Subjugation Of Women In The Yellow Wallpaper, By Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story documenting the mental illness of the unnamed narrator. Throughout the story, the reader watches as the narrator goes from nervous to paranoid to complete psychosis all while blaming the wallpaper in her bedroom. She tries many times to seek the help of John, but he dismisses her questions of illness with simple remedies such as isolation, rest, and tonics. Eventually, the narrator succumbs to her illness and tears apart the wallpaper, leaving John shocked into unconsciousness. John oppresses his wife as a person by disregarding her mental illness as silly worries. Subjugation of women not only in a marriage, but in society as a whole was not uncommon for the Victorian era.
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Although the narrator’s problems seem miniscule in comparison to those of the Czech people through the communist rule, both were forbidden from partaking in certain activities. While the narrator was warned against writing, the Czechs were no longer allowed to practice religions. There were also certain pieces of literature that were banned under communist rule. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a woman’s domestic obligations were glorified by the presence of Jenny as it was seen as a woman’s duty to her family. In the communist regime, working was glorified for all people, as it was seen as a person’s duty to the state. And finally, whereas the narrator was confined to the attic of her summer home by her husband and sister in law, citizens living under communism were isolated from the outside world by the media and censorship. While one party definitely has harsher circumstances than the other, there are still parallels between the …show more content…
She is advised by her husband John to avoid her usual domestic duties and to remain alone to rest. Despite her arguments to write and visit her family, John tells her to continue what he says to do because he can see an improvement in her, since he is a doctor and knows she is getting better whether she sees it or not. In this way, the narrator is contributing to the subjugation of women in Victorian society, which in some ways is similar to the oppression of people living under a communist
Although the narrator’s problems seem miniscule in comparison to those of the Czech people through the communist rule, both were forbidden from partaking in certain activities. While the narrator was warned against writing, the Czechs were no longer allowed to practice religions. There were also certain pieces of literature that were banned under communist rule. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a woman’s domestic obligations were glorified by the presence of Jenny as it was seen as a woman’s duty to her family. In the communist regime, working was glorified for all people, as it was seen as a person’s duty to the state. And finally, whereas the narrator was confined to the attic of her summer home by her husband and sister in law, citizens living under communism were isolated from the outside world by the media and censorship. While one party definitely has harsher circumstances than the other, there are still parallels between the …show more content…
She is advised by her husband John to avoid her usual domestic duties and to remain alone to rest. Despite her arguments to write and visit her family, John tells her to continue what he says to do because he can see an improvement in her, since he is a doctor and knows she is getting better whether she sees it or not. In this way, the narrator is contributing to the subjugation of women in Victorian society, which in some ways is similar to the oppression of people living under a communist