The Yellow Wallpaper Feminist Analysis
Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's Feminist Piece
Charlotte Perkins Gilman orchestrates an all-out feminist assault on societal male dominance in her work, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She cleverly conceals her points in an attention-grabbing story about a wife seemingly held prisoner by her mental deterioration. However, the real captors turn out to be societal norms where men are in charge and other women unwittingly supporting the oppressors.
Set in the late 19th century, the story reflects the current state of society where men are in charge of everything and women must play a subservient role in most situations. Men are the experts and their opinions or determinations will not be challenged by women. As a physician, the husband tells his ailing
wife that she must stay confined to the second story of what may have once been an insane asylum. Additionally, he prohibits her from working or writing, although she believes that writing makes her feel better. The facts that he is her husband, a man and a physician keep her from speaking her mind about how she feels about the seriousness of her ailment and the fact that she believes she feels better when she writes (Perkins Gilman, p. 792). Driving the point further, any attempt to talk to her husband results in reinforcement of his sentence by the opinions of other male physicians (Perkins Gilman, p. 792), including the ultimate endorsement still withheld by Dr. Weir Mitchell, a senior male expert who is guaranteed to agree with him (Perkins Gilman, p. 796). Because of the power society gives men, she resists the urge try to talk herself into a better situation.
The story goes on to expose women as unwitting supporters of the female-oppressing society. As described earlier, the narrator goes along with her husband’s sentence because she understands that it is her place to succumb to his wishes. But, the other woman in the story, Jennie, her husband’s sister, works as a housekeeper for the couple and “hopes for no better profession” (Perkins Gilman, p. 795). Although the sister, because she tends to the narrator daily, may believe the seriousness of the ailment is worse than her brother describes, she does not dare contradict his findings (Perkins Gilman, p. 799).
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is an excellent work that tells an interesting story while simultaneously exposing a societal problem. The author effectively uses her work to leave the reader with an understanding of her opposition to societal acceptance of male dominance and finishes the story with a woman overpowering a man as she “crawls” over her fainted husband (Perkins Gilman, p. 803).
Works Cited
Perkins Gilman, C. (2012). The Yellow Wallpaper. In N. Baym, The Norton Anthology of American Literature (pp. 792-803). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman orchestrates an all-out feminist assault on societal male dominance in her work, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. She cleverly conceals her points in an attention-grabbing story about a wife seemingly held prisoner by her mental deterioration. However, the real captors turn out to be societal norms where men are in charge and other women unwittingly supporting the oppressors.
Set in the late 19th century, the story reflects the current state of society where men are in charge of everything and women must play a subservient role in most situations. Men are the experts and their opinions or determinations will not be challenged by women. As a physician, the husband tells his ailing
wife that she must stay confined to the second story of what may have once been an insane asylum. Additionally, he prohibits her from working or writing, although she believes that writing makes her feel better. The facts that he is her husband, a man and a physician keep her from speaking her mind about how she feels about the seriousness of her ailment and the fact that she believes she feels better when she writes (Perkins Gilman, p. 792). Driving the point further, any attempt to talk to her husband results in reinforcement of his sentence by the opinions of other male physicians (Perkins Gilman, p. 792), including the ultimate endorsement still withheld by Dr. Weir Mitchell, a senior male expert who is guaranteed to agree with him (Perkins Gilman, p. 796). Because of the power society gives men, she resists the urge try to talk herself into a better situation.
The story goes on to expose women as unwitting supporters of the female-oppressing society. As described earlier, the narrator goes along with her husband’s sentence because she understands that it is her place to succumb to his wishes. But, the other woman in the story, Jennie, her husband’s sister, works as a housekeeper for the couple and “hopes for no better profession” (Perkins Gilman, p. 795). Although the sister, because she tends to the narrator daily, may believe the seriousness of the ailment is worse than her brother describes, she does not dare contradict his findings (Perkins Gilman, p. 799).
“The Yellow Wallpaper” is an excellent work that tells an interesting story while simultaneously exposing a societal problem. The author effectively uses her work to leave the reader with an understanding of her opposition to societal acceptance of male dominance and finishes the story with a woman overpowering a man as she “crawls” over her fainted husband (Perkins Gilman, p. 803).
Works Cited
Perkins Gilman, C. (2012). The Yellow Wallpaper. In N. Baym, The Norton Anthology of American Literature (pp. 792-803). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.