The Repression of Women
The repression of women is a major aspect of the late 19th century, as shown in the literary piece, The Yellow Wallpaper. This story promotes the collective voice of women during this time period through an eerie tale based on a woman’s madness. The author applies her personal experiences in order to allow the reader to envision the genuine struggles of women during this century. The passage in The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, emphasizes the repression of women in the late 1800s through the lack of purpose, ignorance, and confinement of the protagonist. Throughout the passage, Gilman deliberately introduces her main character without the use of a name and identifies her as John’s wife, in order to stress …show more content…
It does weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way” (Gillman). This emphasizes the characters feelings of uselessness and as a result of her gender; it is assumed that she is incapable of performing the simplest tasks. In addition, she stresses her lack of purpose as she describes her in capabilities, “I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already” (Gilman). The protagonist is unable to complete even the simplest tasks, this adds on to her madness because she cannot meet society’s depiction of the ideal women. She states, “Nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little I am able,—to dress and entertain, and order things” (Gilman). As a woman she is responsible for certain tasks such as taking care of her children, yet she is not given this opportunity. Her son is being taken care of by another woman because her husband believes that she is not in good enough shape to be handling any responsibilities. As a woman, her beliefs and opinions concerning her lack of purpose are ignored throughout the passage and thus, the idea of the repression of woman is …show more content…
The woman is trapped inside a room, as if she is a child that’s every move must be control and inspected. Within the passage, she describes the room by stating, “it was nursery first and then playroom and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children” (Gilman). The author confines her main character in a room for children in order to emphasize the idea of control and imprisonment. The windows in the room are even barred, creating a prison-like setting, which forms the idea that the protagonist is trapped in a room just as women are usually trapped in a house. For the majority of the
The repression of women is a major aspect of the late 19th century, as shown in the literary piece, The Yellow Wallpaper. This story promotes the collective voice of women during this time period through an eerie tale based on a woman’s madness. The author applies her personal experiences in order to allow the reader to envision the genuine struggles of women during this century. The passage in The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, emphasizes the repression of women in the late 1800s through the lack of purpose, ignorance, and confinement of the protagonist. Throughout the passage, Gilman deliberately introduces her main character without the use of a name and identifies her as John’s wife, in order to stress …show more content…
It does weigh on me so not to do my duty in any way” (Gillman). This emphasizes the characters feelings of uselessness and as a result of her gender; it is assumed that she is incapable of performing the simplest tasks. In addition, she stresses her lack of purpose as she describes her in capabilities, “I meant to be such a help to John, such a real rest and comfort, and here I am a comparative burden already” (Gilman). The protagonist is unable to complete even the simplest tasks, this adds on to her madness because she cannot meet society’s depiction of the ideal women. She states, “Nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little I am able,—to dress and entertain, and order things” (Gilman). As a woman she is responsible for certain tasks such as taking care of her children, yet she is not given this opportunity. Her son is being taken care of by another woman because her husband believes that she is not in good enough shape to be handling any responsibilities. As a woman, her beliefs and opinions concerning her lack of purpose are ignored throughout the passage and thus, the idea of the repression of woman is …show more content…
The woman is trapped inside a room, as if she is a child that’s every move must be control and inspected. Within the passage, she describes the room by stating, “it was nursery first and then playroom and gymnasium, I should judge; for the windows are barred for little children” (Gilman). The author confines her main character in a room for children in order to emphasize the idea of control and imprisonment. The windows in the room are even barred, creating a prison-like setting, which forms the idea that the protagonist is trapped in a room just as women are usually trapped in a house. For the majority of the