The oppression of woman is evident in the everyday life of a women living in the 19th century. This oppression was not only localized to their duties at home, but it made its way into women’s health issues as well. Women of the 19th century, and even still at the turn of the century, were suffering from postpartum depression, and they were misdiagnosed because postpartum, like almost any woman's illness, was treated as illness of the womb. “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, affirms that the oppression of women resulted in their injurious medical treatment, which, in the end, was the equivalent to life in prison.
From the beginning of time woman were looked at as inferior and treacherous. Inferior, because women were thought to have had smaller brains therefore incapable of making decisions. Most decisions were made for her and women found themselves where “the world of public affairs was nowhere open to woman.” (Friedman 9); leaving women’s duties to fall solely under the household. The treachery (8) of course was because of her actions in the Garden of Eden. The decision Eve made in the garden was proof for the male that “Some basic taint of corruption was thought to be inherent in the feminine constitution” (Friedmen 10) therefore women cannot make qualified decisions.
In addition, religious figures also contributed to oppression by lecturing new brides in the 19th century about their submissive roles. Priests and pastors would lecture new brides on how their duty was to be submissive (5) and that “Your husband is, by the laws of God and of man, your superior; do not ever give him cause to remind you of it” (Ehrenreich 9-10). If a pastor or priest gives this kind of guidance to a woman of this time, she would tend to listen and assume that he would not steer her wrong.
The oppressive attitude towards woman interfered with women’s health care in the 19th century, and caused horrific medical issues to go untreated. When woman were sick with any kind of illness the doctors would basically classify the illness under one umbrella diagnosis “as a disease of the womb.”
Works Cited
Coleman, Emily H. The Shutter of Snow. New York: Penguin Books, 1986. Print.
Ehrenreich, Barbara, and English Deirdre. For Her Own Good. New York: Anchor Books, 1978, 2005.
Ann Oakley’s “Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper” infers the myth that health is a medical product and that the inequalities between men and women are easily removed. It analyzes the differences between health, health care and medical care in the context of 'women and health', and of women as providers as well as users of these. Using the lessons of a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman called 'The Yellow Wallpaper', the article identifies and discusses the three most important unsolved problems of women and health as: production, reproduction and the medicalization of the psychological costs of women's situation in the form of mental illness. “Beyond the Yellow Wallpaper” then calls for recognition of health as a social product and for women to tell the truth about our own experiences, because these determine women's health. Lastly, the paper shows how women's health-giving role in reproduction and in ensuring family welfare holds the causes of women's ill-health within
Society continually places restrictive standards on the female gender not only fifty years ago, but in today’s society as well. While many women have overcome many unfair prejudices and oppressions in the last fifty or so years, late nineteenth and early twentieth century women were forced to deal with a less understanding culture. In its various formulations, patriarchy posits men's traits and/or intentions as the cause of women's oppression. This way of thinking diverts attention from theorizing the social relations that place women in a disadvantageous position in every sphere of life and channels it towards men as the cause of women's oppression (Gimenez). Different people had many ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities amound women, including expressing their voices and opinions through their literature. By writing stories such as Daisy Miller and The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James let readers understand and develop their own ideas on such a serious topic that took a major toll in American History. In this essay, I am going to compare Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” to James’ “Daisy Miller” as portraits of American women in peril and also the men that had a great influence.
