Yellow Wallpaper
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Before the twentieth century, men were largely in control of the social perceptions of
women's role and rights. Women were constrained from working and expressing themselvels,
in a male society. Bound by these constrictions, women were basically held captive, not being
allowed public discourse or relationships out side of home and family. Charlotte Perkins Gilman
boldly depicts every woman's struggle to escape these boundaries in "The Yellow Wallpaper".
Metaphorically, the yellow wallpaper is the most obvious symbol of confinement. With
its "flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin," it has managed to barricade the women
behind it just as men in their energetic social circles and their complex public activities barricaded
women at home. In the darkness, which is ideally where most people were, it was difficult to see
the patterns and the missing pieces "where the sun is just so," she could see the intricacy of the
pattern and the "formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about," longing for escape.
John, the loving husband and practical doctor, has prescribed bed rest and isolation which
were perfectly in conjunction with male standards for women at the time. John is the ideal
example of the successful male role; happy, energetic, strong, and fulfilled. He rejects the notion
of the wallpaper prison and of the hidden form...