in Gilman

             "The Yellow Wall-Paper", by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, reflects women's role in the Nineteenth Century. Women were controlled by their husbands and other men. Women did not have much social life. Women did not have any. Gilman uses many complex symbols, such as, the house, the bedroom, and the wallpaper to forces on the major theme of the story.
             Gilman moves into the house with her husband, John, for the summer. She does not like the idea to spend the summer time in the "ancestral halls" (Gilman 1). In the first section of the story, Gilman expresses her negative feelings about the house in a couple of places. "So I take phosphates or phosphites - whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise, and am absolutely forbidden to 'work' until I am well again. Personally, I disagree with their ideas" (Gilman 14 - 15). She is ordered by her husband and his brother to stay in the "haunted house" (Gilman 2). Even thought the house is "the most beautiful place", Gilman does not like the house. "There is something strange about the house", she writes. Although she hates the house very much, Gilman has to stay there because her husband made the decision to do so. The house symbolizes a trap, a depressing place to Gilman. In general, the old house is a reference to the out-dated treatment of women. The house is just like whole society of the time. It looks good; however, it is old, and unfair. Gilman's husband, John, is a loving man. He wants Gilman to be good, but "good" is from his point of view. He hardly gives any chance to Gilman to express her feeling. John, a male figure, does not care how she feels. This was considered quite normal in the Nineteenth Century.
             There is another place Gilman is trapped in, her bedroom. The bedroom is the main scene for the entire story. The room symbolizes the family in society. Bedroom supposes to be a comfort and lovely place for any person. As in everyon
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in Gilman. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 08:11, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/88212.html