РефератыИностранный языкYeYellow Wall Paper By Gilman Essay Research

Yellow Wall Paper By Gilman Essay Research

Yellow Wall Paper By Gilman Essay, Research Paper


Signs of society?s sexism in The Yellow Wall-Paper The Yellow Wallpaper is a


story, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Although the work is short, it is one of the


most interesting works in existence. Gilman uses literary techniques very well.


The symbolism of The Yellow Wall-Paper, can be seen and employed after some


thought and make sense immediately. The views and ideals of society are often


found in literary works. Whether the author is trying to show the ills of


society of merely telling a story, culture is woven onto the words. The


relationship between the narrator and her husband would be disagreeable to a


modern woman?s relationship. Today, most women crave equality with their


partner. The reader never learns the name of the narrator, perhaps to give the


illusion that she could be any woman. On the very fist page of The Yellow


Wall-Paper, Gilman illustrates the male dominated society and relationship. It


was customary for men to assume that their gender knew what, when, how, and why


to do things. John, the narrator?s husband, is a prominent doctor and both his


and his wife?s words and actions reflect the aforementioned stereotype:


?John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage,? (9). This


statement illustrates the blatant sexism of society at the time. John does not


believe that his wife is sick, while she is really suffering from post-partum


depression. He neglects to listen to his wife in regard to her thoughts,


feelings, and health through this thought pattern. According to him, there is


not anything wrong with his wife except for temporary nerve issues, which should


not be serious. By closing her off from the rest of the world, he is taking her


away from things that important to her mental state; such as her ability to read


and write, her need for human interaction, her need to make her own decisions.


All of these are important to all people. This idea of forced rest and


relaxation to cure temporary nervous problems was very common at the time. Many


doctors prescribed it for their female patients. The narrators husband, brother,


and their colleagues all feel that this is the correct way to fix her problem,


which is practically nonexistent in their eyes. Throughout the beginning of the


story, the narrator tends to buy into the idea that the man is always right and


makes excuses for her feelings and his actions and words: ?It is so hard to


talk to John about my case, because he is so wise and because he loves me so,?


(23). In a good relationship, each partner should be able to express one?s own


thoughts and feelings. Honesty in one of the most important characteristics a


relationship should have. In this case, the narrator feels that she can not tell


him how she feels so as not to upset him and make him mad. When the narrator


does attempt to have a discussion with John, she ends up crying and not being


able to express herself. John treats her like a child as men believed that


crying something that women do and is something that shows weakness. Eventually


she begins to become frightened o

f John and as she goes bad, his normalcy is


seen as queer through in her eyes. For a long time it was customary for the


house to be able to represent a secure place for a woman. Her house was a


woman?s place of residency as well as where women were to do their work and


express themselves. In The Yellow Wall-Paper, the house is not even the


couple?s own. It is a summer rental and the narrator is forced to reside and


spent the majority of her time in a room that is unpleasant to her tastes. This


house reverses the traditional symbol of security for the domestic activities of


a woman. However, it becomes a place for her to release her words onto paper and


eventually to release her grip on reality. The room and many of it?s features


twist the common comforts of a home. The room itself used to be a nursery, which


is ironic since the narrator was sent to the house to recover from post partum


depression. The narrator comments: ?The window typically represents a view of


possibilities. However, for the narrator it represents a view of a world that


she can not be a part of. The window is physically barred as she is barred from


the world physically and mentally. The bed is nailed down. The bed should be a


place of comfort for a couple, not a place where one partner is forced into a


life that she does not want to live in that way. As, the title of the work


shows, there is obviously something interesting to the narrator about the


wallpaper. The stripes in the print of the wallpaper represent bars and the


narrator begins to see a figure behind them: ?The front pattern does


move?and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it. Sometimes I think there are a


great many women behind, and sometimes only one,? (30). While the woman behind


the bars shakes them, the narrator can not shake the bars that keep her away


from reality. The woman represents the narrator as well as women in general and


the movement for women?s rights. The narrator also can represent any woman and


the struggle that woman went though to get closer to achieving equality.


John?s sister, Jennie, comes to help take care of the narrator. Jennie is the


epitome of a woman who falls into the conventional female role: ?She is a


perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession,?


(18). The narrator attempts to keep her writing a secret from Jennie, so that


her one outlet will not be taken away. At some times, it seems as though the


narrator pities Jennie and feels sorry for Jennie?s pathetic views. As the


narrator descends into madness, her views on society change and become more


modern. She is emancipating herself from the docile role that a woman should


play. Gilman uses the narrator and the symbolism in The Yellow Wall-Paper, to


show society?s views on women. The narrator eventually goes against common


culture and becomes a feminist. Men thought the feminist movement was weak and


useless, while comparatively, men like John thought their wives were weak and


useless outside the home. At the story?s conclusion, the narrator was


directing her own footsteps and in reality, women are doing the same.

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