The Role Of Middle-Class Women In The Yellow Wallpaper

737 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: essay on feminist first wave

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 …show more content…

For instance, the narrator in Gilman’s story kept a secret diary where she would have the freedom to voice her thoughts. She describes this writing as a form of therapy or relief (Gilman, CP 164). Not being able to or being afraid to express one’s ideas were one of the hardships married upper- middle- class women faced. By the end of the story, the narrator becomes extremely disgruntled with her situation and rips off the yellow wallpaper in the room where she spends a majority of her time (Gilman, CP 169). Believing that she is one of the women trapped in the wallpaper, she finally able consider herself free from the control and boundaries of her marriage. Demonstrating that women should strive to break away from the restrictions of marriage and strive to expand their mind by being less dependent was Gilman’s intent when writing this …show more content…

Friedan fails to acknowledge other classes and races such as low-class African American individuals. It was almost like these individuals did not exist to her. In addition, Hook’s highlighted the fact that African-American had to face the "double bars" for being both a women and an African American. For such an influential piece of writing, it is unfortunate that The Feminine Mystique neglects to recognize other individuals besides upper- middle- class white

Show More
Related

  • The Critique Of Pauli Murray's 'Feminine Mystique'

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    The “Feminine Mystique” is a highly influential book in the early second wave feminism movement. It is said that it helped shaped the demands of the second wave by insisting for the right to work outside the home, and to be paid equally; the right for reproductive freedom; the demand that women should not be expected to have children and be mothers if they do not want to. Betty Friedan addresses “the problem that has no name” which is the women who are highly educated, suburban housewives that are bored and want something “more” in their life. This is the point where women knew we needed a second wave. Women’s role had gone backwards and they were beginning to realize that they were all experiencing the same “problem that has no name”. “The

    Read More

  • Susan B Anthony The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    Susan B. Anthony, a woman’s rights pioneer, once said, “Oh, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done” (“Women’s Voices Magazine”). Women’s rights is a hot button issue in the United States today, and it has been debated for years. In the late 1800’s an individual named Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote literature to try and paint a picture in the audience’s mind that gender inferiority is both unjust and horrific. In her short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” Gilman makes the ultimate argument that women should not be seen as subordinate to men, but as equal.

    Read More

  • A Feminist in Action in The Yellow Wallpaper

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts a woman in isolation, struggling to cope with mental illness, which has been diagnosed by her husband, a physician.   Going beyond this surface level, the reader sees the narrator as a developing feminist, struggling with the societal values of the time.  As a woman writer in the late nineteenth century, Gilman herself felt the adverse effects of the male-centric society, and consequently, placed many allusions to her own personal struggles as a feminist in her writing.  Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a psychological journey that correlates with the advancement of her mental condition.  The restrictions which society places on her as a woman have a worsening effect on her until illness progresses into hysteria.  The narrator makes comments and observations that demonstrate her will to overcome the oppression of the male dominant society.  The conflict between her views and those of the society can be seen in the way she interacts physically, mentally, and emotionally with the three most prominent aspects of her life:  her husband, John, the yellow wallpaper in her room, and her illness, "temporary nervous depression."  In the end, her illness becomes a method of coping with the injustices forced upon her as a woman.  As the reader delves into the narrative, a progression can be seen from the normality the narrator displays early in the passage, to the insanity she demonstrates near the conclusion.

    Read More

  • Bell Hooks Feminist Theory Analysis

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her novel called “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center” one of the many areas bell hooks speaks of is the perpetual racial confinement of oppressed black women. The term double-bind comes to mind when she says “being oppressed means the absence of choices” (hooks 5). The double-bind is “circumstances in which choices are condensed to a few and every choice leads to segregation, fault or denial” Therefore, this essay will discuss how hooks’ definition of oppression demonstrates the double-bind in race relations, forcing the socially underprivileged minority to “never win,” and as a result allowing the privileged dominate “norm” to not experience perpetual segregation.

    Read More

  • Analysis of "The Yellow Wallpaper"

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman comments on the roles of husband and wife and the inequality that exists within their relationship. In the depiction of her protagonist's mental collapse she shows the problems with psychological diagnoses and the lack of power women had in their own treatment. This stance comes from her own experience with mental illness and her inability to assert her will in the situation. Most importantly she uses the case of one's psychological deterioration to ultimately break the barrier between men and women in terms of mental treatment and diagnoses.

    Read More

  • Feminist Perspective on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

    1272 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Yellow Wallpaper, Written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is comprised as an assortment of journal entries written in first person, by a woman who has been confined to a room by her physician husband who he believes suffers a temporary nervous depression, when she is actually suffering from postpartum depression. He prescribes her a “rest cure”. The woman remains anonymous throughout the story. She becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper that surrounds her in the room, and engages in some outrageous imaginations towards the wallpaper. Gilman’s story depicts women’s struggle of independence and individuality at the rise of feminism, as well as a reflection of her own life and experiences.

    Read More

  • What Is The History Of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique?

