The Yellow Paper is a tale that illustrates how women are treated in a way that dehumanizes and undervalues their place in society. Gilman fiercely criticizes the place of women in society and in the institution of marriage by using the psychological horror that develops as the story's central theme. Notably, the narrative conveys a sense of hopelessness that causes the viewer to identify with the narrator's emotional turmoil. The fact that women's mental health issues have always been written off as hysteria shows how important a part they play in marriage. Women were thought to be inferior to males at the beginning of the nineteenth century. For this reason, they were not able to express their desires and make any propositions of what is right and wrong. Moreover, they were not allowed to participate in any decision making. As such, the story of The Yellow Wallpaper depicts a male male-dominated society where women are expected to be submissive to their husbands and thus portrays the theme of women subordination.
Analysis of the Theme Subordination of Women in The Yellow Wallpaper
Gilman's book addresses the role of women in marriage, in the domestic spheres as well as the “resting cure,” From this, Gilman vividly indicates how women are subordinated in the society and marriage. The opening of the book introduces the reader to the idea of subordination of women in marriage. The narrator mentions how her husband treats her demonstrating to the reader that John views her wife as being inferior. The narrator says that “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage” (Gilman 2). This quote showcases that women are not respected in marriage. As the story progresses, the way women are treated in marriage becomes clear. It is revealed that the narrator is expected to stay at home, care for the house and raise their children while John works earns and salary. The narrator is not allowed to work. This is subordination where women were discriminated in the society that denoted them to be inferior humans and thus not expected to work. The place of women was in the kitchen, bearing and taking care of the children and their husbands. Women were denied education, and this made then to lack the necessary skills that they needed to secure good jobs.
The narrator is entirely controlled by her husband. John takes her wife to the country house in order to isolate her from the society as a curative treatment for her depression. John is a physician and thus thinks that her wife will recover from “temporary nervous depression” through restricting her freedom. Evidently, John controls her wife and sadly, the repression of her wife’s emotions eventually makes her mental breakdown. Anything that the narrator suggest is met by a stern objection from her husband. The narrator even reveals that the husband makes her feel bad because he does not accept anything that she says. The isolation makes the narrator be in prison and denies the narrator her freedom. The husband does not understand the detrimental harm he is causing his wife. John sees his wife as a child, and she is thus expected to should take orders from him without any opposition. In fact, it is evidenced that John imprisons his wife in the domestic sphere through making her be isolated in a room with the barred windows. The comment of the narrator that “…the windows are barred for little children” does effectively emphasize the idea that even though he is a grown-up woman, she is still treated like a little child (Gilman 7).
The yellow paper, therefore, mirrors her suppressed life in the male-dominated society. The narrator says that her husband does not know how much she suffers because John believes that there is no reason to suffer. According to the narrator, this satisfies him. She tells her husband to change the yellow wallpaper that is in her room as this upsets her, but John thinks that the treatment he is giving to his wife is good to her for healing. John even says that “nothing was worse for a nervous patient than to give way to such fancies.” This quote shows that there is nothing the narrator says that is accepted by her husband. In fact, John views this to be fantasies that are evident in patients having depression. Notably, the narrator becomes hopeless under her husband's domination and authoritative condition.
The dehumanizing societal norms trap women who wish to escape from this brutalizing bondage. The book also manifests the detrimental factors of “resting cure,” that prescribes the woman to remain at home. The narrator's opinion is subordinate to John who patronizes his wife by commenting on her “imaginative power,” “story-making,” and “excited fancies” (Gilman 12). He commands his wife to employ her will and good sense, but it is seen that the narrator possess the knowledge on how to cure herself of the depression. The narrator is also identified with the woman who stops down and creeps behind the wallpaper pattern. She sees a woman who tries to speak of the wallpaper and struggles to get out. She says that “…she is all the time trying to climb through” (Gilman 18). This quote is a symbol of a woman who is trying to get out of the degrading societal customs that are done against women. Similar to the woman in the wallpaper, this sheds light to the reader on how the narrator is physically trapped inside a room that is her cage. This shows that the woman is trapped in the society’s stereotypes that dictate the role of a woman is in the domestic sphere as well as the expectations that are placed upon her by the society of being a wife and a mother. However, consistent with the feminist theory, the narrator does not want to bear the burden that the society places on her. The reader sees that the narrator tussles with the accepted norms that defined in her attempt to fight for her rights. She wants to be free from the bondage of the society that is male-dominated. The narrator triumphs over her husband’s subjugation and the cruel societal norms. She literally crawls over the suppressed body and succeeds in overcoming the forced societal stereotypes of female gender through endurance.
Conclusion
Indeed, Gilman’s book is a masterpiece that offers credible insights into the oppression of women on the grounds of being mentally unsound. It informs the reader of the attitudes that the society had on women in the 19th century. This horrific story stands out and depicts Gilman to be an enigmatic writer presenting the insanity of women as one of the underlying reasons that inhibit them their freedom. Women were repressed and controlled by their husbands and had to act under the influence of a man. Gilman used this story to illustrate the need for social reforms and the need for women empowerment that would elevate the status of the female gender.
Work Cited
Gilman Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. Icon Group International, Incorporated, 2009.
