Gender Roles In The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s short story ‘the Yellow Wallpaper is an excellent example of the toxic gender roles in the Victorian or Edwardian era. In the short story the gender roles of the society effects the relationship between the narrator and her husband, John. This can be seen through the way John treats the narrator throughout the story, how the narrator allows John to keep the power in the relationship and how in the end the narrator refers to herself as ‘free’ after the wallpaper drives her into insanity. The relationship between the narrator and John became unbalanced due to the gender roles that were (customary) back in the time period that ‘the Yellow Wallpaper’ was set in. The relationship between John and the narrator was viewed as toxic due to the way John treats her throughout the short story. The ‘endearing’ pet names that John gives the narrator throughout the story …show more content…
This can be seen in moments such as ‘John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.’ (pg.1 “The Yellow Wallpaper”) and due to the narrator’s expectations of her marriage to be laughed at and belittled it causes her to feel inferior. In her marriage she also allows John to manipulate her into feeling guilty about simple actions such as thinking of her condition or sitting up in bed. “-but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad.” (pg.2 “The Yellow Wallpaper”). By allowing John to make her feel guilty it reveals how destructive the relationship is for her. The narrator allows John to control her actions and emotions such as ‘I get unreasonably angry with John sometimes. -But John says if I feel so, I shall neglect proper self-control; so I take pains to control myself.’ (pg.2 “The Yellow Wallpaper”) This allows John to completely control both her and the