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Essay On Patriarchy In The Yellow Wallpaper And Enduring Love

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I will be analysing how patriarchy is presented in the two texts that I have studied these are ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ and ‘Enduring Love’. ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ is based in the 19th century era and ‘Enduring Love’ is based in the early 20th century. During both centuries, males dominated society and most females were seen as inferior. Moreover, they were controlled by men and oppressed as they had no value in society.
‘The Yellow Wallpaper, through the narrator reveals the motivation of the female mind, creativity and mental strength in a patriarchal society where male power was dominating. The male character, John represents characteristics of a typical male of his time, supressing his wife and disregarding any issues she conveyed. The short story portrays the deterioration of the female character’s mind. As the wallpaper crumbles away, so does the suppressing effect that male hierarchy imposes on women. This also leads to the narrator’s mind collapsing as she descends more into madness. The progression of the yellow wallpaper and the narrator, throughout the story, leads to a small win over John. This clearly represents and motivates the first steps of a feminist …show more content…

In my opinion, it seems as though he supports them as he presents Joe in a successful, affluent masculinity and Clarissa in an emotional, irrational femininity. Parry is also presented as feminine and powerless until he reaches for that stereotypical masculine weapon, the gun. When Parry threatens Joe's masculinity by drawing him into a relationship, Joe responds by getting a gun for himself, trying to re-assert his masculinity. In the struggle between Joe and Clarissa, Joe is right, and it would seem that the masculine approach triumphs. In Clarissa's final letter, however, we see an angle that we are denied previously, including the opportunity to have avoided the whole drama. The gender division is not as clear as it had

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