Feminism In The Yellow Wallpaper

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In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the author gives the audience a powerful message about feminism, women’s imprisonment because of the idea of patriarchy, and how women were being treated during this time period. The nineteenth century was a male dominated society. Men ruled everything. The Yellow Wallpaper deals with feminism and the struggles women had to fight through. Women were oppressed in this era, and states the misogynist, patriarchal power men had over their wives, girlfriends, or any women The yellow wallpaper in the story signifies the narrator’s imprisonment she encountered with her husband, his sister, and being confined by herself most days and nights. The narrator was trapped in a secluded room …show more content…

Nothing more was expected from them. Women were most likely seen as ungrateful or childish, if they wished to go above and beyond, and to abolish the patriarchy, and to decide to live for themselves only. Those women weren’t given a good name in the nineteenth century. Feminism is a huge role in this short story because it displays the struggle and mental imprisonment the narrator had to deal with, with herself and her husband. John, her husband had complete control over his wife. He dictate what she was allowed to do, and what she wasn’t allowed to do either. At one point, John belittles his wife by laughing at her, and the wife had no choice but to endure (Gilman). The narrator, women in general, were not seen as anything serious, but only …show more content…

The author describes the narrator as being one with the yellow wallpaper and no one is able to control her again. The narrator is finally able to set herself free from being imprisoned by her husbands, societies, patriarchy ideas for women. The author describes the narrator’s daily mental, emotional and physical sufferings she had to endure to stay sane for her husband. The struggles the narrator endure, reflect the struggles women in society have to tolerate, for example the unspoken rules of gender roles. How the future of women’s lives were being confine to their spouse and taking care of their family and

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