The Yellow Wallpaper Feminist Analysis

Written during a time of significant change for women, The Yellow Wallpaper tells a tale of a women who gathers courage to break free from an oppressive lifestyle. The ideals of the society suggested that women belong at home where they were to fulfill their prescribed roles as a wife and a mother. On the other hand, men were to rule out of home through politics and work. Gilman demonstrates how the imprisonment of the narrator, through John’s characterization and Jane’s thoughts, urges the narrator to free herself from the clutches of the ‘Wallpaper’.
Jane’s mere desire to express her thoughts and ideas which break through the society's toughest barriers is a feminist statement itself. For example, when Jane reveals that she wrote despite being intellectually limited by the society, it conveys that she’s willing to stride away from the societal rules to express her desires. This illustrates empowerment of women since women of this time period worshipped their
husbands and strictly obeyed societal norms. Although, at first Jane felt imprisoned as all responsibilities were handed off to men, disempowering women as this demolished their sense of self-reliance, Jane still managed to gather enough courage to express her hobby of writing.
Spouse domination is clearly illustrated through John’s words and actions.
John often refers to his wife as “blessed little goose” and “little girl”, which illustrates that he considers her as an inferior, like a child even. Given the right by the society, John discards all of Jane’s thoughts and desires, as if they held no value, just by chuckling in The Yellow Wallpaper. Despite John’s careless actions, Jane obeys still obeys him as that's what society taught her. For instance, Jane mentally denies her husband’s treatment plan but follows it anyway like an ideal wife should. However, near the end of The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman demonstrates empowerment of women by inverting the traditional role of men and women, in terms of domination. Fed up of John’s orders and the society’s senseless norms, Jane audacity grows, causing John to faint in shock. One important factor that leads in Jane’s daring action is her deprived daughter, representing that women are kept from equality opportunities including
motherhood.
The repression of the yellow wallpaper shows the controlling side of John, who refuses to alter the color of the wall in fear of more suggestions from Jane. Jhon clearly wishes to subdue Jane’s freedom and keep her imprisoned. The wallpaper emphasizes feminist views while representing as a psychological prison. Although, Jane is captivated by it and its allure pattern, she soon realizes that a woman is trapped behind it. Sick of the paper’s appearance, she rips it apart, setting the women free. This is an example of women empowerment as Jane finally frees herself from the clutches of the oppressive societal norms in the form of the plain yellow wallpaper.
The Yellow Wallpaper expresses ideas of the time period as Gilman speaks of the struggles and imprisonment of women placed upon them by the society. Gilman empowers women by eliminating traditional gender roles, which is vital in freeing women in social order. The story successfully conveys the importance of equality through a struggling woman who reaches freedom at last.