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Betty Friedan is the author of the famous book, which credited the beginning of a second –wave feminism in the United States. Friedan’s book begins with describing “the problem that has no name” to women who had everything, but were unhappy, depress and felt like they had nothing. Women are expected to be happy by buying things, a new refrigerator, house, best-selling coffee, having the right make-up, clothes and shoes, this is what the Feminine Mystique symbolized. Something that women wanted but can never have. Furthermore, society in present day is full of advertisements everywhere we go in TV, books and on the radio. The young generation as well as adults get trap in a fantasy world full of perfection. Women always want to have a thin waist, the most expensive make-up and purses, it’s all based on stereotypes. In her book, Friedan mentions that the average age of marriage was decreasing compared to increasing birthrate of women. Moreover, Friedan has been nit-pick at for focusing on the middle-class women and for prejudice against

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” explores the restricted societal roles of both Jane and John. Gilman, a strong supporter of women’s rights, focuses on her account with depression through this story (Hill 150). Traditionally, the man must take care of the woman both financially and emotionally while the woman’s role remains at home. Society tends to trap man and woman and prevent them from developing emotionally and intellectually. Although Gilman focuses on the hardships of the woman, she also examines the role of the man in society. Repression generated by social gender roles hinders men and women from acquiring self-individuation.

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper Essay

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lacking any mode of self-expression, except for the few times she can sneak writing into her journal, the narrator looks for something to occupy her mind and the yellow wallpaper is the answer. Gilman points out the fault of psychiatrists at the time. Even though doctors believe that starving the mentally ill of any sort of stimulus is a cure of mental health issues, Gilman illustrates that this only creates an environment for even further deterioration of the mind. Instead, what the narrator initially suggests to her husband is right. Allowing those who suffer from mental health issues to express themselves and explore what’s out there is the real cure.

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper Mental Illness

    1526 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Yellow Wallpaper” was a groundbreaking piece for its time. It not only expressed feministic views through the defiance of a male but also discussed mental illness and the inefficacy of medical treatment at the time. This fictional piece questioned and challenged the submissive role forced upon women of the 19th century and disclosed some of the mental struggles one might go through during this time of questing. Gilman shows however that even in the most horrific struggle to overcome male dominance, it is possible. She herself escapes which again shows a feminist empowerment to end the

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper

    1778 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s 2:00am and I cannot sleep. I toss and turn while the question, “Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?” keeps playing over and over in my mind. The picture in my mind of a subjugated woman who feebly attempts to fight against feminine oppression and her impending insanity is vivid and disturbing and continues to slap against the recesses of my mind with an angry hand. What was Charlotte Perkins Gilman attempting to convey to her readers when she wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” and created the characters of the narrator, her husband John, Mary and her sister-in-law Jennie? Obviously, in an exaggerated version of her own experience with post-partum depression and its prescribed “rest cure”, Gilman speaks of a world in which the female is forced into a role of the submissive counterpart to male dominance. In the following pages, I will describe how Gilman has effectively created characters that draw us into their view of control, dominance and frustrated silence against imprisonment in a paternalistic society, and how we are given a view into a perfectly healthy mind that goes awry.

    Read More

  • The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis Essay

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, is a first-person narrative written in the style of a journal. It takes place during the nineteenth century and depicts the narrator’s time in a temporary home her husband has taken her to in hopes of providing a place to rest and recover from her “nervous depression”. Throughout the story, the narrator’s “nervous condition” worsens. She begins to obsess over the yellow wallpaper in her room to the point of insanity. She imagines a woman trapped within the patterns of the paper and spends her time watching and trying to free her. Gilman uses various literary elements throughout this piece, such as irony and symbolism, to portray it’s central themes of restrictive social norms

    Read More

  • The Movement for Women's Rights Inside The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    1638 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women have been mistreated, enchained and dominated by men for most part of the human history. Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was great inequality between the social and economic conditions of men and women (Pearson Education). The battle for women's emancipation, however, had started in 1848 by the first women's rights convention, which was led by some remarkable and brave women (Pearson Education). One of the most notable feminists of that period was the writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was also one of the most influential feminists who felt strongly about and spoke frequently on the nineteenth-century lives for women. Her short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" characterizes the condition of women of the nineteenth century through the main character’s life and actions in the text. It is considered to be one of the most influential pieces because of its realism and prime examples of treatment of women in that time. This essay analyzes issues the protagonist goes through while she is trying to break the element of barter from her marriage and love with her husband. This relationship status was very common between nineteenth-century women and their husbands.

    Read More

  • Suppression of Women in The Yellow Wallpaper

    1807 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, tells the story of a woman's descent into madness as a result of the "rest and ignore the problem cure" that is frequently prescribed to cure hysteria and nervous conditions in women.  More importantly, the story is about control and attacks the role of women in society.  The narrator of the story is symbolic for all women in the late 1800s, a prisoner of a confining society.  Women are expected to bear children, keep house and do only as they are told.  Since men are privileged enough to have education, they hold jobs and make all the decisions.  Thus, women are cast into the prison of acquiescence because they live in a world dominated by men.  Since men suppress women, John, the narrator's husband, is presumed to have control over the protagonist.  Gilman, however, suggests otherwise.  She implies that it is a combination of society's control as well as the woman's personal weakness that contribute to the suppression of women.  These two factors result in the woman's inability to make her own decisions and voice opposition to men.

    Read More

  • The Feminine Mystique Analysis

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1960s, a woman’s world was highly restrictive in almost all areas, from home life to the work field. A woman’s role was bound to homemaking, raising children and serving their husbands. If they chose to go into the professional world, their options were limited to subservient roles as nurses, teachers and secretaries, as not to disrupt the social hierarchy during the time. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique transformed this patriarchal dominated society and changed the way middle-class white women viewed their roles and identities in society post-World War II and throughout the 1960s. Friedan’s generation succeeded the generation of “first wave” feminism who pushed for women’s

    Read More

More about The Role Of Middle-Class Women In The Yellow Wallpaper

Open Document