Realism Vs Transcendentalism

In our selfish society, every person strives to do what is best for themselves. As such every person is imperfect. This is the foundation of realism. Realism is the literary movement that focused on the details of everyday life. It is very much in opposition to Romanticism and Transcendentalism which are both involved with heightened emotion. While Romantic and Transcendentalist literature was more directed to the upper classes, Realism was aimed at the middle class that was emerging at the time. The underlying theme of Realism is that it was more "democratic" than the movements that came before it to account for the growing middle class, who were slowly beginning to become the majority. Realist authors and writers like the authors of "In …show more content…
The woman's self-awareness begins early on in the story as she herself sees that "there is something queer about [her house]." She even goes so far as to "say a haunted house." However, the house is not haunted by the dead but by the living. She haunts the house through her obsession with the wallpaper and the woman that lurks within. The diary-like style in which this story is written allows the reader to watch the speaker spiral into madness. There is no sugarcoating what is happening to this poor woman. This story gives a realistic glimpse into the daily life and treatment of a woman at this time. "...[O]ne's own husband assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one," indicates that this woman is not free to speak for herself as was the case for many women during this time. She has no agency at all and whatever she thinks is right does not matter because she is "absolutely forbidden to 'work' until [she] is well again" by her controlling husband. Her descent into madness is a normal occurrence among women of the time because they never receive the proper treatment. Through the madness she gains the self-awareness to question "if [the women] all came out of that wallpaper as [she] did" meaning that she ponders whether anyone else was able to gain self-awareness and understand the plights of their conditions. This work serves as an exposé on the horrid treatment of women in that period. It is realistic; the diary style leaves no thought

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