Yellow Wallpaper Feminism

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Throughout history, women have been considered inferior to men. In patriarchal societies, women were deemed to have no valuable opinions and were dependent on men for financial and emotional support from birth to death. Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Charlotte Perkins Gillman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" both depict the repression of women, their inferior status, and the defiance of societal norms by feminist characters. For centuries, men have assumed that women are the weaker sex due to menstruation and childbirth. During these times, it was common for women to suffer from "hysteria." In "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte suffers from what is assumed to be postpartum depression. Her husband, who is also a physician, pays little attention to her opinions and feelings, and minimizes her worries. Charlotte eventually deteriorates due to feeling repressed and trapped. She is dependent on her husband for emotional and financial support and does not outwardly disagree with his diagnosis. In Wuthering Heights, Cathy symbolically defies society by marrying Hareton for love, despite her lowered social status. Victorian literature reflects society's restrictions on women, but also shows their resistance to patriarchal norms.

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