Compare And Contrast Dickinson And Gilman

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Recommended: The portrayal of women in 19th century literature

Angus Chu
4/14/15
Paper 2 Compare and contrast Dickinson and Gilman’s treatment of gender and gender norms. Emily Dickinson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman both lived in a time where women were considered to be “second class citizens”. During this time it was expected of women to be obedient and submissive to their husbands. A woman’s thoughts and opinions were never valued as much as a man’s was. Despite these unfavorable conditions both Emily Dickinson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman fought back and expressed themselves. They served as huge inspirations for other women enduring the same struggles. Although both works depict how each author overcame gender inequality, Dickinson was a rebel who didn’t hesitate to express herself while Gilman …show more content…

Writing was the narrators’ escape from reality the one thing that she loved to do so much that she was willing to give up anything for. It’s very apparent that John disliked her self-expression and thought it was harmful to her. Gilman writes “having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition.” (page 2 line 3) This goes to show how determined the narrator was to express herself. The one rare occasion that an obedient housewife would dare go behind his back and disobey him. Even after multiple close calls of being discovered writing the narrator continued to write until the very …show more content…

Dickinson refers to “the Majority” as society, this Majority does not take women’s literature seriously. The vast majority of good literature is composed by men and it is extremely rare for a woman to create a masterpiece. Dickinson’s highly unusually writing style was her self-expression at its finest. Her use of capitalization and hyphens was deemed as unnecessary by many, but to her it was completely necessary to express her emphasis. Unfortunately, she was unable to obtain recognition during her lifetime. When her poetry was first published many changes were made so that it would meet the current standards. Little did anyone know that the true strength of her poetry lied within her unique style. Only when her work was published in it’s original form did Dickinson start to receive recognition as a pioneer. Dickinson writes” Assent – and you are sane- Demur – your straightway dangerous – And handled with a Chain –" (Lines 5-7) If one was to conform to standards then they would be considered normal. However, if one strayed away from norms they would be deemed outcasts. “Much Madness is divinest Sense” (line 1) meant that madness was true free thinking and

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