Yellow Wallpaper Gender Inequality

Central to the story is the wallpaper itself. It is within the wallpaper that the narrator finds her hidden self and her eventual damnation/freedom. Her obsession with the paper begins subtly and then consumes both the narrator and the story. Once settled in the long-empty “ancestral estate,” a typical gothic setting, the narrator is dismayed to learn that her husband has chosen the top-floor nursery room for her. The room is papered in horrible yellow wallpaper, the design of which “commit[s] every artistic sin”(426). The design begins to fascinate the narrator and she

Also, we can relate the woman in the wallpaper to the narrator because she is free to do what she wants because John is not there, but during the night she is locked up in her room much like the woman in the wallpaper. These circumstances in which the narrator was put under during the late 1800's would not have been an oddity, and therefore I believe many women just as the narrator did would have had problems go undiagnosed.

The yellow wallpaper in the room shows, symbolically, the narrator was being oppressed. The narrator hated the wallpaper because she saw herself as a prisoner of her own husband. Spending so much time in the room, the narrator studied the wallpaper in details and found the wallpaper somewhat represents her. "There is one place where two breadths didn't match, and the eyes go all up and down the line, one a little higher than the other" (pg280), "Such a peculiar odor, too" (pg 285) etc. The confusing pattern, the bar, the woman behind the bar, and the yellow color of the wallpaper allowed her to feel so helpless, as if she was a bird

    The narrator finds herself economically and emotionally dependent on her husband, John.  Many times she questions to herself why she stays in the room all of the time.  She then answers herself by saying, " John says it is good for me" (Gilman, 665).  She thinks of her husband as much wiser and more important than she, which is the way that society treated males during the time period the story was written.  During this era, women were discouraged from joining the work force and were thought to be better suited as a mother, and wife rather than an employee.   This is the common stereotype that women tried to overcome during the women's movement.

IIn the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator’s husband has rented an old mansion in the country for the summer. John is relying on this vacation as the time for his wife’s nervous condition to resolve itself with rest and medicines. As the story unfolds for the readers, it becomes apparent her husband, John, is monitoring her 24 hours a day. She feels somewhat condemned that she is unable to change her circumstances and she ends up as a victim, thus confirming the dominance of men over women during that period. Between the narrator’s controlling husband and the deterioration of her mind, she inevitably snaps and becomes completely delusional.

Her husband restrains her from any social, physical and mental activity and allows little room for personal input or fulfillment. Longing for a voice and an emotional outlet, she begins writing in a secret journal, which she describes as a relief to her mind, also saying that her husband would think it absurd, but that she must write in it; it is her only outlet for what she feels and thinks (Gilman 340, 345). John exemplifies his role in society by being such a domineering force and keeping his wife constrained both physically and mentally, mentally being the worst for the protagonist.

An example of the way John treated his wife is, “And after John gathered me up in his arms, and just carried me upstairs and laid me on the bed, and sat by me and read to me till it tired my head.” (Gilman, )

Throughout the beginning of the story, the wife continually references the things “John says” (844-5). That indicates to me that she is timid and perhaps frightened of him. “John says this,” and “John says that,” shows me that our narrator doesn’t feel permitted to have a thought that is her own. The story’s unilateral male, as well as unilateral female conversations are friendly and comfortable. However, male to female conversation in the writing is dominant, aggressive, assertive and sometimes dangerous. Female to male exchanges appear delicate, soft and understanding, always agreeing with the male perspective. I would consider women in this time period to be viewed as a pet or toy to the male, dominant figure in her life. The use of the words in this short is very important, and gives you the information to interpret the story. For instance, on page 845 it says, “It was a nursery first, then a playroom and gymnasium. I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children.” This discloses that our woman has post-partum depression. At the very least, she feels as if she is trapped or in an asylum within her own home. Perhaps this feeling of entrapment lends itself to driving her mad. It is no surprise that the woman feels trapped behind the pattern of the yellow wallpaper. Her days and nights are filled with constant repetition of the same nothingness. She is left with little to

In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator’s husband has rented an old mansion in the country for the summer. John is relying on this getaway as time for his wife’s nervous condition to resolve itself with rest and medicines. As the story unfolds for the readers, it becomes apparent her husband, John, is dominating, and controlling. She feels somewhat doomed that she is unable to change her circumstances and she ends up as a victim, thus confirming the dominance of men over women during that period. Between the narrator’s controlling husband and the deterioration of her mind, she snaps and becomes completely delusional.

