The Yellow Wallpaper Feminist Analysis

“The Yellow Wallpaper” was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who herself suffered depression. The story begins with the narrator, Jane, explaining her husband, John, has taken her to a country estate to rest. John, a doctor, feels Jane is experiencing a temporary nervous condition after recently giving birth and should have complete rest from all physical and mental stimulation. Jane feels she would better benefit from some stimulating work. John strictly forbids Jane from doing any writing and so all Jane’s writing is done in secret. Jane feels she must defer to John’s judgement since John is her husband and a well-renowned doctor. Jane is immediately uncomfortable in the house, and John insists the couple sleep upstairs in the yellow
As a husband and well-respected doctor, John makes all the decisions both marital and health related for Jane. John is the direct representation of the powerful patriarch who expects his word to be followed without hesitation. Any attempts by Jane to express her desires or opinions are immediately met with criticism and belittlement revealing the direct pressure of women to conform in a patriarchal society. Jennie, John’s sister, comes to run the house while Jane is unable. Jane writes in her narrative that Jeannie is a great housekeeper and has no other ambitions in life. Jennie is happy to fulfill her subservient role with no desire for more. Jennie is the patriarchal ideal of a woman, blissfully oppressed. Jane expresses the desire to write as an outlet for her imagination, but John prohibits Jane from any activity considered unwomanly (King and Morris 24). Jennie even sees Jane’s desire to write as a cause of her illness. Although Jane is both wife and mother, Jane expresses a need for fulfilment beyond these two traditional capacities. In a patriarchal society, women are often made to feel as if something is wrong with them if they desire to work outside their designated
Jane is told the move to the country estate is solely for her benefit, but when Jane wants to stay in a beautiful downstairs room, John refuses her request. John overrides Jane’s feminine instinct to surround herself with beauty to lift her depression and pushes his male perspective on Jane. John refuses to allow Jane to make any decisions for herself. Men around the world oppress female family members by not allowing the women to make choices about their own welfare. Jane expresses her dislike of the ugly, yellow wallpaper. Originally John was planning to repaper the walls but now states the paper must stay for Jane’s own good as John must not give in to Jane’s fancies. John decides he knows what is best for Jane. Men often view women as unable to make rational decisions. Women are oppressed under the guise of the oppression being for their own good because men know best. As Jane falls deeper into her insane state, Jane builds up the strength to ask John to leave the house. John refuses, stating leaving is impossible unless Jane’s life is at risk. Despite John’s denial, Jane’s life and sanity are at risk, and her cry for help is once again ignored. Although men often say they want the best for women, women’s cries for help are ignored, and the patriarch's own selfish desires continue even if detrimental to the