The Yellow Wallpaper Misogyny

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As a historian with my area of expertise being the Victorian Era, the Victorian era’s historical value cannot be overstated when discussing world history and literature, but as valuable this era was for knowledge it was equally as terrible for social justice and equality for women, and this story depicts nothing different than the norms were for this time. The Yellow Wallpaper is a compelling commentary on Victorian era misogyny and how it affected women during that time period.

Victorian ideologies were prominent throughout the essay, with one example of this being the fact that the narrator’s husband has forced her to not do anything at all as a way of treating her “illness”. The narrator shows her disdain for this method of treatment in …show more content…
The idea that her hysteria was caused by her loss of freedom and control over her own actions is not that far-fetched. This can be evidenced by this quote “Dear John”. He loves me very dearly and hates to have me sick. I tried to have a real, reasonable talk with. him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to cousin Henry and Julia. But he said I wasn't able to go, nor "able to stand it after I got there and I did not make out a very good case for myself, for I was crying before I had finished.”. The fact that John is making her stay inside is directly contributing to the narrator’s mental health, she only wants to visit her family but is being kept inside against her will by her husband and her physician. She is even driven to tears by her predicament and her husband’s actions. The narrators constant oppression throughout the book is enough to drive her insane by itself. Her total loss of self and independence makes her descent into delusions much more understandable. One publication states: “On the other hand, her husband, who is a doctor at the same time, suggests her to rest in a room as a treatment plan, which eventually kills her productivity and increases the gap between the narrator’s true self and the narrator itself.” This quote from writer Zeynep Aydin for Medium helps to summarize the effects of the narrator being forced to stay inside by herself. The narrator is driven to madness by the very treatment that was supposed to help her. Ultimately, the Yellow Wallpaper is a compelling commentary about Victorian era misogyny and how it affected women during that time period. Throughout the book Charlotte Perkins Gillman is able to construct a story that is able to accomplish its commentary about Victorian society and women's suffrage through symbolism and
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