The dilemma of the marriage as seen between Jane and John in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Gilman is a result of the inclusion of secondary sources. This causes an imbalance in a ‘private’ institution such as marriage. It is inevitable that the marriage suffers by public invasion, but the imbalance is far more complicated. The couple not only condone inclusion from outsiders but also neglects one another; making public opinions triumph each others personal feelings.
The secrecy and profound distance portrayed by the couple in Gilman’s story depicts the strong authority and detriment secondary sources have on marriage such that their passions as people could not coincide as a couple, the imminent presence of their extended family could
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Jane laments on her husband being away. He is out all the time due to “serious cases”. It is important to note that because John, according to Jane is a “high standing” and “physician” his loyalty remains in the hands of the society who deems him in such light. But John is not the only party guilty of putting work over marriage. Jane too in her own little ways engulfs herself in her writing and her wish to know more. “I did write for a while in spite of them.” (648). She uses the term 'Them ' to refer to her husband and secondary sources who side with on her mental …show more content…
This could be because they are the rebellious part of the family who does not agree with the treatments dealt out to Jane. If not why did John say to her “he would as soon put fireworks in my pillow-case as to have those stimulating people about now.” (649). He sees that part of the family as a negative influence that makes his wife sicker.
Jane also mentions how her brother as a physician of 'high standing’ feels about Johns reaction- further exemplifying that both Jane and John felt this importance of family approval.
Finally, friends and the opinions of fellow high standing men was important to John
When Jane says “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband assures friends” (648) it renounces that public opinions matter a great deal to John.
Jane is constantly looking for closure when she tries to talk to her husband “It’s so hard to John about my case” (652). But John turns her belittles her thoughts and calls her out as a little girl and nervous weakness. He refers to her as his patient and not his wife and this creates bridges between the couple. Jane also repeats her loneliness and longing for approval and acceptance from both society “if I had less opposition and more society”(648). and her husband “ it is so discouraging not to have advice and
The narrator finally achieves an authoritative position in her marriage, with John unconscious and her creative imagination finally free of all restraints. Her continual “creeping” over his prone body serves as a repeated emphasis of this liberation, almost as if the narrator chooses to climb over him to highlight his inferiority over and over again” (Harrison). John was a weak person, Jane suffered from a nervous disorder which was made way worse by the feelings of being trapped in a room. The setting of the nursery room with barred windows in a colonial mansion provides an image of the loneliness and seclusion she experienced. Periods of time can lead to insanity. Maybe her illness wasn’t that bad but he made it worse on her part because he was a sick husband. Some critics have argued “Is the narrator really liberated? We’re inclined towards saying “no”, given that she’s still creeping around the room and that her psyche is broken”
After the death of Jane’s parents, her uncle Mr. Reed has taken her in with his family to a mansion called Gateshead Hall. Nine years after Jane uncle has past she has been trapped in Gateshead Hall while suffering the bitter treatment of her aunt Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed was resentful of her husband’s favoritism toward Jane and takes every opportunity to neglect and punish her. When Jane is punished by Mrs. Reed she would be sent to the red room by two of Mrs. Reed servants, Bessie and Miss Abbot. The red-room was “a spare chamber, it was one of the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion” and in this every same chamber is where Jane uncle past (8). Not only did Mrs. Reed treat disrespectfully but her own son, Jane’s older cousin John Reed. John Reed would abuse and punish Jane several times a day, in the words of Jane; “every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shranked when he came near”(4). Everyone would ignore Jane’s plea for help especially Mrs. Reed who would act be blind and deaf on the subject. No one except for Mr. Reed show any love and care for Jane during her childhood in Gateshead Hall. Jane said “I was a discord in Gateshead Hall; I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage” (10). Jane continued by saying that they did not love her not if as little she loved them. Although the family mistreats her, Jane still wished for the atte...
In the quote, “I am sitting by the window now, up in this atrocious nursery, and there is nothing to hinder my writing as much as I please, save lack of strength” (page 649). Jane saves herself by expressing how she feels about specific aspects of her life in writing. Being with herself, and only herself, in a tiny bedroom, Jane writes to save her strength. As it was common in the ninetieth century for women to be property to men, this made it easy for the husband’s to completely isolate their lives by controlling their lives. Stetson writes, “So now she is gone, and the servants are gone, and the things are gone, and there is nothing left but that great bed-stead nailed down, with the canvas mattress we found it on it” (page 655).
At the time Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” she was considered a prominent feminist writer. This piece of background information allows the readers to see Gilman’s views on women’s rights and roles in the 18th century; “The Yellow Wallpaper” suggests that women in the 18th century were suppressed into society’s marital gender roles. Gilman uses the setting and figurative language, such as symbolism, imagery, and metaphors to convey the theme across.
Jane is often very inconsistent about when she likes her husband, and when she hates him. She seems to constantly battle with the idea that her spouse is actually helping her when he tries to prevent her from doing things such as writing (Hume 6). Jane also seems to be fearful of her husband and even states so “The fact is I am getting a little afraid of John,” (Gilman 963). Jane also talks of how she is afraid...
