Shirley Chisholm once said “The emotional, sexual and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “It’s a girl”. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, depicts the social norm in the 19th century when women were thought of as lower intellectual beings who had “hysterical tendencies” and therefore not capable of making good decisions for themselves. This story lets readers into the life of a woman during the 1800’s who is treated like a small child with no say to her own mental health , even by her own husband.
The 1800’s were a period in time when women were expected to play the roles of wives and mothers and nothing more. “The Yellow Wallpaper” was based loosely on Gilman’s own experience after
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The husband, John, who is a physician himself, does not seem to take her illness seriously and the narrator knows it, “If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency- what is one to do?”(780). Another example is when John basically treats like a child instead of an equal calling her “blessed little goose”, “little girl” and his “darling” when she tries to bring up conversations about what she thinks would help her get better.
After reading “The Yellow wallpaper” it makes you think of what it must have been like for many women during this period who felt like they didn’t have a voice and who may have ended in the same way the narrator did because of it. Women did not have the same opportunities as men did to show they were intellectuals and had something to offer society because they were automatically thought of as emotional and brushed aside. This story not only brought awareness to the issue of mental health but it was also a step forward to allowing women to make their own opinions and to be taken