Twentieth-century authors’ Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman both explore the feminist theme of the subordination of women in marriage. They depict female protagonists who are profoundly restricted and unable to express their true identity due to their marital status. In The Awakening, main character Edna Pontellier rebels against the suffocating tendencies of matrimony. She detests the traditional role of a wife and yearns to discover mental liberation and sexual autonomy. Her husband, Léonce, is materialistic and abandons his relationship to focus on the growth of his business. He considers one of the only benefits of marriage to be the improvement of his social position. According to Léonce, marriage is a way in which a piece of property …show more content…
A perfect example of this marital power-structure is her confinement in a nursery surrounded by “barred windows” because of her “nervous condition” (25). Jane believes that her husband is supposed to exploit the repressive gender roles granted to him by the establishment. She doesn’t question his dominance because she is accustomed to living in fear of her husband, a commonality among twentieth century wives. John intimidates her, and the narrator reveals that she was, “getting a little afraid of John” (35). Even though Jane submits to some of John’s demands, she disobeys his rule that she is not allowed to write. By composing messages in her diary, she responds to John’s patronizing nature and subtly discloses her interpretations of marriage. In the beginning of Gilman’s piece, the narrator writes, “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (24). The diction in this quotation is incredibly revealing and demonstrates Jane’s attitude regarding the implications of marriage. Instead of writing “I,” she says “one,” in order to emphasize the fact that, without exception, every married woman must endure the cruelties of their husbands, not just herself. Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman comments on women’s inferior status within society. Through Gilman’s inclusion of Jane’s perspectives of …show more content…
Gilman purposefully marks the narrator’s husband as her physician as well as her partner. John controls her behavior in order to treat her but also to impose restrictive boundaries upon her. He does not let her write and express herself. He “scoffs openly” at his wife’s attempts to liberate her oppressed mind (26). Jane’s physician-husband is a major cause of his wife’s psychosis. Because the narrator is locked away from reality, she experiences a complete emotional breakdown. Gilman’s piece is presented through a feminist lens because she overtly illustrates Jane’s psychological deterioration due to her status as her husband’s patient. Additionally, the author depicts another unbalanced power structure within the couple, resembling a father-daughter dynamic. He treats Jane like his ignorant, innocent child, even when he discusses serious matters with his wife. In her diary, Jane writes that after he gave her medical advice, “he took [her] in his arms and called [her] a blessed little goose” (28). John’s off-putting language is completely inappropriate considering the fact that they are a married couple. He also considers her “silly little fancies” to be the cause of her emotional aliment (33). He calls Jane a “little girl” and blesses her “little heart” (33). John constantly uses the word “little” to refer to his wife,
Yet, it does not take long for the reader to acknowledge that Mrs. Mallard does not grieve the loss of her husband as expected. Mrs. Mallard associates the loss of her husband/end of her marriage as freedom. “She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free” (p. 426)! Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” gives a different taste of marriage. The narrator and John had not been married long. Their marriage/relationship pointed out the strong patriarchal role of Victorian families. There was lack of communication on the narrator’s side, since she is seen as John’s wife. John’s authority, in the male dominant world, was shown through his own dictatorship over the narrator. “John is away all day, and even some nights when his cases are serious” (p. 487). As the narrator is confined to stay at home by her husband John, he is free to go and do as he desires. From Gilman’s perspective exposes marriage is merely a one way street and the man has right away.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, The Yellow Wallpaper, portrays the life and mind of a woman suffering from post-partum depression in the late eighteenth century. Gilman uses setting to strengthen the impact of her story by allowing the distant country mansion symbolize the loneliness of her narrator, Jane. Gilman also uses flat characters to enhance the depth of Jane’s thoughts; however, Gilman’s use of narrative technique impacts her story the most. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses interior monologue to add impact to Jane’s progression into insanity, to add insight into the relationships in the story, and to increase the depth of Jane’s connection with the yellow wallpaper it self.
The narrator is diagnosed with a “nervous disorder” and is ordered by her physician, who also happens to be her husband, to abstain from most activity and all intellectual work. The same treatment Gilman was forced to take part in. The narrator is deprived of any stimulus or outlet for thought or action, and she begins to obsess over the yellow wallpaper. Her discovery of the women trapped in the pattern in the wallpaper symbolizes the pattern of behaviors and practices that trap the female sex. 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 novel The Awakening is an empowering masterpiece that shows a woman stepping out of the social norm to find her bliss. Edna Pontellier is expected to be the perfect wife and perfect mother. The needs of her husband and children are supposed to triumph over her own. She is well ahead of her time because she wants independence and to live her life to the fullest. In Chopin’s story, not only is there a daring young woman who is on the hunt to find her independence, but there is also a housewife, whose life belongs to her family.
In her story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman expresses exasperation towards the separate male and female roles expected of her society, and the evident repressed rights of a woman versus the active duties of a man. The story depicts the methods taken to cure a woman of her psychological state during Gilman’s time, and delineates the dominant cure of the time period, “the resting cure,” which encouraged the restraint of the imagination ("The Yellow Wallpaper: Looking Beyond the Boundaries") Gilman uses the unnamed narrator to represent the average repressed woman of her time and how her needs were neglected in an attempt to mark a fixed distinction between the standards and expectations of men and women. John, the narrator’s husband, take the designated and patriarchal role of a man who believes he knows everything there is to know about the human mind. His belief of his superior knowledge pushes him to condescend, overshadow, and misunderstand his wife. As a result, his wife loses control of her life and escapes into her own fantasy world, where she is able dominate her imagination, free her mind, and fall into insanity. Gilman describes her era’s approach toward female psychology in order to criticize the patriarchal society she lived in as well as to reveal its effects on the women of her time.
