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Feminism, Womanhood, and The Yellow Wallpaper The Victorian period in American history spawned a certain view of women that in many ways has become a central part of gender myths still alive today, although in a diluted way. In this essay, some characteristics of this view of women, often called "The Cult of True Womanhood", will be explored with reference to Thomas R. Dew "Dissertation on the Characteristic Differences Between the Sexes (1835). Some of the feminist developments arising in conflict with this ideal will also be traced. Then, in accordance with my view that literature and culture is often interrelated, I will proceed by with an analysis of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a critique of the gender roles of the time, commenting on its symbolism as well as its plot development. The 19th century was a time of male dominance more extreme than has been seen ever since. Dew portrays the woman as a weak and dependent creature that needs to be protected by "the shield of woman", Man. Therefore, she is to be confined to a sphere of her own: Home. This reflects two of the cardinal characteristics of True Womanhood (as defined by men, of course), the ideal woman of this period. Those are submissiveness and domesticity. It was widely believed that women were created inferior to men, and should therefore be commanded "within the domestic circle". Support to this view was to be found in the Bible (which, not incidentally, is written by men), and although Dew is not so concerned with them, there were two other main characteristics of the perfect Victorian woman; piety and purity, characteristics that "delight and fascinate". Apart from subtle allusions such as "...at her shri... ... middle of paper ... ...ted normal womanhood to her, she felt that she was the anomaly. In this psychological conflict she saw herself trapped behind bars of male rule, and her yearning for freedom became destructive. Not so in real life, thankfully. the feminists succeeded in overthrowing the male regime. Or did they? The Cult of True Womanhood is, in some ways, still with us. Works Cited and Consulted Dew, Thomas R. "Dissertation on the Characteristic Differences Between the Sexes (1835)". Breidlid, Brøgger et.al.: American Culture. An Anthology of Civilization Texts (1996), pp. 102-103. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper". Baym et.al.: The Norton Anthology of American Literature vol.2, 4.ed., pp. 645-657. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper'?". Baym et.al.: The Norton Anthology of American Literature vol.2, 4.ed.pp.657-658.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1892. Ed. Dale M. Bauer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1998.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-paper." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eds. Nina Baym, et. al. Shorter 5th ed. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999: 1656-1669.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The Norton Introduction To Literature. Eds. Jerome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. 7th Ed. New York, Norton, 1998. 2: 630-642.
In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," the reader is treated to an intimate portrait of developing insanity. At the same time, the story's first person narrator provides insight into the social attitudes of the story's 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; however, as the story is just one representation of the time period, the examination of other sources is necessary to better understand the nature of American attitudes in the late 1800s. Specifically, this essay will analyze the representation of women's roles in "The Yellow Wallpaper" alongside two other texts produced during this time period, in the effort to discover whether Gilman's depiction of women accurately reflects the society that produced it.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper'" Ed. Catherine Lavender; The College of Staten Island of the City University of New York, Fall Semester, Oct. 1997. (25 Jan 1999) http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/whyyw.html
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." 1892. The New England Magazine. Reprinted in "Lives & Moments - An Introduction to Short Fiction" by Hans Ostrom. Hold,
The Victorian era brought about many changes and the introduction of new things. One issue that stood out was “The Sex.” Many things evolved around this issue like changes in laws all over, it became a topic for literary poets/ writers and also for the woman question. This term means discrimination based on a person’s sex and during the 19th century this was a vast issue toward women. This all Started from the early Victorian era with queen victoria, who was the monarch of the united kingdom of Great Britain from 1837- 1901. Being the queen she played a very substantial role during this time. As a wife she showed a domestic side. She supported Prince Albert, had his children, became very submissive and devoted to her husband a family. This image she portrayed became a trend to the outside world. Most people looked at this as what the ideal woman was during this era.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Booth, Alison and Kelly J. Mays, eds. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York: Norton, 2010. 354-65. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper”. The Story and Its Writer. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 462-473. Print.
Brannon, Linda. "Chapter 7 Gender Stereotypes: Masculinity and Femininity." Gender: Psychological Perspectives. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2005. 159-83. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Literature a World of Writing: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Ed. David Pike, and Ana Acosta. New York: Longman, 2011. 543-51. Print.
Wohlpart, Jim. American Literature Research and Analysis Web Site. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper.”” 1997. Florida Gulf Coast University
Gilman, Charlotte P. "The Yellow Wallpaper." The story and its writer: An introduction to short fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 340-351.
Treichler, Paula A. "Escaping the Sentence." The Captive Imagination.Ed. Cathrine Golden. New York: The Feminist Press, 1992. 191-210
These are my beliefs for education. They include my general philosophy of education, and why I want to become an educator. Also I have described what my classroom will look like. This includes what my seating arrangement will be, and also what the bulletin boards in my classroom will contain. I have also discussed whether my classroom will be authoritarian or nonauthoritarian. I also discuss how I plan to manage the classroom, motivate the students, issue discipline, how I will teach, and how I will lead the students in my classroom. Lastly, I discuss my views on education reform, and whether it is effective or not to the education world.