John's fascination with observing his wife can be attributed to a physician's distorted interest in the body. We can certainly speculate that, as physicians at the turn of the century were beginning to explore the female body assisted by "developments" in gynecology, John may have been equally interested in these new techniques of viewing the female body. More so than ever, the patient and her body became subject to the physician's privilege to intimately observe and diagnose her.
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.
Jane lists her faults and short-coming, believing that she is at fault for her families treatment. She even starts to imagine that her uncle will rise from the grave to punish her. On page 23, Jane thinks to herself, “My habitual mood of humiliation, self-doubt, forlorn depression, fell damp on the embers of my decaying ire. All said I was wicked, and perhaps I might be so; what thought had I been but just conceiving of starving myself to death?” This ten-year-old child is in a situation in which she feels so unloved that she considers, however briefly, attempting to kill herself. This is a prime example of the third tier in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs going unmet and decimating Jane’s esteem and attempts at
...ssion and intrusiveness. John’s lack of having an open mind to his wife’s thoughts and opinions and his constant childish like treatment of his wife somehow emphasizes this point, although, this may not have been his intention. The narrator felt strongly that her thoughts and feelings were being disregarded and ignored as stated by the narrator “John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him” (Gilman 115), and she shows her despise of her husband giving extra care to what he considers more important cases over his wife’s case with a sarcastic notion “I am glad my case is not serious!” (Gilman 115). It is very doubtful that John is the villain of the story, his good intentions towards doing everything practical and possible to help his wife gain her strength and wellbeing is clear throughout the story.
The narrator is trying to get better from her illness but her husband “He laughs at me so about this wallpaper” (515). He puts her down and her insecurities do not make it any better. She is treated like a child. John says to his wife “What is it little girl” (518)? Since he is taking care of her she must obey him “There comes John, and I must put this away, he hates to have me write a word”. The narrator thinks John is the reason why she cannot get better because he wants her to stay in a room instead of communicating with the world and working outside the house.
Jane does not experience a typical family life throughout the novel. Her various living arrangements led her through different households, yet none were a representation of the norm of family life in the nineteenth century. Through research of families in the nineteenth century, it is clear that Jane’s life does not follow with the stereotypical family made up of a patriarchal father and nurturing mother, both whose primary focus was in raising their children. Jane’s life was void of this true family experience so common during the nineteenth century. Yet, Jane is surrounded by men, who in giving an accurate portrayal of fathers and masculinity in the nineteenth century, fulfill on one hand the father role that had never been present in her life, and on the other hand the husband portrait that Jane seeks out throughout the novel.
There are multiple possible causes for the internal conflict the narrator faces. The first being nervous depression and the other is the fact that her life is being controlled by her husband. Her husband is in full control because in the beginning of the story, John, her husband, influences how she should act. He decides the actions that should be taken in regards to her health and sanctity. Although she finds herself disagreeing with his synopsis, she is confined and does not admit how she feels to him. This also brings about another a major conflict that occurred in the 19th century, men being dominant and woman being categorized as inferior. Evidence can be found when the narrator states, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband assures friends and relatives that there is nothing the matter with o...
Also, the paper will discuss how ignoring oneself and one’s desires is self-destructive, as seen throughout the story as the woman’s condition worsens while she is in isolation, in the room with the yellow wallpaper, and at the same time as her thoughts are being oppressed by her husband and brother. In the story, the narrator is forced to tell her story through a secret correspondence with the reader since her husband forbids her to write and would “meet [her] with heavy opposition” should he find her doing so (390). The woman’s secret correspondence with the reader is yet another example of the limited viewpoint, for no one else is ever around to comment or give their thoughts on what is occurring. The limited perspective the reader sees through her narration plays an essential role in helping the reader understand the theme by showing the woman’s place in the world. At the time the story was written, women were looked down upon as being subservient beings compared to men....
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator and her husband John can be seen as strong representations of the effects society’s stereotypical gender roles as the dominant male and submissive female have within a marriage. Because John’s wife takes on the role as the submissive female, John essentially controlled all aspects of his wife’s life, resulting in the failure of the couple to properly communicate and understand each other. The story is intended to revolve around late 19th century America, however it still occurs today. Most marriages still follow the traditional gender stereotypes, potentially resulting in a majority of couples to uphold an unhealthy relationship or file for divorce. By comparing the “The yellow wallpaper” with the article “Eroticizing Inequality in the United States: The Consequences and Determinants of Traditional Gender Role Adherence in Intimate Relationships”, the similarities between the 19th century and 21st century marriage injustice can further be examined. If more couples were able to separate the power between the male and female, America would have less unhappy marriages and divorces.
Gilman uses “The Yellow Wallpaper” to illustrate the control man has over women in modern day society. The wife in “The Yellow Wallpaper” goes through a nervous depression during the short story. Gilman never really comes out and states the reasons behind the wife’s mental condition, but throughout the short story she constantly makes references to the woman’s sense of inferiority to her husband, John. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John is used to represent all men and their feelings toward women. Although men do not consciously take control over females’ live, they still do. It has always been man’s nature to take charge and be the dominant gender.