Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Her Ideal Society In Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” published 1892, there is a woman stuck inside musty, revolting yellow wallpaper. This woman is Charlotte Perkins Gilman and every woman who was or is trapped by the standards of their current society. In her time, mental illness in women was likely just a byproduct of their imagination or creativity, and women were constantly viewed as less than men. Gilman 's work has proved relevant through her lifetime until now and likely for more generations to come. Her fiction reveals the society she dealt with on a daily basis and how it affected her characters. In doing this, she gave the underlying message of the possibilities of a new, idyllic society in which members
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Gilman calls her audience to understand that in order to form this new society, everyone must understand the past. In this case, that means that historically, society is a man-dominated one (Lane xiii). It can be seen in “The Yellow Wallpaper” that the narrator is under the man in the minds of all of the characters—even her own until she breaks free from this limited mindset. She is expected to ask permission from her husband John and listen to him even if she disagrees. In regards to her illness, John says, “Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?” to which she “said no more on that score,” and pretended to fall asleep (Gilman 798). Her oppression is blatant. John is loving and caring, but he is a product of his society. He asserts his dominance by authority as a physician, and she feels it is best to leave it to rest and silently …show more content…
While women in the current era are not struggling nearly as blatantly as they were in her time, her same grievances still stand. Her fiction is constructed of numerous examples of the deprecating attitude towards women in both a micro and macro scale, and sheds a light on the need for serious changes to the construction of society in America. She calls her readers to understand that “until we can see what we are, we cannot take to steps to become what she should be” (Lane xiv). She believes autonomy is essential for all in an equal society, and to get to this point women need to break free, like the narrator did, of their metaphorical prison, set up by the inequalities presented in
Gilman calls her audience to understand that in order to form this new society, everyone must understand the past. In this case, that means that historically, society is a man-dominated one (Lane xiii). It can be seen in “The Yellow Wallpaper” that the narrator is under the man in the minds of all of the characters—even her own until she breaks free from this limited mindset. She is expected to ask permission from her husband John and listen to him even if she disagrees. In regards to her illness, John says, “Can you not trust me as a physician when I tell you so?” to which she “said no more on that score,” and pretended to fall asleep (Gilman 798). Her oppression is blatant. John is loving and caring, but he is a product of his society. He asserts his dominance by authority as a physician, and she feels it is best to leave it to rest and silently …show more content…
While women in the current era are not struggling nearly as blatantly as they were in her time, her same grievances still stand. Her fiction is constructed of numerous examples of the deprecating attitude towards women in both a micro and macro scale, and sheds a light on the need for serious changes to the construction of society in America. She calls her readers to understand that “until we can see what we are, we cannot take to steps to become what she should be” (Lane xiv). She believes autonomy is essential for all in an equal society, and to get to this point women need to break free, like the narrator did, of their metaphorical prison, set up by the inequalities presented in