What Is Gender Symbolism In The Yellow Wallpaper

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a tragedy illustrated from the point of view of a woman, whose name is not mentioned, that suffered from a nervous disorder and goes through her journey to insanity. Ironically, the root to her insanity is her husband’s attempts to recuperate her mental health by prescribing her rest cure treatment during their stay in a colonial house. The author conveys messages of gender inequality, social bias, and the struggle women faced in the nineteenth century by using first-person narration with the help of symbolism. Underlying the story are symbols of male oppression of women in the nineteenth century, symbols such as the yellow wallpaper, the barred window, and the oppressive room. The yellow wallpaper symbolizes male

The room where the narrator stays is decorated with multiple loops, nauseating yellow wallpaper, and huge barred windows. Windows usually symbolizes hopes, but in this story it symbolizes the narrator’s confinement from her thoughts by the norms of the society. In one scene, the narrator opens the barred windows for some fresh air but John immediately said what she "felt was a draught, and shut the window" (Gilman 648). This action symbolizes John’s despotism by shutting out her hopes. Karen Ford states that, “In "The Yellow Wallpaper" the physician is the quintessential man, and his talk, therefore, is the epitome of male discourse” (310). John and the narrator’s brother are both physicians, illuminating that their decisions shall not be questioned. Indeed, when the narrator’s husband and brother diagnosed that she has neurosis, she finds it impossible to refute them and take whatever medicine is prescribed for her. She states, “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. But what is one to do?” (Gilman 648). The narrator’s question of “what is one to do” further suggests the society influenced women that it is normal to go along with men’s decisions. When the narrator requested being active as the form of treatment, John denied it (Gilman 649). John’s behavior demonstrates his dominance

The narrator and her husband’s interactions shows her as submissive in terms of gender equality. Although John perceives the narrator as a child with no volunteer ideas, it is shown in her journal that this theory is not valid because she was shaped to comply by the society and the norm. The narrator’s inferiority negatively impacts her mental and physical health to the point she had to rip off the wallpaper to break free. Nevertheless, when read critically, the story also unveil the women’s suffrage movement and its struggle. Since this story was published, women are slowly breaking away from men’s suppression and gaining more rights. In short, society and culture define gender roles; however, the changing economic, social, and education environment open up a new path for women. Nowadays, women are given the chance to prove themselves and can act beyond their gender roles. However, the equality between genders has not been achieved yet. Therefore, women should continue to fight for their rights and freedoms until they are treated with respect and enjoy