Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper

Men have always been seen as the superior sex compared to women. It was normal for a woman to be dependent on her husband, women were seen simply as someone to raise the kids and keep the house in an orderly fashion. Men usually had all of the power and were seen as superiors, socially women were seen as a step below men, instead of equals. This simple concept that men know what is best has been the mindset that has been taught throughout the course of human history and is clearly evident through pieces of literature. Only recently we have started to observe a shift towards a more balanced power among sexes. With the feminist movement growing, it is natural to believe that power between genders has become equal. There are two pieces of literature that portray patriarchal norms that were once in society. The first piece of literature is The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Throughout the story, Gilman reveals how gender inequality kept women in a state of obedience, inevitably constricting them of their own freedoms. Gilman does this by explaining the subordination of women in marriage, their restricted freedoms, and the importance of a woman’s voice. The other piece of literature is called Disgrace wrote by J.M. Coetzee which tells a story about the main character, David, and how he uses women to gain power physically and mentally. These two pieces of literature can be used to prove that women were always seen as subordinates and have been manipulated throughout most of their lives.

In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator consistently put herself in a position under her husband, John. She constantly elaborates on how her husband is always right and knows best for her. Within the first page the narrator writes how John laughs at her but she doesn’t take offence because it was common for a husband to laugh at his wife. Not only does it show that women were commonly laughed at, it also demonstrates that women did not stand up for themselves putting women lower than men socially. Throughout the story there is a recurring theme of infantilization. The narrator becomes dependant on John and is unable to think for herself, leaving her powerless as if she were a child. The narrator tells us that John calls here a “blessed little goose” (Gilman 649) at this point it is clear that the narrator does not have the mindset of a adult woman. The narrator is so compliant with everything that she is told and does not question John’s authority. It is evident that she is oblivious to what is going on. The difference in life quality between the two is completely reversed, John is a free man that is able do what he desires while the narrator is trapped in a room with nothing to do but sleep, because that’s what her husband believes is best for her.

During the story John nails his wife’s bed to the floor, it is interesting because the bed can represent many actions. The nailing of the bed to the floor can represent women lives in Victorian society, being nailed to the house, not being able to leave. If John represented the control and sanity within Victorian society, we can only assume that the narrator’s control and sanity left her mind whenever John left the house. The narrator clarifies on how she is alone for long periods of time. John is always in town for work and is away from the house, and as a result, the narrator goes more insane. As the story continues the narrator’s mental state starts to decay due to the lack of stimulation that John allows her. “ (victorian) women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise…they suffer from too rigid a restraint.” (Hughes). Gilman introduces John’s sister into the book, describing her as if she were the perfect wife that all women should look up to. She fulfilled the stereotypical Victorian woman that would stay at home and take care of the house.

There is one last time that we see the narrator start to think independently, but quickly stops herself by remembering her husbands orders. It is at this point where Gilman displays that women think on their own but are reminded constantly not to question their husbands. By suppressing the narrator’s mind it cuts off the only outlet of sanity that she has, which is to give her brain stimulus. At this point the narrator’s mind keeps getting worse. This is evident when she states that she starts to see objects within the wallpaper. She proceeds to compare herself to a child and how she also has the imagination to see objects forming in the wall. It is clear that the narrator is in an unstable mental condition after being manipulated for a long period of time.

Disgrace focuses on the main character, David and how he manipulates women to gain power. It is important to understand the background of the story, David has been divorced twice and the setting is in South Africa after Apartheid. In the beginning of the book, David’s life seems to be normal, but as the story grows we see David real identity as power-hungry man looking for his next victim. He often looks down on people who choose to live their lives in other ways than himself. His daughter Lucy compares their lives to a major and minor character, Lucy being the minor character that shows up late in a book. She stands up for herself and tells David that she has a life of her own. David is constantly looking for power, he finds most of his power by dominating women. When David first meets Soraya, a prostitute. David uses her to satisfy himself and he uses his power to show that he is superior to her. The first time they meet David immediately takes control of her, he didn’t like the makeup she was wearing so he told her to take it all off. She obeyed, and never wore makeup to their following meetings ever again. This is the first time we see David putting himself at a position above a woman, trying to gain power. David is a professor at a local university and uses his profession to seduce girls. Melanie is one of his students that is portrayed as weak minded woman.

David and Melanie meet up and eventually they both end up back at David’s house where “he makes love to her.” Coetzee specifies that it was the act of David making love to Melanie, rather than them making love to each other. Coetzee did this to show the power David has towards weak women, Melanie is being objectified. Later in the book David visits Melanie again and Coetzee describes the act by saying David carries her and brushes off her slippers as if she were a ragdoll. Coetzee also refers Melanie to “the girl lying beneath him.” Melanie is not even referred to with her name, it could be that Coetzee was trying putting us in David’s shoes. After David makes love to her, David doesn’t need to call her by her name, he now sees her as a girl that is there to please him. When the act is over and when David has gotten what he wants, it seems that she is nonexistent. When Melanie tells David that she needs to leave, David makes no effort to detain her. While before the act, the contrary would happen, David would not let Melanie leave and would do anything to keep her at his house. Once David got what he wanted, his attitude shifts and all of a sudden, he doesn’t care about her at all.

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