Feminist Criticism of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

Written Task 2: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood seems like a feminist text which explores gender inequality in the Republic of Gilead. Women’s rights are stripped away in Gilead’s male-dominated society. Feminist movements appear to advocate for women’s rights, but reflect the gender coded foundation of Gilead too. “If you happen to be a man, sometime in the future, and you’ve made it this far,” Offred says, “please remember: you will never be subject to the temptation or feeling you must forgive, a man, as a woman.”(134) Offred has experienced both pre- and Gileadean society and seen female marginalization in both. “Remember that forgiveness too is a power,” she continues, “to beg for it is a power, and to withhold or bestow it is a power, perhaps the greatest.”(135) This powerful message speaks to human behavior no matter the societal construction.

Steinbeck descripts Elisa Allen in pa... ... middle of paper ... ...les by a similar antagonist. Both stories show the characters inequality with their lives as women bound to a society that discriminates women. The two stories were composed in different time frames of the women’s rights movement; it reveals to the readers, that society was not quite there in the fair treatment towards the mothers, daughters, and wives of United States in either era. Inequality is the antagonist that both authors created for the characters. Those experiences might have helped that change in mankind to carve a path for true equality among men and women.

The global idea of feminism is nothing more than a movement that emphasizes on gender equality and liberalization of women against societal structures like the patriarchal masculinity, female subordination and a template of economic discrimination through works of literature. In general, the sentiments of most feminists are embedded in the fabrics of fighting over traditional gender roles, sexism, class and not to forget the issue of marginalization of women in our communities (Hooks, 2000). Having considered the aim of the feminist movement, this essay in analyzing a literary text from the feminism perspective will critically examine how male dominance and female marginalization manifest themselves in societies through my favorite short story,

Her novel portrays the injustices women had to face against a patriarchal society. She exemplifies that women are differentiated by men in their marriage due to the labelling that men are more active and women were oppressed to domestic roles. The Yellow Wallpaper suggests that women should have liberty to express themselves and break through the social standards the patriarchal society oppressed them to. Perkins demonstrate a women who is hopeless but a great writer. The inferences to the breakthrough of women’s right in society refer to feminism.

Women continuously are portrayed as subordinate in comparison to men. This idea eventually created another idea; feminism. Sheryl Sandberg, wrote a book about these feminist concerns, claiming that women are the source of the inequalities. Sandberg believes women need to alter their life in accommodation to equality. However female activist bell hooks writes in response to Sandberg arguing that men created this stereotypical “stay at home” woman.

Hawthorne’s attitude toward women and being sexist demonstrates the fact that Hawthorne has feelings of aversion toward feminism and thus this identify him as a true feminist. In other words, Hawthorne was trying to illustrate to the reader that during his time how there was an inequality that existed between the sexes and the oppression that was going on between men and women. Hester Prynne can be used as an example of a true feminist, as she makes her own way in a society that has devalued her. Hester Prynne is a woman whose shameful act is literally seen on her bosom, yet she finds strength from that label. She uses the stigma of the adultery as a way to create a new path in her life, to go to places where other women never venture to and do things that other women do not dare to do.

Feminism is commonly thought of as a tool for educating society on the rights of women. It teaches that a woman is equal to a man in every civil and societal accord. Realizing this is not always the case, Charlotte Bunch, a noted lesbian feminist of the 1970s also defined feminism as "a way of looking at the world - a questioning of power [and] domination issues" (WIE). Many feminists attempt to bulrush the ideals of stereotypical women and push them away from those who believe in these standards. "Feminist scholars also seek to question and transform androcentric [sic] systems of thought which position the male as the norm," says Barbara McManus.

While it may seem as though the speaker is becoming deranged, her bold action of tearing down the wallpaper is symbolic of her finally breaking free of the stereotypical roles of a woman. The author illustrates this in the last lines of the story, “I’ve got out at last, said I, “in spite of you and Jane! And I’ve pulled off most of the paper so you can’t put me back!” (pg. 167) In conclusion, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a powerful short story that explores the ideas of female oppression. The speaker of this story longed to be freed from the constraints of living in a male-dominated society, and she symbolically found her freedom in the tearing down of the wallpaper.

By writing “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Perkins Gilman wants to bring attention to the harm that this control could have on women and to raise awareness that every woman is capable of being their own advocate for equality. Perkins Gilman writes “The Yellow Wallpaper” to give a voice to the subjugated woman of nineteenth century society and to symbolize how this repression infectes all aspects of a woman’s existence including her personal relationships, her psyche, and her relationships in society. Up until the nineteenth amendment was passed in 1920, society viewed women as second class citizens who had a duty to their home, family, and husband; they did not belong out in the workforce creating their own identity. This ideology, referred to as the Cult of True Womanhood, maintained that women were subservient to the family and home, and had no identity outside of this role (Thomas). Being a mother and a wife were all predetermined by society, and these predetermined roles stifled the progressive women of this time which prevented them from contributing to society.

When comparing the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Betty Friedan, and Bell Hooks, I assert that both Gilman and Friedan stress that college educated, white upper- and middle-class women should have the incentive to fight against and alter the rigid boundaries of marriage; however, Hooks in her piece From Margin to Center argues that Friedan and other feminist writers during the second wave had written or spoke shortsightedly, failing to regard women of other races and classes who face the most sexist oppression. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman tells the story of married white upper-class women who is striving to overcome her nervous depression with the aide of her domineering husband, John. To display her discomfort, Gilman relays, “If