Gender Roles In The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Can you imagine being trapped in a room with walls that seem to close in on you, all while being suffocated by a yellow wallpaper that haunts your every thought? Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" brings this eerie reality to life, drawing on her own experiences and beliefs to create a gripping tale that challenges societal norms and delves into the history of mental health and gender roles. Through its vivid portrayal of a woman's descent into madness, it delves into themes of feminism, mental health, and gender roles. One influential approach to understanding this literary masterpiece is through biographical criticism. Perkins Gilman's own life and beliefs shaped "The Yellow Wallpaper," examining her personal struggles with

They were mainly “housewives” and were seen as husbands’ property rather than partners. This time period heavily influenced the oppressive gender roles seen in “The Yellow Wallpaper”. This is observed when the narrator says, “John says if I don’t pick up faster he shall send me to Weir Mitchell in the fall. But I don’t want to go there at all. I had a friend who was in his hands once, and she says he is just like John and my brother, only more so!” (Gilman 3). The narrator feels trapped because nobody will ever believe her, over her husband or her brother especially if she is misdiagnosed and advised a rest cure treatment by the doctor. Gilman mentions Wier Mitchell in the story to bring her reality to life; however, unlike the woman in the story, she received actual treatment from him. He diagnosed her with nervous exhaustion as a result of his misogynistic views which warranted him to believe she had surpassed a woman’s natural limitation (The Women Question 1). The male oppression observed in both Gilman’s and the narrator's life disabled them from being able to receive proper treatment since a male’s voice overpowered a woman’s. This oppression fueled her feminist beliefs and ideologies in both the story and later in her life, following the rest cure treatments from

She would even go on to write a few poems, such as “In Duty Bound” which showed rebellion toward her housewife societal roles. This is expressed throughout the story, as the woman in the story constantly refers to John and how he must be right since he loves her so much. “Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick. I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia. But he said I wasn’t able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there; and I did not make out a very good case for myself, for I was crying before I had finished. It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight. Just this nervous weakness, I suppose” (Gilman 4). The end of the quote emphasizes how even the woman doubts the diagnosis and deeply wants to leave the room and see people, but her husband will not allow her. Gilman adds this to the story to bring light to the mentally draining and brainwashing that women went through due to the male's role of always being correct. A few lines later this influence is seen once again when the woman in the story says, “It is so hard to talk with John about my case, because he is so wise, and because he loves me so. But I tried it last night” (Gilman 4).