Women and 19-Century Domesticity in The Yellow Wallpaper

American Literature II 2120 25 March 2013 Women and 19-Century Domesticity in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story about a new mother attempting to overcome her diagnosis of depression by being cooped up in a room without normal human interaction as prescribed by a top-rated male psychologist. The gender role expected of the nineteeth century woman was not ideal to the main character. The story goes on to critique the treatment plan set forth by her husband and psychologist. This in turn critiques the entire belief system in the nineteeth century that women should not be working outside the home. Gilman reveals in â€Å"Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’?† that the story parallels one of†¦show more content†¦The emotions inside of her need to get out and her so called psychologist is forcing her to keep them in. The men in this time did not understand why a woman would ever want to do anything but stay in the home and t he fact that she didn’t meant she was going or already insane. They forced her into domesticity until it eventually drove her mad. She begins to obsess over the wallpaper and the woman trapped inside. While no one is watching, for fear of getting into trouble for her foolish actions, she peels the wallpaper slowly to help the woman escape. She acts so normal when the husband is around just like a puppet. Pretending to be the prefect housewife and mother he has expected her to be all along. The wallpaper design is a metaphor for the men in society keeping women in their accepted role in life in the nineteenth century. Gilman especially wanted out of this role and wanted to show the way for the rest of women who were stranded in these roles, like she was. In the early nineteenth century, women were expected to be, â€Å"‘angels in the house,’ loving, self-sacrificing, and chaste wives, mothers and daughters or they are†¦ ultimately doomed† (King et al. 23). Women of this time were supposed to be domestic creatures and not tap so far into their intellectual abilities (King et al.). The role of women in the nineteenth century is described: From the 1840s on, architects, clergymen, and other promoters of the so-called cult of domesticity had idealized theShow MoreRelatedOppression of Women in 19th Century Literature1564 Words   |  7 PagesOppression of Women in 19th Century Literature In the stories â€Å"The Jewelry† by Guy de Maupassant, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin, and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the female characters are unequal and less important than the men in society. The duties of women during this time period did not consist of much more than seeing to her husband’s needs and caring for the home and children. The authors show the lack of independence women were allowed in the 1800s, especiallyRead MoreWomen Oppression: Revolution through Revelation Essay2008 Words   |  9 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† to evaluate and review the role that women played in the eternal bond of marriage and also to shed light upon the fact that women of that period made none of their own decisions. Something that must be pointed out without foregoing any further analysis is that the name of the narrator is never revealed in full which, one can imagine, is a glimpse into the oppression women faced during this time. Without