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Feminist Aspects of The Yellow Wallpaper

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Feminist Aspects of The Yellow Wallpaper

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman can by read in many different ways. Some think of it as a tragic horror story while others may find it to be a tale of a woman trying to find her identity in a male-dominated society. The story is based on an episode in Gilman's life when she suffered from a nervous disease called melancholia. A male specialist advised her to "live a domestic a life as far as possible.. and never to touch a pen, brush or pencil..." (Gilman, 669). She lived by these guidelines for three months until she came close to suffering from a nervous breakdown. Gilman then decided to continue writing, despite the physicians advice, and overcame her illness. …show more content…

Women struggled with society to gain status equal to men and their efforts were found in many literary works.. Famous authors such as Mary Wollestonecraft, Alice Walker, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman herself published works that expressed these views and served as a creative outlet similar to the narrator of 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'

The narrator finds herself economically and emotionally dependent on her husband, John. Many times she questions to herself why she stays in the room all of the time. She then answers herself by saying, " John says it is good for me" (Gilman, 665). She thinks of her husband as much wiser and more important than she, which is the way that society treated males during the time period the story was written. During this era, women were discouraged from joining the work force and were thought to be better suited as a mother, and wife rather than an employee. This is the common stereotype that women tried to overcome during the women's movement.

Similar to the narrator's "freedom" from the suppression of her husband in the conclusion of the story, women's' effortful battle lead to a victory in 1920, when women finally won the write to vote and be included in the political decisions affecting society. The narrator went through mental as well as physical struggles as did the women of this era. During the progressive movement, they continued an effortful battle

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