Most women in America nowadays are lucky enough to consider themselves to be an independent individual, but females were not always guaranteed their freedoms. Throughout the early 1900’s, authors would characterize husbands to be controlling figures. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins demonstrates just how possessive the husband is to his wife in their marriage. This short story shows just how miserable the woman is to be in a marriage with John because John, thinks it would be best that his wife is isolated to get over her postpartum depression.“The Yellow Wallpaper” demonstrates how a male dominated society leads to the woman not being their own individual by using characterization, narrator perspective, and conflict between women and society.
To begin, Gilman reveals very early on in the short story that the main character, Jane suffers from a mental illness that her husband john, who is also her physician fails to acknowledge is real. John along with other men in Janes family downplay her depression by attempting to convince her that she is not
Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening depicts sexual affairs, inner struggles, and the conquest of motherhood that most women face today. The conquest of motherhood involves the battle between being a supportive wife and selfless mother. The story revolves around the characters’ dialogue and appearances described beautifully throughout the novel by Kate Chopin. The story is a familiar one that, sadly, most women can relate to: A woman is married without knowing what true love is. Her husband treats her kindly and respectfully; however, views her as a possession more-so than a human being. The husband, caring more about his duties, job, and money, leaves his wife struggling with her domestic responsibilities such as raising a family, being a good mother and wife. Characterization contributes to Edna’s struggles because each character described by Chopin affects the way Edna lives her life. Robert has a passionate effect on her and gives her that temporary confidence and “fire” that she needed in her life. Her husband’s description by Chopin reflects just how neglected and lonely Edna felt. The other Creole women that are explained by Chopin also shows the readers what the “perfect mother or wife” should be. Chopin’s mechanism of using characterization throughout the novel does not reflect the character’s personalities and motifs. However, Kate Chopin uses direct and indirect characterization as the anchor of the novel that supplies the reader with the benefit
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
The narrator’s varying stately yet fervent tone illustrates her obligatory feelings as well as her true emotions regarding her husband and lifestyle through her descriptions of the “nursery” where she is confined (Gilman, 648). John, since he is both her husband and doctor, “hardly lets [her] stir without special direction,” characteristic of patriarchs of the family; he also “laughs at [her], of course, but one one expects that in marriage.” (Gilman, 648 and 647). Since the narrator feels
----------------Another symbol in The Yellow Wallpaper is marriage. Marriage, in the eyes of the narrator represent a kind of imprisonment and suffocation by men. Because of her marriage, the narrator is held captive in the bonds of marriage and is unable to control her own mental stability. Her husband is often portrayed as a domineering man who treats the narrator as a child. He refers to his wife by; “a blessed little goose” and “Bless her little heart”. And at one point in the story he even says; “What is it little girl.” Though John is carful and loving, he is also domineering and condescending. In the marriage he, the husband, is the provider and caregiver and therefor will not allow the narrator to work.
Marriage in The Awakening is viewed as unimportant, and perhaps trivial, by author Kate Chopin. A ballad based on the viewpoint of Edna Pontellier, The Awakening is a dream study of female freedom. Edna is seemingly trapped in a struggling marriage with her husband, Leonce Pontellier. Edna attempts to reinvent herself through following her desires and feelings, leading her to other men, namely Robert Lebrun and Alcee Arobin. Edna completely disregards the legality of marriage and ignores the ideals of a married woman. However, Leonce does not provide a strong male presence in the marriage. Leonce does not show he cares for his wife in a loving way. Using the view of marriage presented by Paul in 1 Corinthians and Ephesians, it is wholly evident
In the article “‘Too Terribly Good to Be Printed’: Charlotte Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’” Conrad Shumaker explains the genius of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and how its themes reflect the patriarchal society of the time period. Shumaker identifies one theme as the detriment of suppressing the narrator’s sense of self and that “by trying to ignore and repress her imagination, in short, John eventually brings about the very circumstance he wants to prevent” (590). John confines his wife in a yellow “nursery” in order to “cure” her of her illness, banning her from writing and discouraging her imagination. His plan backfires when her mind, unable to find a proper outlet, latches onto the yellow wallpaper that eventually drives her to madness. Another theme that Shumaker points out is that the dynamic of a domineering husband and an obedient wife is a cage that the narrator is desperately trying to free herself from. John constantly dismisses the narrator’s opinions and thoughts and insists that he knows what is best for her. Shumaker points out that the husband, a representation of the patriarchal society, is clearly depicted as the villain and that he “attempts to ‘cure’ her through purely physical means, only to find he has destroyed her in the process” (592). At the end of the story, because of her confinement and inability to express herself, the narrator fully descends into insanity, “escaping” the
In Kate Chopin’s novel, “The Awakening”, Edna finds herself in a society where women were socially confined to be mothers and wives. This novel embodies the struggle of women in the society for independence along with the presence of women struggling to live up to the demands that their strict culture has placed upon them. A part of Edna wants to meet the standards of mother and wife that society has set, however her biggest desire is to be a woman free from the oppression of a society that is male dominant. Readers will find that the foundation of “The Awakening” the feminist perspective because of the passion that Edna has for gaining her own identity, and independence,
The literary novel The Awakening written by author Kate Chopin was groundbreaking in its time as a story following Edna Pontellier’s transformation from an obedient, traditional housewife and mother into a self-realized, sexually liberated and independent woman— all written during the Victorian era of patriarchal constraints and beliefs that a woman was fit to be only a wife and mother. Chopin introduces a multitude of feminist issues throughout the duration of the story, including the societal structures of motherhood, marital expectations and feminine liberation. The fact that Chopin’s novel addresses these issues is a testament to how radical and ahead of its time The Awakening was. Although this novel was originally published over a century ago, it is clear that the feminist topics that Chopin proposes in the novel are still relevant today in our modern day patriarchal society.