Roles of Women in Marriage

English 250
3 Oct. 2013
Roles of Women in Marriage: Traditional and Modern Bobbi Ann Mason’s “Shiloh” and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” both contain the underlying theme of the roles of women in marriage. Marriage roles have changed significantly in the past fifty years. Prior to the late twentieth century, men were the sole breadwinners and women were expected to be submissive housewives. However, while men still work in today’s society, many women are now members of the working class as well. “The Yellow Wallpaper” presents a traditional position on marriage, while “Shiloh” takes a more modern approach, if not a switch, to the role of women in the marriage relationship. In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the role of the woman is right in line with the traditional state of marriage. The narrator is suffering from an illness that remains undisclosed to the reader, but it appears to be a state of deep depression. Her husband, John, is a doctor and is taking care of her. However, he does not believe that she is truly ill. He confines his wife to the grounds of their estate and does not permit her to leave. All the while, John comes and goes as he pleases. He also forces her to sleep in the nursery against her will. She begs him to allow her to have one of the downstairs bedrooms, but he refuses. Since the nursery has barred windows and rings upon the wall, it is eerily similar to a prison cell. John is also responsible for confining his wife to her own mind. He does not permit her to exercise, or go outdoors, or even to write, and this begins to wear on her mental state of mind. She begins to see a woman in the yellow wallpaper in the nursery. This woman represents the narrator herself, being trapped within her own mind. She eventually tears the wallpaper from the walls in an effort to escape from the imprisonment of her own mind and also from her room. “I’ve got out at last, said I, in spite of you and Jane. And I’ve pulled off most of the paper, so you can’t put me back!”(Gilman 483). The narrator’s confinement by her husband is quite similar to the role of women in marriages during traditional times. For the most part, women were confined to their homes and were limited to performing only their wifely duties.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” it is quite obvious that John treats the narrator like a child throughout her imprisonment. He forces her to reside in the nursery of the home, so that he can closely monitor her condition. When she asks to be relocated to a downstairs room, John responds by calling her a “blessed little goose.”(Gilman 475). The narrator later asks if she can go and visit with her relatives, to which he responds negatively, leading her to an emotional breakdown. He then carries her upstairs to the nursery and reads to her. (Gilman 475) These actions display John’s belittlement of his wife’s overall state. He treats her as a child by not allowing her to choose where she may sleep; he carries her to her room and then reads to her to put her to sleep. This represents the way in which women were treated in traditional marriages. They had no say in most significant matters and were treated as if they were inferior to men. The narrator also has no way to escape her situation. Divorce was not a viable option in that time period, thus she was stuck in her imprisonment. The story “Shiloh,” on the other hand, is more in line with the modern sense of women’s roles in marriage, but to an extreme state. From the outset, Norma Jean is portrayed as the stronger partner in the marriage. The story begins with her lifting weights while Leroy watches. She is the sole breadwinner in the family as a result of Leroy’s trucking accident. Norma Jean wants Leroy to work, so she makes a list of things he can do, despite his condition. He complains that he cannot stand up all day, to which Norma Jean retorts, “You ought to try standing up all day behind a cosmetics counter.” (Mason 620) This shows that Norma Jean has assumed the masculine role in the marriage, while Leroy has evolved to a more feminine state. Also, Norma Jean and her mother, Mabel, have a tense relationship. They do not get along in typical mother and daughter fashion. However, contrary to the norm, Leroy gets along okay with his mother-in-law. (Mason 619) Norma Jean also attends a community college to further her education and takes a weight lifting class as well. This is something that a modern woman would do as compared to a traditional one. (Mason 622) The role Norma Jean plays in her marriage is vastly different from that of the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Norma Jean does as she pleases and maintains control over her husband. This is the exact opposite of the narrator’s situation in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” as she enjoys no freedom and is controlled by her husband. This also seems to portray that Norma Jean and Leroy have swapped their husband and wife roles. Norma Jean is able to ameliorate her situation at the end of the story by leaving her husband. This is sharply contrasted to the narrator’s situation in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” as she is never able to escape. Traditional as compared to modern roles of women are vastly different, as is evident in the contrast of these two stories. The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” feels so confined and shutout by her husband that she breaks down to the point of insanity. This is typical of how many women were treated in traditional style marriages. On the other hand, Norma Jean, in “Shiloh,” is independent of her husband, and the reader may not truly distinguish husband from wife, aside from the telling of the story. This tends to be the trend in many marriages today. Perhaps even more so, it is similar to the lifestyle of many single women in modern times.

Works Cited
Mason, Bobbi A. “Shiloh.” 1982. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 616-625.
Gilman, Charlotte P. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1892. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 473-483.

Cited: Mason, Bobbi A. “Shiloh.” 1982. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 616-625. Gilman, Charlotte P. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” 1892. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 473-483.