Gender Roles In The Yellow Wallpaper - 1733 Words

In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†, Charlotte Gilman writes about a woman who suffers from temporary nervous depression as diagnosed by her overbearing husband who becomes her doctor. The husband, John, is condescending towards his wife when she questions his diagnosis. Therefore, to get away from the confinement of not being able to speak for herself, the woman secretly writes in her journal as a sense of relief. The woman then becomes fascinated and engrossed with the yellow wallpaper that hangs in her bedroom as a result of her isolation. She comes to the realization that a woman was trapped inside the wallpaper, so she must tear it down to set the woman free. The act of tearing down the wallpaper alludes to the fact that the narrator feels she†¦show more content†¦With John being a â€Å"physician of high standing† (Gilman), his role in the diagnosis of the narrator supports the claim of the stereotypical woman of the household being a â€Å"domestic slaveâ₠¬  (Treichler) to the head of the household, who is stereotypically considered a man. John uses his medical diagnosis to exert control over his wife by telling her how she is to perceive, process, and act in her life. The female narrator, at first, is compliant with his orders. However, by her continuous action of writing in her journal, she defies John’s course of treatment. She must be sly about her writing for â€Å"John will not allow her to gain possession of her own language† (Suess). The narrator knows the circumstances of what writing in her journal entails, but to gain control of her own life is worth the cost so that her husband will no longer have control over her. Despite John’s efforts to repress the narrator’s freedom, her writing in the journal â€Å"reveals [her] awareness that John continuously tries to manipulate her† (Suess). This awareness alludes to the fact that the narrator has now come to the realization that she is trapped and so therefore, she must escape. The narrator then â€Å"continues to write, move about, and study the wallpaper—thus disobeying John’s strict orders—[revealing] John’s demands to be merely superficial†Show MoreRelated Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper1447 Words   |  6 PagesGender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Charlotte Perkins Gilmans short story The Yellow Wallpaper, the reader is treated to an intimate portrait of developing insanity. At the same time, the storys first person narrator provides insight into the social attitudes of the storys late Victorian time period. The story sets up a sense of gradually increasing distrust between the narrator and her husband, John, a doctor, which suggests that gender roles were strictly defined; howeverRead MoreGender Roles : The Yellow Wallpaper983 Words   |  4 PagesWhen â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† was written women and men were not viewed as equals in society. The historical context of â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is revealed through minor characters in the short story and what they do. John, the narrator’s husband is a physician; in addition, the narrator’s unnamed brother is also a physician. In contrast Jennie, the narrator’s sister-in-law is a housekeeper and takes care of the narrator, du ring her stay at the house. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† it is revealed that genderRead MoreGender Role Effects in The Yellow Wallpaper1564 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish 1102 24 April 2012 Gender Role Effects in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a feminist writer who wrote â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† in the 1890’s. During this time period the woman were expected to keep the house clean, care for their children, and listen to their husbands. The men were expected to work a job and be the head of a household. The story narrates a woman’s severe depression which she thinks is linked to the yellow wallpaper. Charlotte Gilman experienced depressionRead MoreThe Influence of Masculine Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper1697 Words   |  7 PagesInterpretive Essay on The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper tells the story of a woman living in the nineteenth century who suffers from postpartum depression. The true meaning implicit in Charlottes story goes beyond a simple psychological speculation. 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However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the result s and demand more, things can shift from normal to extremeRead More`` The Yellow Wallpaper `` By Charlotte Perkins Gilm Deconstruction Of Gender Roles1200 Words   |  5 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman’s deconstruction of gender roles in The Yellow Wallpaper. AP English 12 Mr. AuCoin Shane Caswell October 1, 2015 Shane Caswell 1 Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is an interesting story told from the journals of a woman who progressively loses her mind being locked in her bedroom, but underneath the surface this short story shows us a woman who is at first confined by, but progressively freed from the gender roles and expectations put upon her by societyRead MoreThe Yellow Wallpaper913 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† For quite a long time before the past century, the female gender had been a race characterized by limited opportunity and the widespread belief of inferiority to the male gender. It was not until the women’s rights movement took off in the 1920’s that women began to enjoy having the same opportunities as men and playing an active role in society. Before that time, women were perceived as being inferior to their male counterparts and received less respect than men. This resultedRead MoreThe Cult Of The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman1371 Words   |  6 PagesMichael Zhao K. Keogh AP Lit. Period 3 22 January 2015 The Cult of Domesticity â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts a young woman’s gradual descent into insanity due to her entrapment, both mentally and physically, in the restrictive cult of domesticity. Through the narrator’s creeping spiral into madness, Gilman seeks to shed light upon the torturous and constraining societal conditions in which women are expected to live, that permeates throughout all aspects of their livesRead MoreThe Women Behind The Yellow Wallpaper1675 Words   |  7 PagesBehind the Yellow Wallpaper â€Å" Be plain in dress, and sober in diet; In short, my deary, kiss me, and be quiet.† -Mary Wortley Montagu In a male dominated society, women had little choice when it came to the path of life they would trek upon until death. From the first words of the doctor when they announce, â€Å"it’s a girl†, amidst cries of the baby and the relief of the mother, the path a woman shall take has already been predetermined. Chalotte Perkins Gilman’s â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† is a harrowingRead MoreTheme Of Gender Equality In The Yellow Wallpaper1042 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Gilman involves an unidentified woman who suffers from society’s way of curing her, as she gets trapped in a nursery due to the â€Å"inappropriate† ways she does not fulfill her duties as a women, demonstrating the lack of gender rights and equality present back in the days. This short story aided significantly in helping achieve gender equality rights and finally allowing people to understand that everyone is equal. The way the story por trays the way of curing someone