To a large extent the narrator of ‘Yellow Wallpaper’ is a reflection of women in contemporary society. Contemporary society may be defined as the society of when ‘Yellow Wallpaper’ takes place. One may know the story takes place in the nineteenth century, during which women faced inequality in the society. Hence, with the knowledge that the narrator of ‘Yellow Wallpaper’ is under dictation and oppression of her husband and her own perspective of her identity as a women and wife, one may conclude that the she reflects women in the nineteenth-century society. The reflection will be further discussed in the following paragraphs.
The narrator of the ‘Yellow Wallpaper’ reflects inequality of women in the nineteenth-century society as one may notice her oppression and dictation by the male characters in the story. Firstly, the narrator’s inner feelings and imagination is oppressed by her husband. Throughout the story, one may recognize that the narrator constantly mentions being forbidden to write and work in general, ‘absolutely forbidden to “work” until I am well again‘, ‘he hates to have me write a word.’ The narrator faces ‘heavy opposition’ if she is found writing, this shows her husband’s effort to contain her creativity and imagination, which happens to be positive quantities, however, he is too authoritative and scientific to realize. The narrator’s eagerness to speak her mind shows her husband’s stick oppression on her, ‘If I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve the press of ideas and rest me’. Secondly, one may sense the dictates of the husband over the narrator. The narrator was put on rest cure by her husband and possibly her brother, the narrator shows no opposition or at least one cannot tell from the story that the narrator has ever gone against the rest cure idea, even though she ‘personally disagree with their ideas’. This shows how the narrator abides to the male figures under their dictation. Besides, her husband does not listen to her request and does not accept them. The narrator requests changing their bedroom because of the wallpaper but ‘John would not hear of it’. Likewise, she requests letting her make a visit to her relatives but her husband rejects her for he claims she ‘wasn’t able to go, nor able to stand it’. These examples illustrates the dictatorship of her husband over her. Therefore, the narrator being oppressed and dictated by male suggests the inequality of women back in the ninetieth-century society, thus, she is reflection women from the society then.
The Essay on Complexity Of Society Yellow Wallpaper
... society, women in literature are often portrayed in a male dominated position. Especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed and controlled by their husbands ... holds the women inside and separates her from the narrator. But it will also set her free. She describes the wallpaper as being ...
The narrator reflects the women of the ninetieth-century society due to her awareness of being of a lower status than her husband. One can tell the diversity of the narrator’s and her husband’s statuses by her interactions with him. She comments that ‘there is something queer’ about the house and she ‘expects’ her husband finding the comment funny. This shows the narrator is aware that her words are not likely to be agreed by and looked upon by her husband, so is she herself. Besides, the narrator is conscientious about her responsibilities as one’s wife, which is to ‘be a help of John’, ‘to dress and entertain, and order things’. This shows she is aware of the need to serve her husband. Also, the narrator is obedient to her husband, as shown after her husband begs her to not to ‘let that idea (of creeping women behind the wallpaper) enter your mind’, she ‘of course… said no more on that score’. This shows that she knows she is to do anything to achieve her husband’s will. Therefore, the narrator’s awareness that she is of a far lower standing of her husband makes her a reflection of the inequality of women back in the ninetieth-century society.
In conclusion, to a large extent the narrator of ‘Yellow Wallpaper’ is a reflection of women in contemporary society. She shows how women was equal in status with men back in that society with her husband’s oppression and dictatorship over her and her perception that she is lower in status than her husband.
The Essay on Women Status In The 17th Century
Women are an integral part of any human community. Woman is the mother of mankind. Therefore, there couldn’t be any man if there were no woman. However, despite holding such an important and unquestionable position in the society, the status and role of women have been outlined by men over millennia. Vedas clearly suggest to us that women held a significant place in ancient culture. Despite all ...
