The Yellow Wallpaper By Charlotte Gilman And Everyday Use By Alice Walker

What is Feminism? How does feminism affect the world we live in today? Was feminism always present in history, and if so why was it such a struggle for women to gain the respect they rightly deserve? Many authors are able to express their feelings and passions about this subject within their writing. When reading literary works, one can sense the different feminist stages depending on the timeframe that the writing takes place. Two such works are ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by, Charlotte Gilman and ‘Everyday Use’ by, Alice Walker; the feminist views within each story are very apparent by the era each author lives in. It is evident that a matter of fifty years can change the stance of an author’s writing; in one story the main character is a confident and strong willed young woman looking to voice her feminist views on the world, while the other story’s main character is a woman trying to hold on to her voice in a man’s world which is driving her insane.

Gilman was best known for her fiction, although she did write a few nonfiction pieces that captured the public’s eye. Her book ‘Women and Economics’ written in 1889, was a tool to assist women to gain economic independence. It was even used as a textbook at one time (The Biography.com website, 2014). She also created a magazine called The Forerunner. This was a magazine for women to be creative; write poetry, fiction, short stories and have them published. Gilman’s success was not without moments of despair and depression in her personal life. ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ was written shortly after this period in her