Feminism in The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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“John laughs at me, of course”, The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charoleette Perkin Gilman, allows the reader to have a insight on the terrors a young women faces by her controlling husband, which eventually leads her to insanity. When analyzing gender differences between men and women in the short story The Yellow Wallpaper it became apparent that men have a higher authority over women. Charlotte Perkin Gilman depicts a short story about a young lady that encounters a serve depression that worsens after receiving unusual treatment from her husband John. Using the feminist theory, the reader can analyze how The Yellow Wallpaper embodies the struggles faced by women in the 1800’s and current time, also, relating on the authors own experience living in a society dominated by men.
Feminist, Gilman lived during the time when women were oppressed from their own basic rights. The short story Yellow Wallpaper embodies the author’s own experience in which she was treated unequal from men due to her solely being a woman.
She believed that woman should be able to work outside of their private home and be independent from men. Gilman argued that men and women should share or have equal experience in the labor field. Gilman was an inspirational western feminist that shared her experience of depression and nervousness through her short story The Yellow Wallpaper.
Women in this story are portrayed as a minority gender. For example Jane isn’t allowed think for her self, move without her husbands permission, or even have a say in her treatment. Her husband John is a physician of high standing in society that is looked highly upon. For this reason, John feels that he has the right to imprison his wife and brainwash her into thinking that she really is...

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...y, which eventually leads to her thriving for independence from men authority.
The Yellow Wallpaper demonstrates that if one gender doesn’t respect the other then their relationship between the two turns into a dictatorship. The only way for two genders to be treated equal is for the two to follow the same rules and restrictions in society. The society must enforce these rules and restrictions in order for people to follow them. For example, if a man is allowed to work as a police officer, so should women because she has trained just as hard and has earned her position. Just because she might be as strong mentally and physically doesn’t make it right for society to not allow them work. This is exactly what the feminist theory is fighting, equal treatment among men and women. Just as once race shouldn’t be more superior to another, gender should be treated the same.

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