When it comes to women’s writing it is possible to view each work as having a singular motive as though the works of a particular gender, despite being written by different women at different time periods in different parts of the world, all adhere to a particular agenda. The texts that fall into the category of women’s writing are intrinsically informed by the life and experiences of the writer, and while the way they broach the same topic may be similar it will never be exactly alike. This is true of Katherine Mansfield’s presentation of motherhood within her works; There are few parallels between themes in her works and that of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, particularly in Mansfield’s ‘Bliss’ and Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, but Plath’s outlook …show more content…
Despite this Mansfield’s depiction of motherhood in ‘Bliss’ differs from that of ‘Prelude’; the mother figure Bertha Young is far less resigned and resentful of her situation than that of Linda Burnell; where Linda views her possessions as “absolute necessities” over her children, Bertha instead gets a “feeling of bliss” just looking at her baby. Nonetheless Bertha is at a different stage of motherhood than Linda, with her name Bertha Young being a charactonym where her youth defines her rather than her role as a mother and a wife. And yet due to this youth she is restricted from reaching her potential as mother by the interference of the nanny, who clearly distrusts her ability to properly parent her child. The forced separation of mother and child leads to Bertha being unable to fully connect to her baby, much like with her husband, while she admires the child, the admiration resembles that of a child with a novel toy; She is constantly delighted by the child when in her presence but does not mourn the separation. The lack of maternal experience is illustrated most clearly when she remarks to the child, “I'm fond of you. I like you.” , demonstrating her inability to fully commit to the typically unconditional love of mother to child. Her immaturity is fostered by those around her who stunt …show more content…
In both texts there appears to be an underlying desire in the mothers to separate themselves from their children due to some disconnect. In The Yellow Wallpaper the narrator is suffering from post-natal depression which explains the lack of maternity the character exhibits. Karen Ford suggests that the narrator’s descent into madness is a purposeful means to distance herself from her child and free herself from the control of her husband, viewing “madness and death as the only alternatives to marriage, motherhood, and conformity” in a patriarchal society
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
There are various interpretations of what causes the narrator to go crazy in the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These interpretations include suggestions that the narrator is possessed, that she is oppressed by society and is acting out, that she has suffered from a traumatic childbirth, and so on. While all of these ideas hold merit and are supported by evidence in the short story, there is an alternative explanation that fits the story just as well, if not better. That explanation is that the reason the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” acts strangely and sees images in the wallpaper of her room is that she is suffering from the disorder of postpartum psychosis. During this essay I will be going into depth on a psychological analysis of “The Yellow Wallpaper”.
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.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
There is no doubt that the literary written by men and women is different. One source of difference is the sex. A woman is born a woman in the same sense as a man is born a man. Certainly one source of difference is biological, by virtue of which we are male and female. “A woman´s writing is always femenine” says Virginia Woolf
“Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman was analyzed by many perspective readers and writers. In my research paper I analyzed work by Ann Oakley and Karen Ford. These two authors had similar but yet different arguments. During my review process on both articles, I found that there can be many interpretations of any literary work. When you typically see topics written about women, you tend to see biased explanations. Reading these from a female standpoint you would go on to assume the writer will only defend what is morally right.
What is Feminism? How does feminism affect the world we live in today? Was feminism always present in history, and if so why was it such a struggle for women to gain the respect they rightly deserve? Many authors are able to express their feelings and passions about this subject within their writing. When reading literary works, one can sense the different feminist stages depending on the timeframe that the writing takes place. Two such works are ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by, Charlotte Gilman and ‘Everyday Use’ by, Alice Walker; the feminist views within each story are very apparent by the era each author lives in. It is evident that a matter of fifty years can change the stance of an author’s writing; in one story the main character is a confident and strong willed young woman looking to voice her feminist views on the world, while the other story’s main character is a woman trying to hold on to her voice in a man’s world which is driving her insane.
“The Yellow Wall Paper” is the story about a journey of a woman who is suffering from a nervous breakdown, descending into madness through her “rest cure” treatment. Basically, the woman is not allowed to read, write or to see her new-born baby. Charlotte Perkins Gilman captures the essence of this journey into madness by using the first person narration. The story plot’s is by taking the reader through the horrors of one woman’s neurosis to make strong statements about the oppression faced by women in their marriage roles. The narrator’s mental condition is characterized by her meeting with the wallpaper in her room. In addition to the story’s plot, the use of symbolism and irony throughout her story also show how males dominate during her time.
In a world ruled by men, women take upon their selves to become equal if not above the social standards set by man. It is with this mindset that two influential female writers broke through the barrier set by these principles Virginia Woolf and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Gilman composed a short story named “The Yellow Wallpaper”, in this story a woman is locked up in a room by her husband so that she may “get better” when ailing from an unknown illness. Eventually she truly becomes ill and turns to the arms of insanity. Virginia Wool similarly writes a short story called “Shakespeare’s Sister”, the plot line consists of the inner workings of a woman’s mind through the process of what it would have been like to be the sister of Shakespeare’s
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been hardly recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman of society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women character in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a
Katherine Mansfield belongs to a group of female authors that have used their financial resources and social standing to critique the patriarchal status quo. Like Virginia Woolf, Mansfield was socioeconomically privileged enough to write influential texts that have been deemed as ‘proto-feminist’ before the initial feminist movements. The progressive era in which Mansfield writes proves to be especially problematic because, “[w]hile the Modernist tradition typically undermined middle-class values, women … did not have the recognized rights necessary to fully embrace the liberation from the[se] values” (Martin 69). Her short stories emphasized particular facets of female oppression, ranging from gendered social inequality to economic classism, and it is apparent that “[p]oor or rich, single or married, Mansfield’s women characters are all victims of their society” (Aihong 101). Mansfield’s short stories, “The Garden Party” and “Miss Brill”, represent the feminist struggle to identify traditional patriarchy as an inherent caste system in modernity. This notion is exemplified through the social bonds women create, the naïve innocence associated with the upper classes, and the purposeful dehumanization of women through oppressive patriarchal methods. By examining the female characters in “The Garden Party” and “Miss Brill”, it is evident that their relationships with other characters and themselves notify the reader of their encultured classist preconceptions, which is beneficial to analyze before discussing the sources of oppression.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
After arranging the fruit for the evening party, Bertha like a child at Christmas runs upstairs to the nursery to see her baby, Little B. The scene goes, “she looked up when see saw her mother and began to jump.” (Mansfield 2) The Nanny quickly takes control of the baby and in facial expressions showing her displeasure of being interrupted. When the Nanny tells of the dog’s ear that B touched, she does not voice her objections to the Nanny’s judgment of letting B touch the dog’s ear. Bertha also has to beg Nanny, like a child rather, than an employer, to finish feeding her child. Showing that Bertha’s bliss with her baby is not true, “because the nanny has constant control over her care.” (Sonja Cerne, para. 1).
Katherine Mansfield is a writer that has had a lot experience with love, respect, and other things. She shows it in her short stories and poems. One short story in particular is “Bliss”, this story takes place in the life and times of Bertha Young, and wife that is struggling with her feelings. Bertha is in the stage of her life where she is trying to figure out who she loves. Bertha along with Harry, her husband, and Pearl Fulton all go through different situations, and the theme of marriage is developed through the use of symbols, love triangles, and displacement.