The Confining Role of Women in The Yellow Wallpaper
The Confining Role of Women
In the context of late nineteenth century marriage, men played the dominant role and exercised control, which placed women at the mercy of their husbands. If a woman’s husband was kind and compassionate, she was likely to be content and happy, but often that was not the case. Husbands often had a habit of being overprotective and harsh which clearly made their wives feel trapped in marriages that completely compromised their freedom and happiness. Women were expected to fulfill their duties as wives and mothers and be content with just that. They were known as helpers and viewed as inferior to man. Women may have felt as if they had no rights, and they were correct. There was definitely an ongoing tension between women and men; women strived to be free of all restraints, but were confined to what their husbands decided was best. In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the theme of the confining role of women in the 19th century is developed through Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s use of symbolism and characterization.
The story is about Jane, a woman whose husband confines to a room as a result of symptoms of postpartum depression. She begins to go mad when she is denied the privilege of communicating with others or expressing herself through writing or reading. She spends her days secretly writing her progressively disturbing thoughts in a journal, describing a woman trapped behind the dingy wallpaper that surrounds her room. Eventually, on the last day of summer, Jane rips the paper from the walls, in an attempt to free the woman from her prison. However, when her husband finds her circling the room on her hands and knees, her actions only serve to prove her madness.
The yellow wallpaper is a symbol of Jane’s imprisonment within the nursery where she is confined. Just like a prison, the room has iron bars on the windows, and just like a prisoner, Jane is not allowed to be intellectually stimulated. Jane is trapped in a nursery, but
In the context of late nineteenth century marriage, men played the dominant role and exercised control, which placed women at the mercy of their husbands. If a woman’s husband was kind and compassionate, she was likely to be content and happy, but often that was not the case. Husbands often had a habit of being overprotective and harsh which clearly made their wives feel trapped in marriages that completely compromised their freedom and happiness. Women were expected to fulfill their duties as wives and mothers and be content with just that. They were known as helpers and viewed as inferior to man. Women may have felt as if they had no rights, and they were correct. There was definitely an ongoing tension between women and men; women strived to be free of all restraints, but were confined to what their husbands decided was best. In the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the theme of the confining role of women in the 19th century is developed through Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s use of symbolism and characterization.
The story is about Jane, a woman whose husband confines to a room as a result of symptoms of postpartum depression. She begins to go mad when she is denied the privilege of communicating with others or expressing herself through writing or reading. She spends her days secretly writing her progressively disturbing thoughts in a journal, describing a woman trapped behind the dingy wallpaper that surrounds her room. Eventually, on the last day of summer, Jane rips the paper from the walls, in an attempt to free the woman from her prison. However, when her husband finds her circling the room on her hands and knees, her actions only serve to prove her madness.
The yellow wallpaper is a symbol of Jane’s imprisonment within the nursery where she is confined. Just like a prison, the room has iron bars on the windows, and just like a prisoner, Jane is not allowed to be intellectually stimulated. Jane is trapped in a nursery, but