The Yellow Wallpaper:  The Woman's View in a Subjugated Role

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The presence of a woman's perspective in the The Yellow Wallpaper is evident whenwe see the first passage describing the trees and how aesthetically pleasant theatmosphere is; this is the "view" of the stereotypical nineteenth century woman.To compound that she is the subject of her master, her husband. To the woman, themaster is wiser (he is a good doctor). He is physically superior, and he controlsthe social situations and preserves "order" by acting like a "man" should. Theperspective is inferior for the standard human being. It is a state devoid ofrights or self-worth; the woman plays the inferior archetype, ready to bearchildren on command and ever so eager to placate her neolite of a husband. Thehusband's role to his wife is plays a major role in the spiritual suicide of thewife. The reason spiritual suicide and not madness or extreme psychosis is usedis because the wife in her final throes of lucidity recognizes that the paper'spattern holds a woman in its grasp and that by this rude hand the life of thewoman is left to "creeping about" lurking like a disgruntled sha...

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