By referring to the narrator as a ‘blessed little goose’, he is belittling her role as a grown woman who is capable of making decisions. He further infantilizes her by putting her to bed and reading to her. By removing all forms of independence and responsibility from his wife, John has failed as a husband by not viewing her as an equal. In a sense, John is the narrator’s illness. His control over her every move stifles the narrator - “And yet I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous.” His refusal to let her write reduced the narrator to writing behind his back, which all the more contributed to her frayed nerves.

Years ago, women were not granted the ability to own property, land and wealth, instead they were made the property of their husbands, especially during the Elizabethan Era. In the story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, I noticed that narrator’s husband, John, always spoke down to her, treating her as if she is beneath him. Whenever the narrator wants to do something, and John did not agree, he would refer to her as little and then add on a term of endearment, while giving her a demand. For instance, John says “little girl…Don’t go walking about like that” (Gilman 365). It is evident to see that John, believes that he is the sole decision maker of the relationship, and he adds a term of endearment to mask that fact, that she has no say. Helene Cixous states that, “As soon as they begin to speak… they can be taught that their territory is black: because you are Africa, you are black. Your continent is dark. Dark is dangerous.” (Cixous 1455). Men are afraid of what they do not understand, so in order to protect themselves, they place limitations on the “dark”, in this case the narrator. As stated previously, during this time period man saw woman as their property, which can be seen when John commands the narrator and constantly tells her that she cannot do something, for instance when he tells her that they cannot sleep in the bedroom downstairs (Gilman 360). This further proves Cixous statement when she mentions that “A woman…is reduced to being the servant of the militant male, his shadow.” (Cixous 1457). I can see how this is evident in the text, since every time the narrator wants to do something, John would oppose and she would have to follow what he is doing. Lastly, women in this era believed that men are their superior because of their impressive education and careers. However, during these

At several moments in the narration, the audience is presented with an externally obedient wife, but again, the utilization of first person reveals that the woman’s thought’s contradict with her actions somewhat. When admitting her unease with the estate, it is mentioned that John, her husband, mocks these fears by laughing. Soon after, the narrator redeems John by stating that that type of behavior and interactions between a two in marriage is common, and not hindering to anything. It is important to remember that the work is written in the 1800s, so this behavior was socially acceptable. However, in modern context, the belittling that occurs in the story is not redeemable; women are seen as equals and are treated accordingly.

When this story was written, society had a very strict role for women to follow and it was considered very improper for any woman to try to be different. The narrator’s descriptions of the figures she sees in the wallpaper mirror this idea of society. The narrator sometimes believes “there are a great many women behind” (par. 186) the wallpaper. This leads the reader to believe the wallpaper symbolizes more than just the narrator, but women in general. The narrator then sees the woman behind the wallpaper “all the time trying to climb through” (par. 188) and escape the confines of the wallpaper, which symbolizes society.

Domestic life in particular was destructive and unhealthy for many women, yet was the final goal of most if not all women to enter into. Quawas states that in the time leading up to the publication of the story the main belief was that of domesticated women, saying “The new emerging middle-class woman of the rising entrepreneurs of the North together with the Southern lady supported firmly the cult of true womanhood with its four attributes 'piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity' ” (Quawas 35). These four attributes shaped how many women behaved in marriage and life, and when coupled with the belief that men should be patronizing and controlling of their wives, created marriages that frequently were inhospitable for the woman. As Quawas elaborates, “ 'John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage' (29).

Furthermore, throughout the piece, Gilman does not provide the legal name of the narrator. Instead, Gilman has John replace his wife’s name with nicknames to show the dynamic of their relationship. For instance, John calls his wife nicknames like “blessed little goose,” “his darling,” and “little girl” (Gilman 846, 849, 850). Gilman makes it seem like John does not treat her as his wife. Instead, John belittles his wife by calling her all these nicknames, and by doing this he also degrades her as a person because she is only being identified by infantile nicknames.