Women in the 21st century

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Recommended: Character and Setting Analysis to A Rose for Emily

In October 2013, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Education, UNESCO, stated that millions of girls are still being denied an education. Why is it that women in the 21st century are still not given their basic human rights? The effects of oppression are seen in two very controversial short stories. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," and William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily", alienation caused from the dominant patriarchal society forces both protagonists into insanity. The narrator placed in solitary confinement by her husband, Emily Grierson’s overprotective father and both women’s obsession results in their madness.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman revolves around a woman’s struggle within a patriarchal society. The story was taking place in the 1920s, where men considered themselves to be superior to women because of the role they played in the society; protector and provider of women. This male dominance led the narrator from “The Yellow Wallpaper” into loneliness and despair. The alienation is shown in terms of the setting, "The most beautiful place! It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village"(Gilman 89). The house that the couple rent for three months represents the woman’s physical imprisonment and foreshadows her upcoming madness. The nursery that John recommends his wife to stay in includes many confining elements, like bars on windows. The narrator’s preference of living in the downstairs room is undermined by John’s control over her. Moreover, John puts his wife into an environment with no communication, making her socially isolated. The protagonist is home alone most of the time while John is at work and she is no...

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... Emily", results the isolation of both protagonists which leads to their madness. The unnamed narrator in solitary confinement, Emily Grierson’s overprotective father and both women’s desperate acts leads to their insanity.

Works Cited

Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. Handout.
Gilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. Handout.
Havok. "The Progression of Madness in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'" Booksie. 13 Nov. 2011. 22 Mar. 2014 .
UNESCO. "Girls’ education – the facts." UNESCO. Oct. 2013. 25 Mar. 2014 .

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