Woman writers in the late nineteenth century aim to highlight how society oppresses females and the effect this oppression has on females. Discuss with reference to your reading of the " Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

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Pre 1900 prose literature coursework

Woman writers in the late nineteenth century aim to highlight how society oppresses females and the effect this oppression has on females. Discuss with reference to your reading of the “ Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and/or “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin.

The suffragette movement at the beginning of the of the 20th century is acclaimed for the freedom and equality of opportunity that it brought to women. The right of women to vote and the thrust of their activities and campaign was in reality a revolution against the place of women in society. It was a determined fight to give women control over their lives at a personal public and financial level. No longer would women accept that they were second class citizens in a patriarchal society dependent on men.

To the average woman today the constants of life prior to this revelation are difficult to comprehend but interesting insights into the restrictive lives of women emerge in the study of pre 20th century literature. It is notable that women writing at this time often did so secretly and felt obliged to use a male nom-de-plume to gain publication, Charlotte Bronte being a famous example.

‘The Yellow Wallpaper’,  by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story which focuses on the life of one middle class woman as she experienced the misconceived ideas of her time. The protagonist is suffering from Post Natal Depression when such a condition was not recognised or  treated appropriately. In Victorian times ignorance led to nervous conditions being treated much as any physical illness- a great  deal of rest, little intellectual stimulation and limited exercise. However what is striking about her story and life  is the complete lack of control and input into decisions that directly and in many cases only affected her. As she says  “ Personally I disagree with his ideas…. But what is one to do?” The control was so complete that expressing  opinion was somehow considered disloyal and ungrateful. “ But John says the very worst thing  I can do is to think about my condition and so I take pains to control myself” The clawing oppression  is expressed with few verbal hints of the extent of inner frustration felt by the writer. However, here we have a lady like so many of her time – accepting but questioning the ‘Rules’ of the time.

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    Writing, her escape and therapy was frowned upon and of necessity becomes a secret activity. “There comes John and I must put this away – he hates to have me write a word” she even hides her writing in front of her sister in law. Her lack of control over her day-to-day existence is further revealed in her attempts to move from the nursery to another room.

   “But  John would not hear of it”. Perhaps what comes through so clearly and inexplicably  to the modern reader is the sense of a human being without  a personal identity, ...

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