how people should act in society. America had strong ideals about women consequently, this resulted in women being objectified. Women were mere objects of pleasure for men, they were expected to listen to the man of the house and to obey their demands. In the story “the Yellow Wallpaper”, it presents the ideals of women and the faults of being female. The story is written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was a prominent feminist writer who fought for women’s rights through her work. The story is about the descent of a young woman into madness. Her supportive, yet misunderstanding husband tries to care for her after the birth of their child. The young woman, who is nameless in the story, who has been diagnosed with “nervous depression”, is believed to have a rest cure and is to stay at home until she gets better. The young woman believes she isn’t sick, so she listens to her husband John. In the end, there isn’t a clear winner of the conflict. The story proves the faults in the American ideals in women.
The narrator, who is the young lady in the story, explains the basic marriage ideals for women and how they’re treated unfairly in the relationship. “John laughs at me, of course but one expects that in marriage.”(p1) As one is in marriage, one is expected to be laughed at, as not to be taken seriously, the narrator is undermined in the relationship. The narrator states that,” Personally, I disagree with their ideas. …show more content…

In the “Yellow Wallpaper” the story tells how a woman follows the ideals of the American ideal to her doom. The meaning of the story is to tell how at fault our ideals are, how men expect women to listen to their demands and do as they say. The message of the Narrator descending into insanity is saying how women need to stand for what they think and what they need so this doesn’t happen to them. In the end, there is no clear winner from both sides point of

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