Comparing The Yellow Wallpaper And The Story Of An Hour

The gender hierarchy explains how men and women should act in society. These roles can date back as far as the 19th century. During these times, men were the ones who held power while the women were to remain at home and be submissive to the men. However, taking part in these gender norms may come with consequences such as mental decline or even death. Two stories that stand for gender norms are The Yellow Wallpaper and The Story of an Hour. To develop her theme in The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman focuses on the narrator's surroundings and how she describes them. She also uses the narrator's inner monologue to show the points up until she finds herself. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman takes place during the Victorian

Even though The Yellow Wallpaper symbolizes gender norms overall, it puts the perspective of how much authority men have over women and how the women could not handle it mentally. The main character believes she is sick, however, her husband John who is also a physician says she simply has temporary nervous depression (her brother who is also a physician says the same thing.) Within the story, Gilman includes some pieces that hint that John neglects his wife’s feelings such as “I even said so to John one moonlight evening, but he said what I felt was a DRAUGHT, and shut the window.” and “And I know John would think it absurd. But I must say what I feel and think in some way— it is such a relief!” Throughout the story, the narrator progressively goes insane. Readers can see that her confinement both mentally and physically plays a role in this behavior (physically John will not let her leave the room, mentally John will not let her express herself). The narrator believes that ripping the wallpaper can set the woman on the wall free. The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get