The only job a wife needs is housekeeping, anything outside of that is just nonsense. This idea is presented in both “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Sweat” to reinforce gender roles. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator would like to take up the hobby of writing, however her husband (a physician) decides against it. The narrator says “I did write for a while in spite of them but it does …show more content…
Wives should never question their husband’s authority is another example of gender roles in our two stories. In “Sweat” Delia husband decides to bring a rattlesnake into their home, knowing how scared of snakes Delia is. When asked if he could remove the snake her husband says “Ah ain’t gut tuh do nuthin’ uh de kin’--fact is Ah aint got tuh do nothin’ but die” (7). Sykes is telling Delia that he does not have to remove the snake because it’s his house. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator’s husband constantly advises her on what she she do and she never questions him because in society he is considered to be smarter than her. The narrator says “My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing” (648). In this quote the narrator is explaining why her husband 's opinions are allowed to dictate her