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The Yellow Wallpaper Essay

903 Words4 Pages

Though many know that gender inequality take a toll on women’s lives, they do not know the extent of the harsh reality women have to face on a daily basis. Charlotte Gilman shows in The Yellow Wallpaper the brutal effects gender inequality has on women. The short story explains the rough story of a young girl who is disrespected by her husband and society because of her gender. Constant torture and continuous pain takes a toll on her daily life and health causing her to go insane. Her insanity leads her to not know who she is and what her purpose is anymore. Jane, an oppressed woman, in The Yellow Wallpaper goes insane, leading her to lose everything she has and loves, proving that gender inequality has a destructive effect on women. Insanity …show more content…

Societal determined gender inequality trickles down to establish the relationship between a husband and a wife. Marital gender identities in the 1890’s established women as inferior to their husbands which was evident in the marriage between John and Jane. Jane’s remark, “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in a marriage” (647) indicates how she accepts the unbalance of power. Society has created an unbalance of power of gender roles, which many women have just learned to accept. Even though John thinks he is helping his wife fight through her illness because it is his role as a husband, the treatment is only furthering the destruction of their marriage. Johns disregard of his wife was evident when she says, “I don’t like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs that opened on the piazza and had roses all over the window, and such pretty old-fashioned chintz hangings! but John would not hear of it” (Gilman 648). John, assuming the role of a caretaker and husband, feels as though he is helping Jane to heal, yet he is unaware that is treatment is aggravating her oppression. The oppression Jane faces from her spouse leads to a deterioration of her mental state and of their marriage. John’s relationship with Jane in The Yellow Wallpaper shows the toxic effect gender inequality has on

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