According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, power is defined as the ability to control people or things. Not only can one understand the meaning of power in his or her own society, but she can understand the meaning of power through literature. The idea of power is explored in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Written in 1892, “The Yellow Wallpaper” is a fictional story that shows a young woman’s rise to power. Although the narrator is not given a name, Gilman shows how this woman gains power by the end of the story. Although the narrator has very little power at the beginning of the story, she achieves ultimate power by the end. Throughout “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the narrator’s husband John conveys his power
…show more content…
John is asserting his power by taking all of the decision making away from his wife. In a marriage, most of the decisions are made by both people. John is treating his wife like a child by not involving her in any decisions. John again treats his wife like a child by talking to her as if she were a child. He uses phrases such as “a blessed little goose” (438) to refer to his wife. This phrase could easily be used to address a child. He continues to use his words to address his wife as a child saying, “Bless her little heart” (442). John is showing his power over his wife by selectively using words that refer to a child. He even attaches words to the end of normal questions that treat her as a juvenile such as saying, “What is it, little girl” (442). By attaching the words “little girl,” John asserts the fact that he has power over his wife just as a parent has over a child. The final time John treats his wife as a child is when he refuses her the permission to visit her Cousin Henry and Julia. The narrator thinks it is a good idea to “ask Cousin Henry and Julia down; but [John] says he would as soon put fireworks in her pillow case” (439). John thinks it is better for his wife to stay home a focus on the …show more content…
After examining the wallpaper for her whole stay on the estate, she finally relates to the woman trapped behind the wallpaper. Gilman uses the woman in the wallpaper to explain how the narrator is trapped in her own mind and by John. Once the narrator understands she is the woman in the wallpaper, she begins to “peel of yards of that paper” (445). While she is physically tearing the wallpaper down, she is also emotionally tearing down the walls that limit her power. She also asserts her power when she emphasizes that “no person touches the paper but her—not alive!” (446). The narrator has not been able to truly express her power until this moment. Finally understanding her new power, she outwardly expresses it by “locking the door and throwing the key down into the front path” (446). John is working away from the estate when the narrator makes this bold decision but is soon to return to find his wife with her new found power. When John comes to the door of his wife’s bedroom, he starts calling to Jennie for “an axe” (446). The narrator quickly assures him that the axe is not necessary and in the “gentlest voice says ‘John, dear! The key is down by the front steps’” (447). He continues to ask her to open the door, but she refuses. The narrator’s power is demonstrated here because John no longer has control over his wife and can not make decisions for her. After she
John is asserting his power by taking all of the decision making away from his wife. In a marriage, most of the decisions are made by both people. John is treating his wife like a child by not involving her in any decisions. John again treats his wife like a child by talking to her as if she were a child. He uses phrases such as “a blessed little goose” (438) to refer to his wife. This phrase could easily be used to address a child. He continues to use his words to address his wife as a child saying, “Bless her little heart” (442). John is showing his power over his wife by selectively using words that refer to a child. He even attaches words to the end of normal questions that treat her as a juvenile such as saying, “What is it, little girl” (442). By attaching the words “little girl,” John asserts the fact that he has power over his wife just as a parent has over a child. The final time John treats his wife as a child is when he refuses her the permission to visit her Cousin Henry and Julia. The narrator thinks it is a good idea to “ask Cousin Henry and Julia down; but [John] says he would as soon put fireworks in her pillow case” (439). John thinks it is better for his wife to stay home a focus on the …show more content…
After examining the wallpaper for her whole stay on the estate, she finally relates to the woman trapped behind the wallpaper. Gilman uses the woman in the wallpaper to explain how the narrator is trapped in her own mind and by John. Once the narrator understands she is the woman in the wallpaper, she begins to “peel of yards of that paper” (445). While she is physically tearing the wallpaper down, she is also emotionally tearing down the walls that limit her power. She also asserts her power when she emphasizes that “no person touches the paper but her—not alive!” (446). The narrator has not been able to truly express her power until this moment. Finally understanding her new power, she outwardly expresses it by “locking the door and throwing the key down into the front path” (446). John is working away from the estate when the narrator makes this bold decision but is soon to return to find his wife with her new found power. When John comes to the door of his wife’s bedroom, he starts calling to Jennie for “an axe” (446). The narrator quickly assures him that the axe is not necessary and in the “gentlest voice says ‘John, dear! The key is down by the front steps’” (447). He continues to ask her to open the door, but she refuses. The narrator’s power is demonstrated here because John no longer has control over his wife and can not make decisions for her. After she