A Rose for Emily & the Yellow Wallpaper Essay Example

The protagonists in both “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman experience struggles within their society throughout their respective stories. Although the stories are very different, the struggles for each protagonist stem from the perception and expectations of women in society during the time each story was written. The protagonist in “The Yellow Wallpaper” struggles throughout the story due to her controlling husband and a woman’s role in society during this time. Her husband John is a physician and it is clear they are upper-middle class as they are able to afford a summer house and have help to cater to their needs. Even if the main character was not suffering from what her husband calls a nervous disorder, her main function would be to maintain a household and raise her children. Since she is deemed unable to do that due to her condition, she ends up being somewhat useless. In addition, during this time period, nervous disorders and similar mental illnesses were virtually unknown conditions. For these types of conditions, doctors often prescribed a ‘rest-cure’ method in order to ‘cure’ the ill woman. The rest-cure method required physical and creative inactivity and virtual isolation from society and the outside world. Since her husband is a ‘brilliant’ doctor who continuously tells her she is sick, the narrator complies with his every instruction and end up completely dominated by her husband. “He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction.” (Gilman, 1899, p.2) This story touches on several aspects of a woman’s struggle with society. There is the struggle against being an independent woman in society, a woman’s oppression within her own marriage, and how a woman is treated when suffering from a mental illness such as depression. Emily Grierson, the main character in “A Rose for Emily” also experiences struggles with society during her life. Emily is