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Oppression In The Yellow Wallpaper

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In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, women were often portrayed in a world dominated by men. In women literature, we see that women are controlled by their husbands or sometimes by men influences. In “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, one can see the exact thing happening in a woman’s life. The narrator who is characterized as a woman suffering from post-partum depression which always occur after mothers give birth, is being controlled and repressed by her husband. The narrator is oppressed, representing most oppressed women in the society. In the “Yellow Wallpaper,” women are expected by their husband to be submissive to them and have no control of their own life, but once they do nobody can stop them.
In the beginning of the story, …show more content…

Such symbols include the wallpaper and the house which she claims is haunted and doesn’t want to live in. This is interesting because in the nineteenth century a woman was always portrayed as emotional and delicate and that they belonged in homes where they can saw, cook, and do any activities domestically. The narrator calls the house that they are to live in- haunted, and also describes that something is queer about it. This symbolizes that she doesn’t belong in the house and she can’t perform her daily activities as most women would have done because she doesn’t take it as her house instead she portrays it as a prison. Traditionally a house would symbolize the perfect place to perform domestic activities. Unlike this, the house does not take the form of safety, or homely. Instead, it symbolizes a prison and a trapped place where the narrator cannot do anything but follow rules given to her by her husband just like an inmate would have been expected to do in a …show more content…

This also characterize that his husband has some type of authority on her because every time she finds herself listening to her thoughts she ends up hearing his voice, telling her what to think. Because of her not being able to protrude on her unhappiness and sadness, the narrator decides to slide into the surroundings. And one of the things in her room she struggles and connect with, is a yellow wallpaper which pretty much symbolizes the condition she’s in, which is her depression and oppressive marriage. Right after the paragraph quoted above, the narrator says that “So I will let it alone and talk about the house.” This quote specifically marks the beginning of her madness. This is because she does not want to think about her

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