"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a compelling, but embellished piece of writing that describes a fraction of the life of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who struggled with postpartum depression.   Margie Piercy's "Barbie Doll" similarly concerns itself with feminist issues.  It is a modern and fascinating story about a schoolgirl who is considered an outsider because of her body image.  "Barbie Doll" raises awareness and ask very basic rhetorical questions about society and its flaws.  Both "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll" address similar concerns about women in society.  The awareness of inequality between men and women in both "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll" lead to the advocating of feminism.  Through similar feminist points of view, Gilman and Piercy use severe situations in their works to point out the impossibility for women to be perfect, the unjust standards women are held to in society and the inequalities that women face due to major societal flaws.    

   Gilman and Piercy lived in very different time periods in America, yet they still have very similar views points on society and how it influences women negatively.  The two authors were born decades apart but hold the same standpoints about women and culture, which means that the American values have not changed much over time.  Comparatively speaking, "Barbie Doll" is much more recent than The Yellow Wallpaper" but both works address the same controversies about gender roles and social expectations.  Not only do they pose the similar problems, but the two authors support parallel feministic ideals.   Gilman and Piercy both express their opinions on social issues through their writing and use similar styles of writing to explain their beliefs in intriguing ways using feministic approaches. 

Women have been struggling to gain equal rights with men throughout the whole country's existence.  "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written in a time that some call the "first wave of feminism" (Rampton).  In the "first wave of feminism", during the late 19th century to the early 20th century, feminists mostly focused on advocating for the legal obstacles of women's inequalities (Rampton). In this time period, husbands were the owners of their wives (Davison), which is emphasized when John, the husband uproots his family out of the city and isolates his wife, the narrator, for the summer in order for his wife to recover from postpartum depression.  In "The Yellow Wallpaper" Gilman was referred to by her husband as "blessed little goose" (211), which is one of her many attempts, through expressive diction, to explain how she and her husband were not equal in the slightest.  This nick name is one way that her husband belittles her in order to assert his dominance.  The narrator admits she is getting "a little afraid of John" (216) and shows fear and obedience to her husband as she says "here comes John, I must put this away- he hates to have me write" (210), which is an example of any husband of this time period's ownership and authority over their wives. 

 "Barbie Doll" was written during the "second-wave of feminism" (Rampton), which took place in the mid to late 20th century.  The "second wave of feminism" was not so much focused on civil rights for women, but the avocations for the social acceptance of women.  Now that the rights of women were established, women were working hard during this time period to be accepted in to the American society.  Piercy raises many important social questions in her poem, "Barbie Doll".  During the "second wave feminism" the American society seemed to create an image for women in which they had to be perfect or else they were not considered equal.  The main character in "Barbie Doll" is seen as flawed because she has "a great big nose and fat legs" (334).   As described in the poem, women were and still are, idolized for their looks, and if they don't have the looks to sustain, then they are seen as less than equal and flawed. 

Both "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll" have outside factors that influence the women's equality in the stories.  Society plays a huge role in both of these pieces of work because people base their opinions off of what is accepted by society.  Society and its unacceptance is one of the main factors that Gilman speaks out against in her writing because if you do not fit in with the mold of society, you are treated as an outcast.  It was unacceptable to be mentally ill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which is why the narrator of "The Yellow Wallpaper", who suffered from postpartum depression, was forced by her husband, into isolation for the summer.   Piercy addresses the same obstacles in "Barbie Doll" because the main character does not fit in with society, based on her looks.  All throughout American history, society has held women to high standards and if women do not meet certain criteria for the "perfect woman", as said in "Barbie Doll" "she [will go] to and fro apologizing" (335) for being different. 

Men also have a strong restriction on women.  "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll" are both written by women who, through their writing, speak out about the controlling effects of men on women.  Gilman surrounds the narrator with men, including her husband and brother who are said to be "physicians of high standing" (209), to emphasize the leading role males possess during this time period.  Similarly, Piercy surrounds the main character of "Barbie Doll" with judgmental classmates, girls and boys, who force her to "exercise, diet, smile and wheedle" [until her] good nature wears out" (335).   Outside influences in both "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll" effect the main characters because they are pressuring the characters to conform to meet the standards that men and society want to see. 

Gilman uses embellished situations and extreme grotesque imagery to prove to the reader, that in "The Yellow Wallpaper" society changes people, and not for the better.  Gilman creates the narrator's infatuation with the girl inside the wall to use as a representation of how women feel trapped by society.  The narrator describes "a woman stooping down and creeping about behind the pattern" (214) of the wall, and she only comes out at night.  The girl trapped behind the wall is a metaphor for all the women experiencing restrictions from men and the American society.  

Piercy uses similar exaggerated situations along with grotesque imagery to prove that society can destroy people, especially women.   In "Barbie Doll", after "apologizing to and fro" (335) for her body's uniqueness, the main character finally loses her "good nature" (335).  In order to please her classmates, which Piercy uses as a symbol for society, the main character decided to "cut off her nose and her legs and offer them up" (335).   As a result of this self harm, the little girl dies, but while laying in the casket she is considered beautiful because the mortician made her a "turned-up putty nose" (335).  The main character is happy, even though she is dead, because she finally meets the standards of society with her fake nose.   This extreme situation is used to demonstrate to the reader how restricting society was on women.  The author uses the title, "Barbie Doll", as another indication of how she believes society portrays women. 

As demonstrated by these two authors, women must go to great lengths to compete for recognition in the American society.  In "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll", the ultimate goal for both was happiness.  For both pieces of writing, gaining the approval of society was the means in which the characters gained their happiness.  In order to achieve happiness in "Barbie Doll", the main character was forced to "cut off her nose and her legs and offer them up" (335).  She had to offer them up to society because society did not approve of her differences.  As she lay in her casket, everyone said "doesn't she look pretty?" (335).  Piercy uses "everyone" to reinforce society's influence on the main character.  Once her differences were gone and she was given a fake nose for her funeral, she had finally gained the approval of society.  The basis of "The Yellow Wallpaper" is that without freedom there was no happiness.  "The Yellow Wallpaper" starts off with physical unhappiness due to the narrator postpartum depression.  She is forced to move into isolation to get well and find happiness, but really her husband isolates her because society does not approve of mental illnesses.  Gradually, through Gilman's use of exclamation points, excited tone shift and her creation of the girl in the wall, we see a change in the emotional stability of the narrator.   The narrator even expresses that she is "feeling ever so much better!" (217) and doesn't want to leave.  By the end of "The Yellow Wallpaper", the narrator achieves happiness because she was removed from the judgmental society and accepted her differences.

"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and "Barbie Doll" by Margie Piercy are both pieces of writing that use severe situations to represent the author's feelings about the American culture.  Based on "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Barbie Doll", both Gilman and Perkins agree that happiness is not achieved without freedom from the approval of society.  Extreme metaphors are used by Gilman and Piercy to reflect their attitudes towards the restrictions that are put on women in America.  Many factors in society have influenced and suppressed women and their equal rights in America.  Through similar feminist points of view, Gilman and Piercy express how the American society can destroy a woman, using topics such as the impossibility of attaining perfection for women and the inequalities that women face. 

