Gender Roles In The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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Back in the 19th century both women and men had very different and specific gender roles in a marriage. Men were seen as the strong, rational, and powerful individuals and women, on the other hand, were the weaker, logical, and passive ones. Men ended up making the final decisions about everything that goes on in the household and their marriage. Women were basically required to go along with anything their husbands’ had decided because they simply had no say so. Living in this form could have multiple outcomes, some being, resulting in the marriage going down an unhealthy pathway. It could even force the women to do or feel things they’ve never felt before. The way Jane and John of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” demonstrated …show more content…

But if things could have been a little different, such as having the females input incorporated, lives could have been so much better. Jane was the one who understood the problem she was facing and although she didn’t have a degree as a physician, only she could have known the proper treatment for her own depression. But of course, since her husband was the professional and he ruled the household, he demanded that her only problem was that she shouldn’t be exposed to the outside any longer. All she needed was rest in his eyes and that’s what he forced her to partaken in. After Jane received her husband’s discouraging and professional opinion, she thought to herself that “Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good” (377). This meant that Jane’s depression was being caused by not having those things she wished for in her life. She was living in a predictable and boring setting and only longed for something different to take place, something exciting to do would have fulfilled that void. But little did she know, by actually following her husband’s advice only led her into a deeper and more psychotic …show more content…

All because of John’s decision for his wife’s cure, she was forced to live a life that only made her feel worse each and every day. We knew in the story that Jane was getting horrible when she began to place her life and herself into a wallpaper she viewed daily. Each time she looked at it, things got worse and she slowly started imagining herself being a part of this simple wallpaper. She envisioned someone trying to escape from a place, specifically a woman, and she just couldn’t get out. The woman is constantly stooping and creeping around trying to find ways to release herself. Then once Jane couldn’t bear to stare at the image of herself anymore, her sudden outbreak occurred. Jane was locked in her room tearing at a blank wallpaper she thought had more meaning than it really did. After her husband entered her room and asked what was going on, she was left with saying “I’ve got out at last” (387). At that point, we realized that Jane was struggling inside so much that her depression took over her mind and body and created visions that represented exactly how she felt. And once she scratched up most bits of this wallpaper, she thought to herself that she was free now. Free from being trapped in this life she was forced to

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