Gender inequality is an issue that has been happening for thousands of years, affecting cultures from all around the world. Women have endured since ancient times the title as the inferior being, the “other” gender besides the man, the weaker and less valuable specimen. This gender inequality created a huge difference between men and women, placing women’s rights under men’s jurisdiction, which dictated what women were and were not allowed to do. This issue was analyzed by the French and feminist supporter and writer Simone de Beauvoir in her text, “Woman as Other.” In her essay de Beauvoir explains the entire concept of women being considered the “other” gender apart from the men. Touching upon the same issue Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote
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First, de Beauvoir’s concept of otherness applies to the living conditions the narrator in Gilman’s text was experiencing. Second, the master and slave is another concept explained by de Beauvoir, which Gilman would support due to the differences in authority between the narrator and her husband in the text. Finally, the idea that human biology has also contributed in severing the gender issue that divides men and women is shared by de Beauvoir and Gilman. Gilman’s overall argument for women’s right is supported by de Beauvoir’s positive statement regarding gender inequality which addresses the concept of otherness, the idea of the master and slave, and the way human biology has influenced this …show more content…
In Gilman’s story, the narrator suffers from hysteria a condition often diagnosed in women during the nineteenth century. Gilman states, “…there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency-what is one to do?” (Gilman 661). The hysterical tendency often diagnosed to women during the nineteenth century perhaps allowed men to see women as less mentally stable than men. Although in Gilman’s story there is no evidence of the narrator’s husband being abusive, his level of authority over his “mentally ill” wife places himself and other male in top of her. It is possible that women due to their greater chances of being diagnosed with depression and nervousness, were relegated as the weaker sex. In her story de Beauvoir explains the impact of human biology has in the gender inequality issue. De Beauvoir states, “The division of the sexes is a biological fact, not an event in human history. Male and female stand opposed within a primordial Mitsein, and woman has not broken it” (de Beauvoir 804). The idea that women are physically weaker than men is a result of human biology that women have been imprisoned by. The same way the narrator in Gilman’s text was affected by her hysterical tendency, commonly suffered by women, women have been
First, de Beauvoir’s concept of otherness applies to the living conditions the narrator in Gilman’s text was experiencing. Second, the master and slave is another concept explained by de Beauvoir, which Gilman would support due to the differences in authority between the narrator and her husband in the text. Finally, the idea that human biology has also contributed in severing the gender issue that divides men and women is shared by de Beauvoir and Gilman. Gilman’s overall argument for women’s right is supported by de Beauvoir’s positive statement regarding gender inequality which addresses the concept of otherness, the idea of the master and slave, and the way human biology has influenced this …show more content…
In Gilman’s story, the narrator suffers from hysteria a condition often diagnosed in women during the nineteenth century. Gilman states, “…there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression-a slight hysterical tendency-what is one to do?” (Gilman 661). The hysterical tendency often diagnosed to women during the nineteenth century perhaps allowed men to see women as less mentally stable than men. Although in Gilman’s story there is no evidence of the narrator’s husband being abusive, his level of authority over his “mentally ill” wife places himself and other male in top of her. It is possible that women due to their greater chances of being diagnosed with depression and nervousness, were relegated as the weaker sex. In her story de Beauvoir explains the impact of human biology has in the gender inequality issue. De Beauvoir states, “The division of the sexes is a biological fact, not an event in human history. Male and female stand opposed within a primordial Mitsein, and woman has not broken it” (de Beauvoir 804). The idea that women are physically weaker than men is a result of human biology that women have been imprisoned by. The same way the narrator in Gilman’s text was affected by her hysterical tendency, commonly suffered by women, women have been