Mary Zimmerman framed that women have not had ultimate control over their own bodies and health as a fundamental assumption underlying women’s health movement. Men control and dominate a huge portion of the of decision making roles in the healthcare field, such as health related research, health policy etc. Whereas women are more seen in social positions. According to the article “The Women’s Health Movement” by Mary K. Zimmerman, the concept of medicalization is the “increasing tendency to apply medical definitions and control to phenomena not previously thought of as medical problems (Zola, 1972; Conrad and Schneider, 1980). In the 1950’s a drug called Thalidomide was created by a German company, claiming that it was safe for pregnant women. Although many women were still using this drug during this time, in 1961, reports began to surface that this drug was causing several birth defects and other health problems. The author presented the Thalidomide case as an example of medicalization by showing us the potential consequences of a style medical
In Charlotte Gillman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator describes several attitudes in which men thought about women and the overall oppression of women in the early 20th century. The perception of men and women encouraged society to place limitations on women and allow men to dominate. Women were seen as caretakers, homebodies and fragile, unable to care for one’s self. This is symbolic to the “Cult of Domesticity”, a term identifying a nineteenth-century ideology that women's nature suited them especially for tasks associated with the home. It identified four characteristics that were supposedly central to women's identity: piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness.” One the other hand, men would rule society through their work, politics, and government. They were able to live free and enjoy the public sphere where men enjoyed the competition created in the marketplace through which they gained their identity. In the public sphere, they made decisions that enhanced their own positions in society, while exploiting women’s biological makeup and employing blackmail to render women immobile.
Like the darkness that quickly consumes, the imprisoning loneliness of oppression swallows its victim down into the abyss of insanity. & nbsp;
In the area of religion the “emphasis of religious based subordination suggested that, for a woman to be virtuous and serve God, she must follow the lead of her husband […] this gave men the impression that they had a God given right to control their wives, even if this mean through the use of physical correction” (Nolte 1). Due to the fact that religion is claimed to be an important Victorian ideal, men believe that for women to lead a virtuous life, she must follow the wishes of her husband. Even if these wishes allow her to be beat.
From reading Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wall-Paper various opinions can be made about the novella and what it is portrayed to represent. Perhaps the simplest opinion could be that John, the husband of the main character, was married to an insane wife. This interpretation would not be false at all, in fact, it is indeed true however, the deeper meaning of this text lies between words and emotions that you feel coming from the character that Charlotte Perkins Gilman had created. The character that allows you to see that deeper meaning would be the wife of the husband John. Through her writings in the story she portrays a woman who is held captive by not only a house and society but she is also held captive by her spouse. These things
Women have been mistreated, enchained and dominated by men for most part of the human history. Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was great inequality between the social and economic conditions of men and women (Pearson Education). The battle for women's emancipation, however, had started in 1848 by the first women's rights convention, which was led by some remarkable and brave women (Pearson Education). One of the most notable feminists of that period was the writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was also one of the most influential feminists who felt strongly about and spoke frequently on the nineteenth-century lives for women. Her short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" characterizes the condition of women of the nineteenth century through the main character’s life and actions in the text. It is considered to be one of the most influential pieces because of its realism and prime examples of treatment of women in that time. This essay analyzes issues the protagonist goes through while she is trying to break the element of barter from her marriage and love with her husband. This relationship status was very common between nineteenth-century women and their husbands.
Throughout the nineteenth century, women were considered as the woman of the house. With this title, women were expected to take care of the children, clean the house, and complete chores around the house. Women were not allowed to have jobs and do what they wanted to. Most writers during this time period were men. One of the most famous female authors during the nineteenth century was Charlotte Gilman. Her most famous and controversial short story was “The Yellow Wall-paper”. Charlotte Gilman wrote this short story to change the view on the roles of women in the nineteenth century by using the wallpaper as the oppression of society and the narrator as women mentally breaking away from their roles during this time period.
Although abortions were very dangerous, as well as socially unacceptable during the nineteenth century, women were not altogether unable to obtain abortions and many suffered accusations of infanticide. Here I will present a few of the more famous cases from the period, demonstrating the occurrence of abortion, the availability of providers, and the consequences faced by those who necessitated the procedure.
Me and my family used to live in Texas. I was born and raised in a Republican family where nothing mattered except for what O’Reilly had to say on the “O’Reilly Factor” and if we were all ready to go on time for church on Sundays, and most importantly how well your football team played on NFL Sundays. Us girls, were bred to find a good Christian man who was respectful and made a good living, settle down and have children. You didn 't hear much about a woman who became a doctor or a lawyer, but you did hear about the ones who won the “jackpot” with the rich man in town. It wasn 't till I read “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, that I was introduced to the idea that women should strive to become more than what is expected from
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