The Yellow Wallpaper: The Effects Of Gender Rules

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The Effects of Gender Rules
Feminism has many goals, such as the social, political and economic equality of both male and female. Many of these goals overlap in the work of individual writers. In The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the true feelings of the characters are easily identified through the language-based approach used. The demonstration of the importance of society’s opinion on the typical roles in a marriage is distinguished through the crucial role of history in the story. The typical roles of genders are discovered through gender rules and relations. Symbols and Imagery are perceived in a feminist criticism through the analysis of history, language and gender rule which makes the text more digestible.
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The comparison between the narrator and her husband is the universal comparison between men and women. The narrator says that “John is practical in the extreme” (Gilman 1) which is the “stereotypical masculine virtues” (class notes). She explains how he is straight to the book while she is more of a dreamer and how different the two are. This is the general comparison between a man and a woman, as men usually are taught to be realistic with no emotions while women create fairytales for their life. There are certain gender rules that women must follow, which the narrator is very aware of. Even when she tries to describe John as “so careful and loving…” she still has to add that he “hardly lets me stir without special direction” (Gilman 2) by saying this the narrator implies aggravation. Her unhappiness towards male dominance in her marriage causes her to feel “ungrateful” because she is aware of the role she is supposed to happily play. The typical role for a woman to play in her life is to get married, have children, and be a mom and a wife. The narrator's distaste in the nursery could also show that she did not want the child that John and her were expecting. The narrator makes her feelings towards the nursery very clear by saying “I don't like our room a bit” (Gilman 2) and she goes on by using words such as “revolting” and “repellant” to describe the walls in the room. This indicates that she was not excited for the baby that they were expecting and the fact that she would ask John to work to get her mind off of her “nervous condition” indicates to the reader that she does not want to play the role of just a mother and a

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