Male Dominance In Charlotte Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper

Men are considered to be the more dominant of the two genders, demonstrating a stronger physique, and mindset, as to where women are considered inferior. In Charlotte Gilman’s book “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John the husband of the narrator controls her by treating her like a child and less then him. She’s characterized as mentally ill, fulfilling the female stereotype as overly emotional. John had constant cruel treatment toward his own wife, but he was so naive that he did not notice the pain he was putting her though. In Mary Ellen Snodgrass’s article titled “The Yellow Wallpaper” supports criticism of gender stereotypes and male dominance. Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” depicts the stereotypical society of male dominance through John’s control over the narrator.
Gillman raises awareness of Johns revoking treatment of his wife, by making the wife resemble a child. John would not allow for the narrator make her own decisions, he would tell her everything that would be done for her. The narrator would even be placed in a children 's nursery for her treatment by her husband John. The narrator goes on to describe the room of the house that she found to be the most suitable for her stay and the one that she would most joy to spend time in. John on the other hand did not like the thought of her staying in the room of her choose, so her forcefully made her stay in the children 's nursery for the time of her …show more content…
Johns constant mistreatment of the narrator, in the many ways that he treated her like less of a human then he was what led her to become insane. His treatment of her also proves the point of the dominant stereotypical masculine mentality. The belief that men are the more superior gender in the world. John demonstrating the perfect characterization of a male who believes he is a high power over his inferior opposite gender,